Inquiry is to probe the prison death of a stalker who murdered his ex-girlfriend with a claw hammer in Glasgow

Scotland's Crown Office has filed a First Notice to launch Fatal Accident Inquiry proceedings into the prison death of Stuart Drury, who murdered Marilyn McKenna — a mother of three — close to her Glasgow home in September 1998, striking her repeatedly with a claw hammer. Drury died at HMP Edinburgh on August 3, 2023, aged 57. A preliminary hearing is scheduled at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on November 24, 2026.

Drury's initial murder conviction was overturned on appeal; a retrial returned a unanimous guilty verdict in August 2001.

Under Scots law, the FAI is mandatory because Drury died while in legal custody, meaning the state bore responsibility for his life at the time.

Full proceedings are due to open on December 3, 2026, to determine how Drury died and whether any precautions might have prevented his death.