In the summer of 1650, the legal machinery of the Scottish witch-hunts reached into the burgh of Forfar, where Cristian Thom was formally identified as a subject of judicial inquiry. On the 27th of June, her case was recorded under the reference C/JO/2963, marking the beginning of a process that would subject her to the scrutiny of the local magistrates and the prevailing theological climate of the mid-seventeenth century. Little is preserved of her life prior to this moment, but the archival record firmly places her within the community of Forfar during a period of intense religious and civil anxiety, when accusations of maleficium were becoming increasingly frequent in the region.
Following the initial registration of her case, Cristian was brought to trial under the judicial reference T/JO/1218. This transition from accusation to formal legal proceedings reflects the standardized bureaucratic approach taken by the Scottish courts toward those suspected of entering into covenant with the devil or causing harm through supernatural means. While the archival fragments remain sparse regarding the specific testimony brought against her or the final verdict rendered, the existence of these records confirms that Cristian was navigated through the rigorous, state-sanctioned trial process that characterized the peak years of the Scottish witch trials.