When Red Flags turn to Murder... | The Dark Case of Claire Inglis

as a young single parent to a child CLA was determined to find comfort in a loving partner it's a shame that the man she wanted to believe was good turned out to be such a terrible monster instead even in her own childhood she always saw the good in people but unfortunately Christopher Macwan was not to be underestimated it would only be a matter of time before she experienced the true horror he could create and unfortunately Scotland's flawed judicial system would assist in all of this Chris was a man who made one poor decision after another in fact he was so full of them that police knew exactly who he was for all of the wrong reasons now of course there is much more to this horrible story than these few horrible facts but this video serves as a reminder to how badly someone can ruin your life hopefully you know where you are by now but if not my name is Adrien and welcome to Coffee House crime I post up to four videos a week here so if you like dark ly fascinating content please consider subscribing and now with that said please grab yourself a coffee pull up a seat and get ready for the Deep dive this is the case of CLA englas welcome back folks now with our previous case being so long we're going to keep this one slightly more direct if you casturi eyes north of England you will find yourself in the beautiful mountainous Terrain of Scotland our case today pulls us to the center of this incredible country to a small city named Sterling now it is said that Sterling clasps the lowlands and the highlands of Scotland together and he who holds Sterling holds Scotland itself this place has an abundance of ancient history too bones found here were radiocarbon dated to be more than 4,000 years old this means that the city has been under many empires since then and nowadays it is home to roughly 38,000 residents Sterling has become a market Town specializing in transport Communications and Retail but economic statistics aside there is not much else to note about this city to be honest if you're looking for a quiet and doile place to live then Sterling has you covered but it is here in this city that we could find CLA englas born to her parents Ian and Fiona englas in 1993 Clare enjoyed a peaceful life without much Discord with a naturally loving personal ity she aspired to become a child minder and so after graduating school she attended University to study child minding to her surprise it was in June of 2014 that CLA would become a mother herself I'll be protecting his name in this video but she was absolutely smitten with her baby boy tragically though her son's father lost his life only 3 years later in 2017 when he was involved in a car accident this of course unfortunately leaving CLA to raise him all alone according according to those who knew her she lived for her son her days were scheduled around him taking him to and from school and generally just ensuring he had everything he needed to be happy as a person herself though CLA loved everything pink and was described as a caring and bubbly person by friends and family alike in short she was a happy and outgoing young woman with a passion for helping others looking after children and appreciating all things Disney the loss of her son's father was absolutely devastating news but 2 years later CLA was ready to start dating again and it wouldn't take long for her to cross paths with another man unfortunately sometimes Opposites Attract and although CLA was kind-hearted and a lovely young woman she found comfort in a man who was great at concealing his true colors so this is where I must introduce you to another deplorable person and this man's name was Christopher mwan although Chris was known in the area to be a decorator and a painter many would be forgiven for thinking that his actual profession was in collecting jail time known as Kiki for all of the wrong reasons he had become a familiar figure to police in the area and expressed no desire in changing his ways at the tender age of 14 Christopher made his first encounter with the law by being charged with breach of the peace the following 14 years unfolded like a tumultuous Saga marked by a series of more than 40 offenses and accompanying sentences for a myriad of crimes ranging from minor transgressions like criminal damage and shoplifting to more severe charges such as pedling heroin and menacing a police officer with a knife it appeared Christopher was on an unrelenting quest to find himself entangled in the criminal justice system sporting a scar on his face and a local reputation as an aggressive troublemaker and a man of crime Christopher's relationship with CLA surprised many of those who knew of his checkered history actually speaking after the fact many described them as chalk and cheese they had entirely opposite personalities but despite this they did share a mutual attraction for one another an attraction which over the weeks would blossom into the early stages of a relationship cla's mother Fiona recalls the first time the pair had ever interacted while walking around the city Chris shouted at her on the street at the time CLA was glad to get away from him so it did seem strange that over the next couple months they would end up together instead in almost no time at all Claire and Chris found themselves deeply entwined in a romantic relationship and despite reservations and concerns expressed by her friends and family CLA remained steadfast in her belief that deep down he was a good man sadly though when her parents voed their own concerns she would dismiss their objections as being over dramatic labeling them as drama queens and expressing her confidence that in time he would change on October the 3rd 2021 CLA updated a state status on Facebook to say in a relationship sadly though in the meantime Chris and his behavior again landed him behind bars he was being held in lamos prison which was approximately 23 Mi Southwest of Sterling now CLA visited him numerous times while he was locked away I think that deep down she knew that he was bad news but she also felt confident that this could be the turning point in his life and their relationship by now he had amassed close to 40 child es over the years no surprise many of which were for breaching his bail conditions or breaching of the peace amidst his rather impressive catalog of offenses including minor vandalism hazardous driving and drug possession were three charges of assault one of these charges dating back to the year 2014 was later described as having a domestic element and so we can only assume this meant that he assaulted a loved one to date his longest jail term spanned just over 21 months which is the price you pay after threatening an officer with a knife it was during his time inside that tragically Christopher's mother passed away when he spoke to social workers about this he was adamant that this was the change he needed for his life now Chris had no intention of attending his mother's funeral and handcuffs and so he leaned on his blossoming relationship with CLA to prove he could be bailed out without any repercussions as November 2021 arrived Christopher remained in incarcerated in hmp low M and with his current charges coming from dangerous driving while attempting to evade police during a Chase he was set to be in here for quite a while nevertheless CLA would Faithfully visit him whenever possible in the UK facing criminal charges leads to either being held in custody until sentencing or being released on bail the latter is typically reserved for cases when there's confidence in the individual's appearance in court and compliance with set conditions and so so it's quite strange that despite Christopher's extensive legal history in Scotland reports suggested a leaning towards his release in this report a social workers assessment highlighted his challenging upbringing emphasizing that most of his offenses were considered to be low level the reports also acknowledged his Newfound relationship with CLA noting its positive impact on him Christopher claimed that it motivated him to abstain from alcohol and Valium both of which were substances that had fueled his past offens says with his connection with CLA described as a positive relationship it provided a stabilizing influence on what had so far been a tumultuous life for Chris now one of the bail conditions that is required stipulates being bailed to a specific address rather than a general release and so after careful consideration Christopher was bailed to cla's address under one special condition that being he must adhere to a curfew between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and any violation of this or any of his other bail conditions would result in him being returned to jail now after all of the problems and chances he had been given you would think that Chris would use his common sense and gratitude to better himself but sadly you would be mistaken here almost immediately upon moving into cla's home he embarked on a spree of selling or porning many of her belongings all of which were disgustingly used to help funders drinking and drug habits this even included selling a watch she had received as a gift on her 21st birthday and even selling her son's gaming console even still the money made through these deplorable actions never seemed to be enough for Chris it was later revealed that CLA had accumulated thousands of pounds worth of debt this was either through purchasing items for Chris or through him secretly purchasing things under her name seriously folks if you ever spot someone doing this run for the hills only the most most morally corrupt and selfish are capable of stealing from a loved one soon enough CLA would frequently phone her friends and family asking for money and although she usually gave the excuse to say that it was Essentials for her son most of them knew that deep down it was actually for Chris in fact cla's parents actually believed that most of the text messages sent by CLA was actually from Chris himself because there was a distinct change in his writing style unknown to any of them at the time but CLA was also facing a lot of verbal abuse from him too in fact one night when driving home in a taxi the taxi driver recalls him threatening to kill her if she didn't buy him a chip butty for you Americans out there a chip butty is basically a sandwich with french fries in the middle and no I don't know why the British are like this as the months passed by CLA faced increasing resistance from her family and friends I mean they all loved her with all of their hearts which is why they felt so strongly about her leaving a man who was so clearly rotten to the Core but many of us know how this can be we see a person's ideal qualities and try to ignore all of the glaring red flags CLA was a stubborn lover and she so desperately wanted to make this work but now after voicing their objections there was sadly nothing that a loved ones could do they would just have to wait and see and let CLA come to her own decision but tragically as with many of these cases she had no idea what was waiting for her just around the corner on the fateful day of November the 28th 2021 CLA reached out to her mother once again asking for £25 for her son but despite her plea Fiona remained unconvinced and answered back with a firm no and she responded further by activating Do Not Disturb mode on her phone both parents knew from experience that sadly this wouldn't be the end of it a barrage of messages and calls usually followed after this and so they had to protect their own time but sadly little did they know this would be the last opportunity they would have to speak to their daughter later that same night both Christopher and CLA were spotted indulging in drinks in the heart of Sterling this of course meaning that Christopher was brazenly violating his baale conditions shortly after this CLA then returned to her residence in sent ninians a surveillance camera captured her entering a shop on banck bur Road grainy footage documented her purchasing a few items from the shop with the owner kindly holding the door open as she vanished into the night this footage would be the last known recording of her alive the next chapter unfolded at 5:00 a.m. that morning with a jarring Awakening for two of cla's neighbors drunk out of his mind and even slurring on his own words Christopher shouted wake up I think I've killed her rushing into cla's flat the neighbors were met with a scene of horror CLA lay on the bedroom floor in a terrible State they attempted CPR while an ambulance was called to the property though sadly it became evident early on that their efforts would prove futile amidst the numerous injuries sustained across her face they would also have to dislodge a wet wipe which was stuffed down her throat and tragically this had obstructed her Airways despite paramedics doing their very best to resuscitate her cla's terrible fate had already been sealed she had been murdered in Cold Blood and of course logically speaking there was only one person who could be responsible so no surprise Christopher mwan was swiftly arrested and charged with her murder and it's also not a surprised to learn that he strongly denied any responsibility according to him she had accidentally overdosed on Valium and then fallen down the stairs which also apparently explains the numerous facial injuries sure Chris and I guess that wet wipe just magically lodged itself into a throat on the way down right thanks to his long-standing reputation with the law nobody was buying his story friends family and even strangers alike all believed that he'd murdered CLA and now he would have to pay when the trial commenced in edinburgh's high court presided over by judge Michael O'Grady the shocking extent of cla's injuries was unveiled for the public to see for the first time the report exposed many gruesome details which left those in the courtroom both traumatized and shocked CLA had suffered severe trauma both of her eyes had been blackened and a screwdriver had been used to stab her in the face over 70 distinct injuries were sustained that evening including Burns inflicted with a lighter strangulation and the forcible insertion of a wipe down her throat the official cause of death was determined to be strangulation or choking throughout legal proceedings the court meticulously detailed every act of violence inflicted on CLA that fateful night the summary alone paints a vivid picture of a brutal and sadistic assault on a woman who stood at a mere 5 ft and 2 in this comprehensive account thoroughly disqualified any alternative theories put forth by Chris to which he continued to claim was an overdose gone wrong or an accidental fall down the stairs the case unfolded for over a week in which all the evidence was meticulously presented to the court room when the time came for the jury to render their verdict it would only take them 2 hours to find it and no surprise they ruled that Christopher Macwan was guilty for the murder of Clare englas as a result Chris was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 23 years behind bars the fact is this young woman was not only murdered she was subjected by you to nothing short of torture I shudder to imagine what her last minutes were like to describe what you did as sadistic falls woefully short of the mark it was beyond sadistic the judge would go on to say I have in particular Minds the victim impact statement of her young son who now spends each day lonely bereft and bewildered unable to make sense of why he must grow up without his mother the reprehensible and prolonged assault which resulted in her tragic death was characterized by the conduct of a terrible man who is simply unfit to exist in a decent society and while there may be some degree of satisfaction that Christopher was sentenced to the longest jail term possible under current laws there is one crucial question which arose in the court room's shadow that being why was he ever re-released on Bale to begin with quite understandably these questions were only Amplified when it became known that Chris already had domestic ass assult convictions against another partner and so many people including cla's parents were left wondering how on Earth this was allowed to happen I mean let's just lay all of this out on the table here here we have a man with former domestic assault charges being granted bail for another crime to stay with another partner who has no idea about these previous charges all of this just seemed incredibly shortsighted by the system these realizations were incredibly angering to say the least in fact the public was so upset by it that the news found its way to the Scottish government and although it couldn't be answered the question itself was straightforward enough why was an abuser granted bail into the home of a partner and a young child in a statement to the court cla's father said he should have never been put in her flat with my grandson and CLA not with the criminal record he had both then and now the prevailing sentiment is undeniably difficult to dispute How could a habitual criminal with a history of repeatedly breaching Baal even be under consideration as a candidate in the first place moreover what information allowed the judge to Grant him bail anyway the social worker who was responsible for these recommendations who also emphasized the positive impact of a new relationship and his determination to overcome substance abuse Still Remains unnamed to this day while acknowledging the tragic outcome a follow-up review of the process found no glaring missteps in the decision to release Christopher on baale while the fact that the matter reached the governmental level signaled a strong acknowledgment of the issue the resolution was sadly evasive matters of bail remand and similar issues are generally decided by judges and the government refrained from intervening or passing judgments on such matters the outrage and Quest For answers were not confined to cla's parents alone numerous groups including women's Aid and entities within the judicial system itself such as judges and police voiced OB objections to the government's enactment of the bail and release from custody act they believed that this legislation unduly constrained judges options to keep individuals in custody while pending trial cla's mother would sum this tragedy up perfectly by expressing cla's unwavering belief that Christopher would change a belief that tragically transformed into a reality albeit in the most Sinister form he became a murderer CLA englas was a young woman full of life joy and happiness she dedicated herself not only to raising her son but also to caring for other children her degree and ambition focus on the well-being of children and every facet of her being was geared towards doing good in the world and helping others friends described her as a beautiful incredible young mom a woman who selflessly gave her time away for the benefit of others and it seems that this endless faith in others this belief that people were fundamentally good was taken advantage of her memory will live on through her son a boy who is now orphaned and being raised by his grandparents a memorial page for CLA englas is filled with endless platitudes about her positive influence on their lives good memories of happy times and every single one of them is a testament to what a great person she was CLA was robbed of her life her son was robbed of his one remaining parent and her family lost a very loving daughter it should never take a tragedy like this to have the legal system reassess their conduct but we can only hope that another life can be saved with the hard lessons learned from this tragic Affair those who love her carry her love for the light in life and the words inscribed on a bench in her memory sum all of this up very well always loved forever missed never forgotten we will look for you in rainbows a while ago one of my closest friends said to me Adrien when you look at someone through rose-colored glasses all of those red flags just look like Flags okay and this may have originated from BoJack Horseman but I find the saying to be incredibly powerful and accurate especially in cla's case hopefully this quote May now stick with you too and should you ever need it in the future may it be the Small Voice that will remind you of the self-respect that you deserve anyway folks so concludes today's video thank you so much for watching I really do appreciate you being here before you go though I'd like to know your thoughts about this case because of course CLA could have left Christopher earlier but as we all know she was just so in love and adamant that he could change this is also a casual reminder that I do in fact now sell coffee so if you want to support the channel check out classified cof co.com to add to that if you want to see extra content or just follow me and Nero on our adventures then please check out my social media most notably my Instagram you can also get early access to my content and additional content over on my patreon and yeah that's pretty much it folks thank you again so much for watching and as always I'll see you again very soon for another one until that moment arrives though remember to look after yourself look after each other and of course stay safe thank you and goodbye

Channel: Coffeehouse Crime

Views: 577,264

Keywords: coffeehouse crime, true crime, coffee house crime, crime, claire, inglis, scotland, stirling, murder, christopher, mcgowan

Id: 8EBWbRJ2OGo

Length: 22min 27sec (1347 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 18 2023