Suspect ‘confessed’ to neighbour
A MURDER accused told a former neighbour “I killed the old man”.
Thomas Muir, 59, claimed Peter Telfer told him he had stabbed an old man twice and cut the straps on a woman’s bag and robbed her.
Mr Muir told jurors at the High Court in Glasgow he was terrified and barricaded his door.
The witness was giving evidence at the trial of Telfer, who is accused of murdering 76-year-old John Baker on June 29, last year, in Calton.
A MURDER accused told a former neighbour “I killed the old man”.
Thomas Muir, 59, claimed Peter Telfer told him he had stabbed an old man twice and cut the straps on a woman’s bag and robbed her.
He said he was threatened by Telfer not to tell anybody or he would return and “get him”.
Mr Muir told jurors at the High Court in Glasgow he was terrified and barricaded his door.
The witness was giving evidence at the trial of Telfer who is accused of murdering 76-year-old John Baker on June 29, last year, in Calton.
Telfer is also accused of assaulting and attempting to rob shop worker Owaisuddin Siddique at the Day-Top on Shettleston Road and carrying a knife on June 24.
He also faces a string of charges including behaving in a threatening or abusive man- ner at various streets in Glasgow city centre and assaulting and robbing two women of their handbags, on June 28.
The 25-year-old allegedly attempted to defeat the ends of justice as well being charged with possessing cannabis.
Mr Muir said Telfer went to his house wearing new clothes and he asked Telfer where he got the money.
The jury heard Telfer told him he robbed people.
Mr Muir said: “I just said that’s a bad thing to do.”
Advocate depute Iain McSporran QC, prosecuting, asked: “Did he tell you anything else?”
Mr Muir replied: “He told me he murdered a man.”
He claimed Telfer showed him a kitchen knife and said it was one similar to that, that he had used.
Mr Muir said Telfer told him “You tell anybody else I will come back and get you” and he told the court “the first thing I did was barricade my door”.
He said he told his doctor five or six days later and he was contacted by police and gave a statement.
The witness accepted his memory was better at the time of the statement and that he would have been telling the truth.
Excerpts were read out which he agreed was what he said to officers.
He said: “I asked Peter where he got it from, Peter told me he robbed a woman and he had cut the straps of an older woman’s bag and stole the money.”
A further part of the statement read out was: “Peter then said ‘I killed the old man’ I then asked ‘what did you do that for?’”
During cross-examination by defence QC Thomas Ross, Mr Muir denied being told by Telfer he got his new clothes from a catalogue.
But, another passage from his police statement that said “I asked him where he got the new gear from, he said ‘the catalogue’” was read to the court.
Mr Muir said: “If it’s on that piece of paper” and accepted that he wouldn’t have made it up.
Mr Ross suggested to Mr Muir that Telfer didn’t tell him anything killing or stabbing anyone but the witness said: “He said he killed the old man, yes.”
Telfer denies the charges and the trial before judge Lord Matthews continues.