- Row sparked after theatregoers complained about sisters’ ‘theatre etiquette’
Two sisters have been convicted of assaulting a retired police officer and his wife at a Jersey Boys theatre show.
Nurse Lorna Carmichael, 43, initially pounced on Alistair Malcolm, 59, at Glasgow‘s Kings Theatre on April 19, 2022.
She punched and scratched Mr Malcolm near the lobby as both were leaving at the end of the show with their families.
Care home worker Ann Gillespie, 52, meantime grabbed Catherine Malcolm, 52, on the body which caused her to almost fall down stairs.
The row was sparked after Mr Malcolm complained to the sisters about their ‘theatre etiquette’ and the amount of noise they were making.
Nurse Lorna Carmichael (pictured), 43, and her sister were convicted of assaulting a retired police officer and his wife at a Jersey Boys theatre show
Lorna and her sister Ann Gillespie (pictured) got into an argument with two fellow theatregoers before things turned ugly at Glasgow ‘s Kings Theatre on April 19, 2022
He told Glasgow Sheriff Court that one of the siblings said to him that they were ‘enjoying themselves’ to which he replied: ‘You are just drunk.’
Mr Malcolm claimed that a woman then ‘lunged’ at him which caused him to fall on the stairs, pinning his legs down.
He said: ‘I just wanted to try and back away rather than push her away. At that point she still had a hold of me and I could feel a few blows and scratching to my head.
‘I could feel she was trying to get her nails in my eye socket – I spent my time holding her hand away.’
Prosecutor Gail Campbell asked the witness how he felt at the time.
He replied: ‘Shocked that something like that happened at the theatre on a Tuesday night or at all. I was quite shocked.
‘Perhaps with my previous employment I could deal with it better than some.’
Mr Malcolm said the incident was eventually split up by members of staff and the police also attended.
Mrs Malcolm claimed that Gillespie signalled at her ‘come on’ from the bottom of the stairs at the exit.
She said she grabbed a railing and sat down as she was aware that she was on a set of stairs while Gillespie came towards her.
The incident happened at a performance of Jersey Boys at Glasgow King’s Theatre in 2022
She said: ‘It was almost as if she was pulling me – she pulled my t-shirt, she pulled my necklace. I had fingernail marks to the top of my chest and I had a bit of blood on my mouth.’
Asked how she felt about the incident, which lasted ‘seconds’, Mrs Malcolm said: ‘Horrible – I think I have been to the theatre once since then – I am too afraid to go back.’
Carmichael and Gillespie’s mother told the court in her evidence that the trio were out for her birthday.
Margaret Carmichael, 72, claimed that Mr Malcolm had called the trio ‘sl***’, which he had earlier denied.
The pensioner went on to state that Mr Malcolm was the aggressor who went for Carmichael.
She said: ‘I was maybe two or three stairs up. He pushed me and I fell down the stairs.’
The witness claimed she suffered an arm injury and received injections to heal the pain.
Sheriff David Taylor found Carmichael, of Glasgow, guilty of assaulting Mr Malcolm while Gillespie, also of Glasgow, was convicted of attacking Mrs Malcolm.
The sheriff stated that the witnesses were ‘credible and reliable’.
Neale McShane, defending Carmichael, told the court: ‘It seems she reacted aggressively to someone and, given her age as well as her profession, it is clearly out of character.
‘She will be required to report this matter to the midwifery council and might well be investigated to see if she can be fit to practice.’
Atlanta Jack, defending Gillespie, also stated that the matter is out of character for her client who has worked in her field for 18 years.
The sheriff fined Gillespie £210 and sentence was deferred until next month pending background reports for Carmichael.
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