Steven Donaldson’s charred corpse showed signs of being dragged across an Angus nature reserve car park before being placed under his car which was destroyed by fire, a court has heard.
A police forensic scientist told the jury at the High Court in Edinburgh Mr Donaldson’s feet and lower legs were burnt to the bone by a blaze so ferocious it left nothing of evidential value on the 27-year-old’s BMW.
Scottish Police Authority expert Louise Sonstebo said sand and gravel marks on the deceased’s lower body led her to conclude Mr Donaldson had been hauled from the public road across the length of the Kinnordy Loch car park by two people, one holding his feet and the other his upper body.
Tasmin Glass, 20, and 24-year-olds Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson deny murdering Mr Donaldson.
In harrowing testimony on the seventh day of the trial, Ms Sonstebo detailed investigations she carried out at the RSPB reserve near Kirriemuir following the June 7 discovery of Mr Donaldson’s beaten and burned body beside his vehicle.
Jurors were shown photographs of a pool and splatters of Mr Donaldson’s blood on the B951 Glenisla road near the entrance to the car park.
The witness said there was a drag mark through the gravel of the car park. Jurors were then shown drone footage of Mr Donaldson’s body lying beside the front corner of his vehicle.
The witness told the court: “The nature of the fire damage to the lower limbs is such that the feet and legs had been very close to the vehicle, probably into the wheel arch area prior to the fire starting.”
“The left foot of the victim was trapped under the frame of the vehicle,” she added, saying that was most likely a result of the tyres being completely burnt.
The scientist said Mr Donaldson had suffered heat damage to his clothing but it was not her opinion that he had been set on fire. She said it was more likely to be due to the close proximity to the burning vehicle.
The BMW was consumed by a blaze which could have taken half an hour to an hour to burn itself out, jurors were told.
“It was burnt completely back to the metal externally and internally,” the witness added.
She also explained to advocate depute Ashley Edwards that although the petrol tank would “flare” when the flames reached it, an explosion would be unlikely in such a situation because of the nature of the fire.
Ian Duguid QC, legal counsel for Dickie, put it to the witness that the opinion that two people had carried Mr Donaldson was an “extraordinary suggestion” in light of the deceased’s height and weight of 5ft 6in and about 13 stone.
Ms Sonstebo replied: “Once a body is immobile and not moving freely it is more difficult to transport.”
The trial continues.
Charges faced by Glass, Dickie and Davidson
The charge faced by all three accused – Tasmin Glass, Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson – alleges that between June 6 and 7 2018 at the Peter Pan playpark, Kirriemuir, and Loch of Kinnordy nature reserve car park, they arranged to meet Mr Donaldson with the intention of harming him and assaulted him. Once there, they repeatedly struck him on the head and body with unknown instruments whereby he was incapacitated. Thereafter, they took him to Loch of Kinnordy where they repeatedly struck him on the head and body with a knife and baseball bat or similar instruments, then repeatedly struck him on the head and neck with an unknown heavy bladed instrument and set fire to him and his motor vehicle, registered S73 VED, and murdered him.
Dickie and Davidson face four other charges including one of behaving in a threatening manner towards two men between January 2014 and June 2018 by making threats, following them on foot and in a motor vehicle.
They are also charged with putting a kitten in a bag in Main Street, Lochore, Fife, during an incident between February 1 and May 31 2017, swinging the bag about and punching and kicking the kitten.
Another charge includes behaving in a threatening manner towards a man in St Malcolm’s Wynd, Kirriemuir, and elsewhere between December 1 2017 and February 28 2018 by following him on foot and in a vehicle, and threatening him with weapons.
Both also deny following and staring at a woman and kicking her car in Kirriemuir between August 1 2017 and April 31 2018.
Davidson faces a further charge of assaulting a man between June 1 2017 and December 31 2017 at a house in Glengate, Kirriemuir.
He allegedly pushed him to the floor and threatened to punch him.
Dickie is also accused of assaulting a woman at the Ogilvy Arms pub in Kirriemuir between February 1 and 28 last year.
He allegedly seized her by the wrist and neck and threatened her with violence.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.