Jill Barclay murder: cause of death for mum found dead in Aberdeen as man jailed for 24 years

Jill Barclay was found dead after she was raped and set on fire by Rhys Bennett, 23, in an attack of “medieval barbarity”.
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A mum whose body was found near a roundabout died from head injuries, neck compression, and the “effects of fire”, according to her death certificate. Jill Barclay , 47, was found in the early hours of 17 September 2022 close to a roundabout in the Dyce area of Aberdeen, with police launching a murder probe into her shocking death.

According to her death certificate, the cause of death was “blunt force head and facial injuries, external compression of the neck and effects of fire (pending investigations).” It states that the proposals engineer died at the rear of an address in Farburn, Dyce.

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Rhys Bennett, of Ballingry in Fife, has since been charged with her rape, murder, and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. The 23-year-old was on Wednesday (24 May) jailed for 24 years before the chance of parole and indefinitely placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering Jill Barclay in Aberdeen, Scotland.A man has appeared in court charged with murdering Jill Barclay in Aberdeen, Scotland.
A man has appeared in court charged with murdering Jill Barclay in Aberdeen, Scotland.

‘A human with a heart of gold and true to the core’

After Ms Barclay’s death hundreds of people attended a vigil in her memory, while a local church also held an event where people could light a candle for her.

Tributes were paid to her with a statement from her family describing her as “a deeply loved life partner, mother and daughter.” More than £26,000 has been raised towards the costs of her funeral from a Go Fund Me page.

On the page created by Claire Carstairs and Gillian Gove it states: “Jill was a much loved partner, daughter, a parent of two, the best friend, a kickboxing ninja , a raver - a human with a heart of gold and true to the core.

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“In light of Jill, she loved to party, when we have hit our milestone target we will have a - ‘Rave it like your Jill’ event here in Stoneywood. In this dark time let’s come together as one as a community and raise as much funds as we possibly can for her beautiful family.”

Police Scotland’s North East’s Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Kate Stephen had previously said: “This has been an extremely distressing incident which has caused a great deal of shock in the local community. This shock has also been felt across the North East and our thoughts are with Jill’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”