‘Perfect murder’ claim in trial
Accused’s sister says brother made open confession to her over killing
THE sister of a man accused of murdering a restaurant worker almost 18 years ago has told a jury he claimed to have got away with the perfect murder.
Margaret Chisholm, 57, was giving evidence at the trial of Ronnie Coulter, 48, from Wishaw, who denies stabbing to death Surjit Singh Chhokar in Overtown, North Lanarkshire, on November 4, 1998.
She told prosecutor Alex Prentice, QC, that hours after her brother was cleared of murdering Chhokar in 1999 he came to her home in Overtown, Lanarkshire.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Mr Prentice asked her: “Why was he there?”
Mrs Chisholm replied: “Because he’d just been found not guilty. He was sitting on the floor in the living room leaning against a radiator.” Mr Prentice: “What did he say?” Mrs Chisholm: “He said, ‘I’ve just got away with the perfect murder.’”
Mrs Chisholm also told the court her brother said: “He took one off me, so I took one off him.” She said she believed this was a reference to God and the fact Coulter had a baby girl that was stillborn.
Mr Prentice also asked her about a visit she made to her brother in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, while on remand for murder in 1998 or 1999.
He asked if she had asked him anything and Mrs Chisholm replied: “If he done it. If it was him that done Chhokar.”
Mr Prentice asked whether he answered her. She replied: “He said ‘Mmhmm.’ He never said aye or nah.”
She said that was all she could remember about their conversation in the prison.
Mr Prentice showed her a transcript for her son’s Andrew Coulter’s murder trial in 2000, in which she had said her brother told her he had stabbed Mr Chhokar.
He then asked: “Did you tell the truth on oath when you gave evidence in that trial?” and she answered: “Yes.”
Mrs Chisholm said Coulter phoned her from prison while he was on remand and asked her to search for a tammy with a knife wrapped inside it on the old railway line between Overtown and Gowkthrapple.
She said: “I went with my daughter Rona and my son Andrew, but with no intentions of finding them. It was freezing. We took the dog for a walk.”
Mrs Chisholm claimed that in an earlier phone call her brother asked her to go to Wishaw market, along with his former girlfriend Alexandra Tierney, to buy a box of knives. She was asked what she was to do with the box of knives and replied: “Take the smallest one out and put it in Ronnie’s cutlery drawer.” The court was told she never did this, but kept the box of knives.
Coulter, his nephew Andrew Coulter and David Montgomery went to Chhokar’s home in Overtown, to speak to him about a cheque that had allegedly been stolen from him, the court has heard.
Ronnie Coulter stood trial for Mr Chhokar’s murder in 1999 and was cleared and the two other men were tried in 2000 and cleared.
Ronnie Coulter has lodged a special defence to the murder charge blaming his nephew and Montgomery. Ronnie Coulter denies all the charges against him and the trial continues.