Murder accused: Patti owed me a lot of money
A man accused of murdering a missing Paisley woman told police he thought she’d done a“runner” with money she owed him.
George Metcalff said he feared Patricia Henry had fled with a four-figure sum.
The 72-year-old added he had “no idea” where she was while he was quizzed by police probing the disappearance of the mum.
Metcalff denies murdering the 46-yearold - known as Patti - on November 13, 2017.
The court heard from DS Stuart Grainger, who told jurors he was present when Metcalff gave his police statement while Patti’s missing persons inquiry was ongoing in April 2018.
In it, Metcalff told the officers that he and Patti were “just friends” and were not involved in a sexual relationship.
He claimed that Patti lived above him ten years before in Paisley, but the flat “lay empty for months”.
It was stated that Patti moved into a private let in Girvan, with Metcalff agreeing to be the guarantor, paying £700 for the deposit and first month’s rent in October 2017.
He added: “Patti would sort out her housing benefit and would get my money back.”
Metcalff claimed Patti got upset during a visit and was told by her that she wanted to go back to Gran Canaria on November 11, 2017.
He said he went to her flat the following day to drop off cat litter before the landlord called on November 13 to say he could not reach Patti to arrange for a cooker to be delivered.
Metcalff claimed he went to Girvan again in order to “tell her about the cooker” that was to be installed on November 17.
He told officers that he cleaned up the flat and took out £250 from a cash machine for her.
Later, he told cops: “Patti owed me quite a lot of money - £1,600 or £1,700, which was for holidays she had been on.”
He added that he had told a neighbour he hoped Patti had not “done a runner”.
Metcalff said he was given a key by the landlord’s handy man and claimed to have returned the key, but went back on other occasions in December and January to tidy up the flat.
He told officers: “I have no idea were Patti is and I have not helped her disappear.
“My opinion is she has skipped town and I don’t think she has come to any harm.
“The police have asked me if Patti had any injuries when I last saw her and she didn’t.”
Jurors heard from analyst Shaun Tooney who told jurors the pair were in repeated phone contact in the early hours of November 13.
Patti was shown to remain in her home while the phone attributed to Metcalff was spotted in the Ayrshire and Paisley areas.
Mr Tooney stated that when Metcalff used Patti’s card to take out money in Girvan, his phone was transmitting to his home address.
The last outgoing call from Patti was to Metcalff after midday on November 13.
Metcalff was shown to have made two voice calls to Patti on November 14 which went to voicemail.
It was revealed the pair made 54 text messages and 143 calls to each other between November 1 and 13.
The car attributed to Metcalff was also spotted close to Girvan at 9.23pm and didn’t hit a transmitter again until 11.02pm when it headed north on November 15.
Iain McSporran QC, defending, asked: “The allegation was he murdered her on the 13th, he phoned her twice on the 14th, is that what the data says?”
Mr Tooney replied: “Yes.”
The trial continues before judge Lord Armstrong.