A murder accused looked shocked when his alleged accomplice asked him to “deal” with the money issues she had with her boyfriend, a court was told.
Claire Ogston, 21, told a jury how Steven Dickie, 24, reacted when Tasmin Glass, 20, spoke to him about financial issues she was having with her partner Steven Donaldson.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Glass was worried about not being able to pay a sum of money back to Mr Donaldson, 27.
Miss Ogston said Glass admitted she was a “wee bit scared” of Mr Donaldson and what he’d do if she didn’t repay him.
The court had earlier heard that Mr Donaldson, of Arbroath, had bought Glass a car which she wrote off.
But on the evening of June 6 last year, Glass told Dickie and Callum Davidson, 24, that she needed help dealing with Mr Donaldson.
Miss Ogston, who had a child with Mr Davidson, said she was there when Glass made the request.
Miss Ogston said: “She got herself a bit worked up and asked Steven if he could deal with it. Steven Dickie didn’t respond. He looked a wee bit shocked.”
Miss Ogston, of Kirriemuir, was giving evidence on the fifth day of proceedings against Dickie, Davidson and Glass.
The trio – who all come from the Kirriemuir area – deny murdering Mr Donaldson in the town between June 6 and June 7 last year.
Miss Ogston told advocate depute Ashley Edwards QC that she spent the evening of June 6 with the three accused.
Miss Ogston said that Glass was “anxious” and a “little bit agitated” about having to pay Mr Donaldson back.
She added: “She was quite scared of him and what would happen if she couldn’t pay him back.”
The following morning Miss Ogston went to work and saw on Facebook that a body had been found in Kirriemuir.
She said that later in the day she, Davidson and Dickie agreed to tell the same story to the police if they were asked any questions about the discovery of the body.
She said: “We would say we had been swimming, came back and the boys went to get beer.”
The court heard the police spoke to Miss Ogston on a number of occasions and she told them the swimming story.
But she then changed her story and told detectives the version she gave in court. When asked by Ms Edwards why she changed her mind, Miss Ogston replied: “It all got a bit too much so I told them all that I know. I was scared about what was going to happen to me – if there would be a backlash against me and that would affect me walking about the streets of Kirriemuir.”
The court heard that Glass, Dickie and Davidson were then detained by police.
The trial continues.
The charges
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.
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