A MOTHER who died along with her daughter in a hotel bloodbath made a will leaving her £250,000 estate to her other children the day before she died.
Margaret McDonough, 52, died soon after being found with horrific wounds in a hotel room 17 miles from her home.
Her student daughter Nicola, 23, who was found unconscious in a nearby corridor with a deep slash wound, lost her fight for life three days later.
Their deaths were thought to be part of a bizarre suicide pact and police confirmed they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths at the Premier Inn in Greenock in May.
It has now emerged that Mrs McDonough, a foster carer and former LibDem candidate, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, made a will on May 9 this year, the day before she was found dead.
She attended at the offices of MSM Solicitors in Paisley and signed the will in the presence of a partner at the firm.
She instructed that her estate of £254,509 should be left to her three sons, Kevin, 33, Michael, 32, and Matthew, 21. Nicola, a social work student, is not mentioned in the will, further fuelling suspicion the two deaths were the result of a suicide pact.
In the will, Mrs McDonought's occupation is listed as a foster carer and she appointed Kevin as the executor of her estate.
Her estate was made up of the family home in Paisley, which has been valued at £250,000. It has recently been placed on the market for offers over £ 245,000.
Mrs McDonough had just £239 held in three bank accounts and her only other asset was a Vauxhall Astra car valued at £4270.
The women arrived at the hotel at 3.50pm on May 9, left a short time later and returned between 12.30am and 1am the next day.
Death certificates showed Nicola died in Glasgow's Royal Infirmary on May 13 and her mother in Inverclyde Hospital on May 10.
The sole cause of Mrs McDonough's death was listed as "incised wounds of the left arm" and Nicola's was a single wound of the left arm. Both certificates were lodged on June 4, with the causes of death identified by forensic pathologist Dr Julia Bell. The documents made no mention of claims the women had overdosed on paracetamol.
The pair had been reported missing 17 hours before they were discovered at the hotel. The alarm was raised when Mrs McDonough had failed to pick up her foster son from nursery.
Mrs McDonough was found dead in a bedroom while her injured daughter was found in a hallway. She died in hospital before police could question her over what happened.
Police were said to be baffled by the severity of their injuries.
It remains unclear why the two women had decided to stay in a hotel 17 miles from their home in Paisley.
Speaking in June, Mrs McDonough's brother William Shanks said the deaths remained a mystery. He said: "Margaret and Nicola were always very caring and cheerful. They were best friends and always out together.
"Margaret had just adopted a wee boy and had just bought a jacket for him the week before for starting school. I'm very upset. I can't really understand it."
The pair were laid to rest at St Mirin's Cathedral in their hometown in June.
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