A fundraising campaign to purchase and demolish a building where a Scots mum was murdered has now hit more than £20,000.
Twisted Rhys Bennett set mum-of-two Jill Barclay on fire while she was still alive after raping her in Aberdeen. He was jailed for life in May, with a minimum tariff of 24 years.
Now Ms Barclay's partner, Leon Grant, wants to have Farburn Gatehouse demolished. The current owners have agreed to sell the derelict property after purchasing it for £76,000.
Glasgow businessmen Hafiza Abid and Shahzad Hassan, have agreed to sell the property for £87,000, plus fees.
Mr Grant and some of Jill's other nearest and dearest launched the campaign to raise £90,000 earlier this month to finance the sale and demolition, reports Aberdeen Live.
The GoFundMe has now reached £20,000, just a few weeks after hitting £10,000 - which was raised in just three days.
Three of the hundreds of donations were for £1,000 each, with the current figure sitting at £20,455.
The most recent update on the GoFundMe page stated: "Thank you so much to everyone who has very kindly donated so far. You may have noticed that the target amount has been reduced to £90,000.
"The purchase price including fees is £87k and we have been told demolition will be £3k, hence the lower figure. Jill’s partner is looking into the possibility of then gifting the land to the Scottish trust.
"As soon as he knows more about how this will look, we will update again. Once again, thank you all so much and feel free to share the page far and wide to make this happen."
Sentencing evil Bennett in May, Judge Lord Arthurson told the 23-year-old at the High Court in Edinburgh: "To be crystal clear, you burned her alive”. He added that the crimes were “unimaginably wicked and indeed medieval in their barbarity".
David Green, lead homicide prosecutor for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: "Rhys Bennett raped and murdered a woman who was simply walking home after a night out through streets she knew well.
"Jill Barclay should have arrived home safely to her partner and children. This senseless and brutal crime has devastated a family and shocked the wider community."
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