In the spring of 1597, the judicial machinery of Aberdeen turned its attention toward Isobell Strauthaquhin, a woman residing within the parish of either Dyce or Fintry. Her ordeal began in the opening month of that year, when she appeared within the walls of the local church to provide a confession, the details of which would ultimately seal her fate. The records indicate that Isobell was implicated in acts of significant destruction, with the accusations against her focusing on the systematic damage of property. Specifically, she was charged with the ruin of animals, the destruction of a mill, and the despoiling of an entire estate.
Following these proceedings, the legal process moved swiftly toward its conclusion. On 21 March 1597, Isobell faced a formal trial, identified in the records as case T/JO/1496. The verdict delivered at the culmination of these proceedings was terminal, resulting in a sentence of execution. Historical evidence confirms that this sentence was carried out, marking the final entry in the documented account of Isobell’s life and trial during a period of intense preoccupation with witchcraft in early modern Scotland.