A 21-year-old Scottish man, Kyler Rattray, has pleaded not guilty to the alleged racially aggravated murder of Zimbabwean scientist Dr Fortune Gomo, whose death last year sent shockwaves through Dundee and devastated her family, friends and colleagues.
Rattray appeared remotely before the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, October 12, where he denied murdering Gomo, 39, in an alleged knife attack near her home on South Road, Dundee, on July 5, 2025.
Prosecutors allege that Rattray repeatedly struck the scientist with a knife and that the attack was aggravated by prejudice relating to her race, colour, nationality or ethnicity. He also faces a separate charge of illegally possessing a knife in a public place. These allegations have yet to be tested at trial.
Defence counsel, Iain Paterson KC, told the court that a mental health assessment would be prepared in the coming months. He said Professor Simon Baron Cohen had been instructed to assess whether Rattray had autism and whether this might be relevant to a possible mental health defence concerning diminished responsibility.
The defence described the case as troubling. The trial has been scheduled to begin at the High Court in Dundee in January 2028 and is expected to last eight days.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Gomo graduated from the National University of Science and Technology before earning a PhD in Geography and Environmental Science from the University of Dundee. She subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research assistant before joining Scottish Water in February 2025 as a senior service planner in water resources planning.
Scottish Water’s director of environment planning and assurance, Professor Simon Parsons, described her as an exceptional scientist who had quickly become a highly valued and respected colleague.
Her former schoolmate and university friend, Angela Machonesa, remembered a woman whose intellectual brilliance was matched by her kindness, empathy and willingness to support others.
Gomo was also a wife and mother. Her death left her family facing an immeasurable loss, while tributes and community fundraising reflected the affection in which she was held.
