I suggest you are a liar
QC DISMISSES DEFENDANT’S VERSION OF EVENTS IN MURDER TRIAL
A SOLDIER accused of murdering his ex by slashing her throat offered to take a lie detector test when his version of events was challenged in court.
Lance Corporal Trimaan “Harry” Dhillon denies murdering Alice Ruggles in October.
He claims he drove from his barracks near Edinburgh to retrieve clothes from her, they rowed and she attacked him with a carving knife and died when she accidentally stabbed herself in the neck.
Richard Wright QC, cross-examining Dhillon at Newcastle Crown Court, said to him: “You broke in, caught her unawares, before she had time to react. Is that what you did?”
The 26-year-old signaller with the 2 Scots, who had taken courses to join the reconnaissance regiment of the SAS, denied it.
Mr Wright pointed out Dhillon was 6ft 1in and weighed 12-and-a-half stones, while Alice was just 5ft 2in and weighed three stones less.
Mr Wright said the 24-year-old Sky employee died after the knife was drawn against her neck six times, according to pathological evidence.
Dhillon, who was shown photographs of the bloodsoaked shower cubicle, said: “Right OK, so you are 100% sure the blood was from her neck, that I deliberately sliced her throat.
“If you are that confident why don’t you give me a lie detector, sir?”
Judge Paul Sloan QC told him: “That’s not how we conduct proceedings.”
Dhillon did not know how Alice, of Rawling Road, Bensham, Gateshead, suffered bruises to her chest, saying if he was so “clever”, he would have an explanation. Mr Wright said: “I don’t suggest you are clever. I suggest you are a liar.”
Dhillon agreed he felt “heartbroken” and “devastated” having seen his ex with the knife in her neck, which he claims happened when she lunged at him from the bathroom floor.
Mr Wright said despite having those feelings, Dhillon did not ring 999 to summon help for the woman he claimed to love. He claimed he tried to ring an ambulance, but said he panicked.
Mr Wright said Miss Ruggles suffered 24 injuries, while Dhillon had “not a single one from the knife”.
Mr Wright asked: “Did you ever consider you had done the worst job ever at protecting somebody from themselves?” Dhillon replied: “Yes.”
Dhillon, of Glencorse Barracks, in Scotland, denies murder. The trial continues.