Murder accused Callum Davidson was seen riding his bike at a “leisurely pace” in Kirriemuir town centre less than three hours before Steven Donaldson’s beaten and burned body was found at a nature reserve near the town, High Court jurors have heard.
A police CCTV expert said a camera picked up Davidson travelling along Reform Street two minutes before 2am on June 7 last year.
PC David Budd, who was the CCTV co-ordinator in the Donaldson inquiry, also told the trial he believes two of the accused were seen on camera in a car having a “debate” over which route to take to Kirriemuir Hill on the night of the alleged killing.
Under questioning by Crown prosecutor, advocate depute Ashley Edwards, Mr Budd was asked how Davidson looked on the mountain bike.
“It’s a leisurely pace I’d say,” he replied.
“He is moving from side to side on a bike, not in a hurry.”
On the tenth day of evidence, the court also heard accused Tasmin Glass and Callum Davidson were captured at 11pm in Glass’s Vauxhall Corsa, coming up to a junction close to Davidson’s home.
Mr Budd said arm movements in the car led him to the view that the pair were deciding which way to turn at the Elm Street junction with Kirrie’s Brechin Road.
Jurors were also shown a clip of two people walking in the area of Kirrie Den half an hour after midnight the following morning.
They have already been presented with a joint minute of agreement detailing movements of Glass’s orange Corsa and deceased Mr Donaldson’s white BMW 1 Series on various streets in Kirriemuir on the evening of June 6 last year.
The 27-year-old’s charred and badly beaten body was found at Kinnordy Loch nature reserve on the outskirts of the Angus town just before 5am the following morning.
Referring to a CCTV clip of Glass’s car – with her driving and Davidson in the front passenger seat – from the Brechin Road junction recorded just after 11pm, Mr Budd said: “It stops at the junction.
“From what I can see there is a discussion, there are some hand movements, to make it clear you can turn right to go to Kirrie Hill or go left. It looks like there is some sort of debate.”
The car turned left at the junction and was then picked up in other Kirriemuir streets, including by a camera close to Glass’s home heading in the direction of Kirrie Hill.
The court was then played a 00.36 hours CCTV clip from a private property in the vicinity of Tannage Brae.
Mr Budd said it showed two figures emerging from the area of Kirrie Den and then walking in the direction of the Kirrie health centre car park.
“They appear to be following each other,” he told the court.
The advocate depute asked: “Were you able to distinguish anything more on where those figures went?”
The witness replied: “There is only one option there and it is up the steps to the one-way system.”
The trial continues.
THE CHARGES
The charge faced by the accused Steven Dickie, Callum Davidson and Tasmin Glass alleges that between June 6 and 7 2018 at the Peter Pan playpark, Kirriemuir and Loch of Kinnordy nature reserve car park, they assaulted Mr Donaldson and arranged to meet him with the intention of assaulting him, and once there repeatedly struck him on the head and body with unknown instruments whereby he was incapacitated, and thereafter 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, 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, presenting weapons and acting in a threatening manner.
They are also charged with putting a kitten in a bag in Main Street, Lochore, Fife on an occasion between February 1 and May 31 2017, swinging the bag about and punching and kicking the kitten; 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, by pushing him to the floor and threatening 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 by seizing her by the wrist and neck and threatening her with violence.
