The alleged killer of a Dundee mum was seen outside her house the day before she died with “blood on her face”, a court has heard.
Siobhan Russell is standing trial accused of striking 36-year-old Marie Low on the body with a knife at Ballantrae Terrace on September 4 last year.
The 30-year-old yesterday appeared at the High Court in Aberdeen and denied the charges against her, claiming self-defence.
The court also heard that Ms Low had said she just wanted to get on with her life.
A witness, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the court she had seen an altercation between the accused and Ms Low the day before her alleged murder.
She said that she had been at the Spar shop on Ballindean Terrace and had witnessed the incident on her way back.
The witness said she had seen Ms Low and a man she knew as James arguing in the presence of Russell — and that she heard Ms Low shout “something about battering her lad”.
She said that Ms Low had “scratched” the man on the face during the argument and that Russell had made attempts to break up the altercation.
The witness said that she had then gone home but had gone to Marie Low’s flat later that day – and seen Russell outside.
She said: “She was shouting and yelling up at Marie’s house.
“She had blood on her face and on her lip.
“She was shouting up at Marie who was at the window.”
The court also heard evidence from Alison McFarlane, 36, a lifelong friend of Ms Low, who said she had attended the deceased’s home after becoming concerned at seeing Russell and her then partner James Duncan near to the home.
She told the court that she also knew Russell – due to her being from the Douglas area and having a son at the same school as her son.
The court had previously heard that Russell and Ms Low had been on good terms before their relationship deteriorated.
The court also heard allegations that Ms Low had assaulted Russell and also that she had struck James Duncan, then Russell’s partner, on the face with a key, in the days preceding her death.
Ms McFarlane said that she had visited Ms Low’s home following the confrontation — on September 3 — after she had seen Russell and her then partner James Duncan approaching the house earlier that afternoon.
She said: “We just had a blether and she told me that she couldn’t be bothered with any of the carry-on any more.
“She just wanted to get on with her life.
“She was fine that night, she just said that she couldn’t be bothered with all the fighting.”
She said that she had feared for Ms Low’s safety due to the ongoing friction between her and Russell and she attended “to make sure that Marie was okay”.The court had previously heard evidence from James Duncan and John Hodge – Marie Low’s partner of 20 years – regarding an altercation in the close area of Marie Low’s block.
The court had previously heard that Russell and Ms Low had been on good terms before their relationship deteriorated.
The court also heard allegations that Ms Low had assaulted Russell and also that she had struck James Duncan, then Russell’s partner, on the face with a key, in the days preceding her death.
Russell, formerly of Ballantrae Terrace, faces two charges.
The first alleges she behaved in a threatening or abusive manner towards Ms Low by uttering threats towards her on September 2 and September 3 2016.
The second accuses Russell of stabbing Ms Low to death with a knife or similar instrument on September 4.
The trial continues.
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