A Scottish grandmother has described how she survived a brutal attack by a convicted killer on leave from prison by 'playing dead' as he hit her with a dumbbell.
Linda McDonald, from Dundee, was walking her dog when convicted killer Robbie McIntosh attacked her last August, according to the Daily Mail.
The 53-year-old has spoken about the harrowing details of the attack which left her with horrific wounds, in which she pleaded with McIntosh not to rape or hurt her as his face remained expressionless with no emotion as he repeatedly hit her with a dumbbell.
She also reveals how she fought to stay conscious after the attack so that she could give police a description of her attacker.
But immediately after the attack, Ms McDonald said, "I thought that if I stopped breathing and played dead it would finish and he would go away.
"I said a prayer to God and went somewhere else peaceful in my own mind to remove myself from what was happening to me."
She also described how she felt when he walked towards her, saying, "I can't explain why but immediately, I had a bad feeling.
"My sixth sense told me that something wasn't right and I was very uncomfortable.
"He was a really tall figure and he had a military-style march."
She said they initially passed each other until suddenly she heard his loud heavy footsteps behind her.
"There was a nanosecond of silence when the footsteps stopped and I just knew that something bad was going to happen.
"I turned around and he was running towards me.
"I had no chance to react before he struck me on the right-hand side of my head.
"The blow stunned me and immediately I felt lethargic but I also realised immediately that I was going to have to fight if I was going to survive."
It was at that moment that Ms McDonald pleaded with McIntosh not to go through with whatever he had planned.
"I said to him: "Please don't do this".
"He was expressionless but he also looked like he was enjoying me begging for my life.
"I knew he was going to strike again and I decided I was going to have to scream and make a noise.
Ms McDonald described feeling blood on her head and her eyesight appeared to falter.
"Then the blows continued and I felt warm blood.
"I couldn't see and thought I was going blind."
Ms McDonald recalled that McIntosh then grabbed hold of her ankles as she lay on the ground before dragging her off the path and into a wooded area.
"I must have passed out because I came round and was aware I was on my tummy, being dragged very quickly into the woods.
"The clothes on my upper body were off and I thought he was going to rape me. He was leaning over me and it was at this point I decided to stop breathing and play dead."
It was then that two nearby dog walkers raised the alarm and called police.
The attack happened five days after McIntosh was allowed out of prison on home leave - about 16 years after he had murdered another dog walker, Anne Nicoll, 34, by stabbing her to death on Law Hill in Dundee.
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