A woman has told a murder trial how she discovered the body of a man hours after seeing him alive looking “very chilled” and “chuffed” during a social gathering.
Louise Anderson,42, said she phoned for the police after finding Christopher Cowie lying on the floor of his home in Golfdrum Street, Dunfermline, in October 2019.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Ms Anderson say that hours earlier, she had visited Mr Cowie at the property and that he looked “very chilled” and “relaxed”.
But Ms Anderson, also of Dunfermline, told jurors that when she returned hours later, Mr Cowie was lying dead on the floor.
Describing the moment, she found Mr Cowie, the mum-of-three told prosecution lawyer Graeme Jessop: “I saw Chris sitting on the living room floor with his head tilted back against the couch.
“I saw broken glass everywhere. I saw blood and a thing around his neck.
“His head was tilted back. I went over to him.”
When Mr Jessop asked Ms Anderson what happened next, she replied: “I phoned 999 when he wasn’t breathing.
“I realised he was was dead. He had a gash on his leg.”
Ms Anderson was giving evidence on Wednesday on the second day of proceedings against Jason Mooney,27, and Lynn Kelly, 35.
The two, also of Dunfermline, deny murdering Mr Cowie on October 15 2019.
On Wednesday, Ms Anderson told the court of how she had spent the day before Mr Cowie’s death visiting her mum in Crail, Fife.
She then visited a friend in nearby Pittenweem before going to visit Mr Cowie in the early hours of the morning.
Ms Anderson told the court that she had known Mr Cowie for six years. She said that Mr Cowie had people over at his house and he appeared to be enjoying their company.
Ms Anderson added: “He looked very chilled and relaxed. He was quite chuffed that we came to see him.”
Ms Anderson said that she left Mr Cowie’s home. The court heard that she returned later on to find Mr Cowie lying on the floor.
When Mr Jessop asked her if anything was different about Chris from the last time she had seen him, she replied: “He didn’t have his trainers on. He didn’t have his jeans on. He had a different top on.”
The jury then heard a recording of a telephone call that Ms Anderson made to the emergency services and asked for the police to attend.
PC Simon Rose, 47, told the court that he and a colleague were the first police officers to arrive at Mr Cowie’s flat.
“They arrived around six am and he said a towel had been wrapped around Mr Cowie’s left thigh.
He also said there was blood lying around Mr Cowie’s body and there was broken glass lying around the living room.
Mr Mooney and Ms Kelly are facing a total of seven charges. Jurors heard the contents of a legal document detailing the charges at the start of proceedings on Tuesday.
Prosecutors claim that between October 13 and October 15 2019, at various locations in Dunfermline, the two accused were concerned in supplying cocaine and diamorphine – a substance otherwise known as heroin.
The second charge alleges that on October 14 2019, Ms Kelly stole a bottle of wine from a branch of the Co-Op supermarket in Dunfermline.
The third charges alleges that on October 15 2019, Mr Mooney assaulted Mr Cowie at his flat in Golfdrum Road, Dunfermline, by presenting a knife at him and threatening him with it.
Prosecutors claim in the fourth charge at both Mr Mooney and Ms Kelly assaulted Mr Cowie at his flat by striking him on the head with a mirror and hitting him on his body with a lamp. It is also alleged that that they struggled with him before repeatedly punching and kicking him on the head and body.
Prosecutors then claim that both accused struck him on the leg with a piece of broken mirror “or similar object” before “failing to summon emergency medical assistance” for Mr Cowie.
It is alleged that as a result of their actions, both Mr Mooney and Ms Kelly murdered Mr Cowie.
The fifth charge alleges that on October 15 2019, both Mr Mooney and Ms Kelly stole an X Box games console, a Laptop, a Kindle tablet, a hoover, watches, a holdall, foreign currency, bank cards and gift cards from Mr Cowie’s property.
Prosecutors also claim that on October 18 2019, at room six of the James Bank Hostel in Dunfermline, Mr Mooney breached the Firearms Act by possessing a “prohibited weapon”.
It’s claimed that this item was an “irritant spray canister designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid, gas or thing”.
The seventh charge claims that Mr Mooney possessed this item on the same date and at the same location without having a firearms certificate and that this caused him to also breach the Firearms Act.
The two accused have entered not guilty pleas to all charges. Mr Mooney is represented by solicitor advocate John Scott QC whilst Ms Kelly is represented by Mark Stewart QC.
The trial, before judge Lord Beckett, continues.
