An Angus farm worker accused of murdering his girlfriend in her kitchen told a police officer at the scene he was in the shower when he heard a “thump”, a trial has heard.
Keith Rizzo is standing trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of stabbing and choking Neomi Smith, 23, at her Brechin flat on June 9 last year.
The court previously heard the care worker’s unresponsive and bloodied body was found by emergency workers in the Swan Street property after they were called by a neighbour at around 1am.
After arriving to find Rizzo outside in bare feet which were bloodied, constable Stuart Gillies told the court he was placed inside a police car.
He said while inside the 23-year-old asked him repeatedly if Miss Smith was alive, before adding: “Have you ever held your wife or girlfriend in your arms while she died?”
He then said the accused told him he heard a “thump or bang” while in the shower before he “found her on the floor”.
Mr Gillies said: “Later, I was instructed to arrest and caution him on suspicion of murder by my Sergeant and a CID officer. He reacted angrily and quite violently.
“He pushed his arms out and I thought he was going to punch me.
“He was shouting and swearing. Due to his conduct, he was taken to the ground.”
According to the witness, after being placed in the back of a police van, Rizzo then asked: “Why would I stab my girlfriend?”
When taken to the charge bar at the police’s Bell Street HQ in Dundee, Rizzo was found to have scratches to his lower back and a graze to his elbow, the witness said.
According to Mr Gillies, Rizzo said he had suffered the injuries during his arrest.
Defending, Donald Findlay QC, questioned why there are differences between words in his notebook used at the time of the interaction with Rizzo and an operational statement written around three hours later.
Mr Gillies said time constraints and safety concerns can often prevent notes from being taken until some time after.
He added it was a “mistake” not to copy the notes verbatim from his notebook and described it as a “schoolboy error” he couldn’t change.
Rizzo denies the charges.
The trial continues.
