The jury in the Steven Donaldson trial will consider only the charge of murder.
At the conclusion of Crown and defence evidence on the 19th day of the Edinburgh High Court trial against Steven Dickie, Callum Davidson and Tasmin Glass, Crown prosecutor Ashley Edwards QC indicated she was dropping five charges on the indictment against the two male accused.
An allegation against Dickie and Davidson that they abused a kitten at Lochore in Fife was dropped.
Dickie and Davidson had also faced two charges of threatening men by following them and presenting weapons on dates between 2014 and 2018, and staring at a woman and kicking her car in Kirriemuir between August 2017 and April last year.
Davidson had been accused of assaulting a man at the house in the Angus town’s Glengate, and Dickie of assaulting a woman in the Ogilvy Arms pub between February 1 and 28 last year.
Trial judge Lord Pentland formally acquitted Dickie and Davidson of the five charges.
He told the jury that although the charges against the two men had been withdrawn, the panel of eight women and seven men were entitled to take evidence before them into account in their deliberations on the remaining charge of murder.
All three accused continue to deny murdering 27-year-old oil worker Mr Donaldson on June 6 or 7 last year after attacking him at Kirriemuir’s Peter Pan playpark, and then further attacking him with a baseball bat and knife and a heavy bladed instrument at Loch of Kinnordy, near Kirriemuir and setting fire to him and his car.
The advocate depute will begin her summing up in the case on Tuesday afternoon, followed by submissions by counsel for the three accused.
Following an address by Lord Pentland, the jury will then consider to retire to consider their verdict.
