A murder accused was not “taking things seriously” in the early stages of a lengthy police interview which led to him being charged over the killing of Arbroath man Steven Donaldson.
Steven Dickie was questioned for more than five hours at Dundee police HQ, a week on from the discovery of 27-year-old Mr Donaldson’s body at Loch of Kinnordy RSPB reserve.
Dickie, Callum Davidson and Tasmin Glass all deny murdering Mr Donaldson by attacking him and setting fire to him and his car on June 6 or 7 last year.
On day 12 of the Edinburgh High Court trial, a police witness was cross-examined about the interview he and a colleague conducted with Dickie, which ran into the early hours of June 15.
Sergeant Nicolas Searle agreed with a suggestion by defence advocate Jonathan Crowe, counsel for Davidson, that in the initial stages of the lengthy interview, Dickie was being “flippant and somewhat disrespectful” towards the police officers.
“He wasn’t taking things seriously,” Mr Searle told the court.
The officer agreed that in his interview, Dickie said he saw Davidson lunge through the window of a white car parked at Kirrie Hill, but he did not see Davidson hit Mr Donaldson, and did not know where the BMW had gone from the car park.
The witness also referred to a point in the statement when Dickie was asked about calls from Glass, including one just after 11pm on June 6.
Dickie told police in the interview: “I maybe phoned her to find out what the **** was going on, I don’t think she answered.”
Mr Crowe asked: “Did it cross your mind that Mr Dickie might have an interest in protecting himself with some of the things he was telling you?”
“Yes,” replied the witness.
The court heard earlier Dickie had agreed with a police question that the incident was a trap which had gone “wrong”, during the course of his interview.
When asked by police what he was scared of, Dickie replied: “Just everything. I don’t want to go to jail.”
He was charged with the murder of Mr Donaldson just before 5.30am and responded: “I understand the charge.
“I did not murder him, I did not hit him.”
The trial continues.
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