Ex-Boyfriend Stabs Former Beauty Queen, Leaves Her Bleed In Agony

After her ex was sentenced to almost 15 years in prison for stabbing and leaving her for dead in Spain, a former East Kilbride beauty queen expressed her relief.

Mhairi Campbell was left struggling for her life in 2017. William McDonald stabbed her three times as she attempted to leave his Costa Blanca vacation property.

And now that McDonald, 61, of Rutherglen, has been convicted of her attempted murder in Alicante, the 60-year-old thinks she can finally begin to rebuild her life.

After spending the last six months in Spain awaiting the trial, the former Miss Scotland finalist will return home next week.

"The past four years have been hellish," Campbell narrated in an online tabloid.

"I still remember when the Guardia Civil took me back to the flat where it happened to collect my clothes," she said.

"They had just finished,with the crime scene and the tape was still up," Campbell said.

"I remember looking at the bed where I had crawled thinking: 'How did I get out of there alive?' I nearly didn't. It was like a scene of a massacre," she added.

She stated that she will always experience bad days and flashbacks. But she believes she can now begin processing the tragedy now that it has come to a conclusion.

After Mhairi refused to give him money to leave Spain, McDonald stabbed her in the back, arm, and stomach, leaving her in a pool of blood in his apartment in Rojales, near Torrevieja.

As she lay bleeding and in agony on her bed, the thug asked if she wanted to write a message to her daughter before cleaning the murder scene with bleach.

She pleaded with him for assistance, but he bolted, vowing to call an ambulance, which never arrived.

Mhairi was only rescued after a witness saw McDonald fleeing and a neighbor heard her calls for assistance.

After returning home to Scotland a year later, her ex was arrested on a European warrant and sent to Spain, where he has remained in custody ever since.

Mhairi testified at McDonald's trial at Alicante's Provincial Court last month, and Spanish judges found him guilty and sentenced him to 14 years and 11 months in prison this week.

He was sentenced to stay away from Mhairi for 24 years and pay her more than £20,000 ($27,700) for the compensation.

Mhairi stated that the judges clearly understood the gravity of the act because it was a horrific assault, which is reflected in the penalty.

"For a victim to be waiting four years is just too much and it has taken it's toll, but it's good to know it's finally over," she said.

When the Guardia Civil arrived at Mhairi's hospital to inform her that he had popped up in Glasgow, they assured her that they would travel to Scotland and return the suspect to a Spanish prison.

"I think McDonald thought the Spanish were going to leave him there and he underestimated them," she said.

"They have done exactly what they said they were going to do," she added.

"You can't leave somebody for dead in Spain and just get away with it in Scotland," Mahiri said.

She was asked if she had any problems with him serving his term in Scotland. However, it appears that this is a lengthy procedure, and he must first complete a portion of his time here.

McDonald stated during his trial that he was never at the apartment when Mhairi was stabbed.

State prosecutors had requested for an eight-year sentence, but the judges sided with Mhairi's private lawyer and nearly doubled the punishment.

According to lead trial judge Jose Antonio Dura Carrillo, the weapon used was capable of causing death. The areas where he stabbed the woman happened placed the victim's life at risk.

"There is no doubt about the defendant's wish to kill his victim and not just injure her," Carillo said.

He went on to say that, while the accused's goal of death did not come to fruition, everything that should have led to it did, including his employment of the tools to achieve it.

Mhairi, a former department store account manager who reached the Miss Scotland finals in 1978, underwent emergency surgery for internal hemorrhage, as well as spleen and rib damage. She now suffers from a slew of long-term health issues.