Scots businesswoman who 'loved to laugh' murdered in Florida home
HUNDREDS of people are expected to turn out for the funeral of a Scottish businesswoman allegedly beaten to death by an ex-boyfriend in the United States.
Lindsay Brown was killed in her beachside apartment in Florida on Saturday night.
Her attacker struck her on the back of the head, apparently with a beer bottle, while she was talking on the phone to a friend. She was found in a pool of blood and pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Police swooped quickly and arrested her former boyfriend, who has been charged with first degree murder and could now face the death penalty.
Michael Robert Everett, who had been dumped by Ms Brown because of his heavy drinking, was seen entering her apartment in Flagler Beach on Florida’s east coast shortly before the attack. The 36-year-old is now being held without bail in a local prison.
Lindsay’s parents flew out from Scotland yesterday and will join hundreds of mourners at a memorial service and funeral on Saturday.
Friends said Everett had been struggling to cope with the break-up and flipped when he saw Ms Brown walking hand in hand with a new boyfriend. Ms Brown, 39, from Sauchie, Stirlingshire, was vice-president of a tile and carpeting firm.
She arrived in the US seven years ago on a working visa. She had followed her boss, who sold his factories in Falkirk and Glasgow in the mid-1990s to set up a Florida operation.
Tommy Thomson, the owner of House of Tiles and Carpeting in nearby Bunnell, where Ms Brown was based, said the entire community had been stunned by the killing.
He said: “We still can’t believe this has happened. Lindsay was loved by everybody and she had the most wonderful nature.
“I haven’t stopped taking calls from people expressing their disbelief and asking for details of her memorial service. I don’t think there is anywhere big enough to hold everyone who wants to be there.”
Mr Thomson added: “The sickening thing is that she hardly went out with him for any length of time, just a few weeks at the most.
“At the beginning she said he was great, the perfect gentleman, but after the first or second week she noticed that he had a drink problem and she soon learned that he couldn’t hold a driving licence because he had so many convictions for drink-driving.
“They weren’t living together and it didn’t take long for Lindsay to read the warning signs and told him that she didn’t want to see him any more.
“That was a few months ago, and around the same time she started dating another guy, Leif Halvorsen, one of our customers, who also lived in the same town as Lindsay, and they really hit it off,” Mr Thomson said. “It’s a small town and when Everett saw them out and about together, he couldn’t handle it.”
He added: “Lindsay was like a daughter to me. Her life was her little Boston terrier, Fester.
“Leif, who had been with Lindsay for a few months, is now looking after the dog.
“Lindsay loved kayaking and she used to take Fester out on the intercoastal waterway with her. She was so much fun.”
Friends last night described Ms Brown as a beautiful person who was full of fun. A neighbour, Carla Cline, said: “She was just the sweetest person I had met in a long time. She had an amazing attitude. She loved to laugh.”
