Murder victim may have tried to f lee attackers, court hears

Juror faints while being shown graphic photographs of autopsy

AN oil worker may have tried to flee his attackers before being chased and bludgeoned to death, a court heard yesterday.

Tasmin Glass, the dead man’s girlfriend, is on trial along with Callum Davidson and Steven Dickie, accused of murdering Steven Donaldson.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, a forensic scientist said it was possible Mr Donaldson, 27, had tried to run away from his attackers and suffered defensive injuries.

During an intense day of evidence, a juror fainted as graphic images were shown of the autopsy on Mr Donaldson’s body.

Sarah Milne, a forensic scientist at the Scottish Police Authority, told the court blood spots from Mr Donaldson had been found on a T-shirt belonging to Davidson.

Glass, 20, Dickie, 23, and Davidson, 23, all deny murdering Mr Donaldson between June 6 and 7 last year.

They allegedly arranged to meet him at the Peter Pan Play Park in Kirriemuir, Angus, before assaulting him ‘whereby he was incapacitated’, then transporting him to the car park at the nearby Loch of Kinnordy Nature Reserve.

The charge says they then repeatedly struck him on the head and body with a knife, baseball bat or similar instruments and on the head and neck with ‘an unknown heavy, bladed instrument’ and set fire to him and his car.

His body and burnt-out BMW were found around 5am on June 7.

Miss Milne said blood spots had been found the length of the car park leading on to the main road where there was a pool of blood.

A second, larger pool of blood was found next to Mr Donaldson’s body beside the BMW.

Prosecutor Ashley Edwards, QC, asked whether the pattern was consistent with Mr Donaldson running before being chased, assaulted and dragged back through the car park.

Miss Milne responded: ‘Yes, it could.’

Earlier, when the graphic autopsy images were shown to the jury and counsel, they were so extreme that television screens in the public gallery were turned off. Judge Lord Pentland halted proceedings for 50 minutes after the jury member collapsed.

Forensic pathologist Helen Brownlow had been giving evidence at the time.

She told Miss Edwards that Mr Donaldson had died as a consequence of sustaining stab wounds to his neck.

She said that a ‘sword, machete, cleaver or an axe’ could have been used.

The prosecutor asked her how Mr Donaldson would have died.

Dr Brownlow said that ‘chop like’ blows had been inflicted on his neck and had severed his spinal cord in two places.

The trial continues.

‘Sword, machete, cleaver or an axe’