A grieving mum whose daughter died from alcholism aged just 21 following years of sexual abuse called for the predator to be prosecuted over her death.
Natalie O’Donnell, 21, died on September 14 from Hepatorenal Syndrome, caused by cirrhosis of her liver.
Before her death she had been trying to get sober, after bingeing on a litre of vodka a day.
Tragically, she had committed to getting off booze and was desperate to see a psychiatrist to help her come to terms with years of sexual abuse at the hands of her mum’s perverted ex.
Her distraught mother, Gaynor Watson, 44, believed right up until her daughter’s death in University Hospital Crosshouse, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, that Natalie would recover from her illness and lead a fulfilling life.
And she called for her ex, Alastair Niven Goldie, 51, to face prosecution – accusing him of causing her daughter’s death by introducing her to booze aged just 14.
Goldie was spared jail in 2017 at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after admitting abusing Natalie, but next year his name will be removed from the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Mum-of-four Gaynor believes he should remain on the register for life, and be brought to court once more to face the consequences of his actions.
Gaynor said: “Natalie started drinking at the age of 14 – he started feeding it to her.
“By the age of 15 she was drinking heavily. After she reported him to police she continued drinking to try and block it all out.
“It was absolutely horrendous.
“I think she just gave up, the poor soul.
“He targeted Natalie, she was the right age for him.”
Goldie admitted engaging in sexual intercourse while in a position of trust towards the girl while she was under the age of 18, between July 2014 and March 2016 in Irvine, North Ayrshire.
He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for three years and given a Community Payback Order with supervision, including 300 hours of unpaid work and counselling.
But Natalie’s mother believes he preyed on her daughter from the age of 14, and made the vulnerable teen believe he was in love with her.
She claims Goldie manipulated Natalie by sending texts threatening to kill himself, while she was in lessons at school.
Aged 18, Natalie found the courage to report Goldie to police – but she downed booze to black out the horrors she had experienced.
Her desperate mum was even willing to give her a kidney transplant after the devastating diagnosis of Hepatorenal Syndrome.
Gaynor said: “In the end, Natalie was drinking a litre of vodka a day.
“Her body was getting so used to the alcohol that she was drinking more and more.
“I feel as though he should be brought back before the courts for what he’s done.
“We saw him at the hospital when we went in to visit her – he was in the car park.
“I thought ‘he’s going about his business and Natalie’s lying there’.
“My heart was racing.
“She would still be alive if it wasn’t for him – she wouldn’t have drunk like that, but she was traumatised and she kept going.
“I feel as though he should pay – my daughter died because of this man. It’s horrible.”
Natalie had been sober for nearly three months before she died, and her mum was convinced she would get to see her daughter fully detoxed and rebuilding her life.
She had tried to hang herself and also self-harmed, but was told she needed to be sober before she could see a psychiatrist.
Gaynor said: “She had got it into her head that she was never drinking again, and that was it.
“It was starting to sink in, but when she died it felt like it was just taken away.
“She never had friends because she was drinking so heavily, people that age don’t drink the way Natalie was.
“She just didn’t have a life – I hope and pray she is in a better place.
“She was messed up in the head. It was a shame.”
Natalie was diagnosed on September 6, but three days later she was moved to a high dependency unit.
Gaynor was convinced she would recover, but less than a week later Natalie died.
The grieving mum said: “In my head I was still thinking she would be fine.
“I hoped she would get a liver transplant and we could get her fit, and she’d just carry on with her life.”
Natalie was buried with her grandparents, but the headstone was too small to fit her name on it.
Her mum is fundraising to pay for a replacement.
To donate visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/to-help-with-a-gravestone-for-my-daugher