Coutts was accused in 1649 of causing the death of John Symington and injuring another man's leg. The charges came after Symington died following a quarrel with her, and his mother started the accusations. The Wikipedia account says they appear rooted in personal grudges. When she refused to confess, the witch pricker George Cathie was brought in. By torture and pricking he obtained a confession of a pact with the devil, and then used her as a star witness, parading her round Peebles, Biggar, Lanark and Jedburgh to identify about eighty eight more suspects.
Clergy noticed contradictions in her testimony. On 10 January 1650 she admitted in tears that Cathie had enticed her with promises of a longer life if she made false accusations, and that he did it for money. The hunt ended quickly. Forty eight accused were cleared, Cathie's career was effectively over, and Coutts was strangled and burned on Venlaw Hill some time between January and April 1650. Her trial had been held on 21 November 1649.
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