Murder accused Callum Davidson told his uncle “he’s left him for dead” in a 1am phone call just hours after borrowing a baseball bat from him a court was told.
The claim was made on the fourth day of a murder trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Davidson and co-accused Steven Dickie and Tasmin Glass, all from Kirriemuir, are accused of murdering Arbroath oil worker Steven Donaldson between June 6 and 7 last year.
Michael Davidson told police his nephew said he had “punched the guy a couple of times and been scratched on the nose by the boy”.
However, he said he had nothing to do with the discovery of Mr Donaldson’s remains at the Angus beauty spot.
Michael Davidson’s evidence was the subject of a police interview taken by Detective Constable David Budd.
The court heard Mr Davidson gave an initial statement to police on June 11 in which he said his nephew had not been at his house on the night of June 6.
Following further inquiries, police reinterviewed 30-year-old Mr Davidson at his work in Forfar on June 27 and he made the baseball bat admission.
He told DC Budd the murder accused had come to his house some time after 9pm on June 6, adding: “When Callum first came in I would say he was a bit agitated.
“The bother with the guy was because Tasmin was due him money.
“Callum asked me if he could take a baseball bat that was lying at my bedroom door.”
He then told the detective about a phone call he received from his nephew just after 1am.
“I remember Callum saying something like ‘he’s left him for dead’ when I asked him what the craic was,” his statement continued.
He then said in the interview he had phoned his nephew later on June 7, adding: “Callum didn’t let on anything other than he had punched the guy a couple of times and that Callum had been scratched on the nose by the boy.”
Cross-examined by Davidson’s defence advocate Jonathan Crowe about whether Callum was speaking about himself or someone else when he said “he’s left him for dead”, the witness replied: “From what you’ve just read, someone else.”
The trial also heard that Glass was “actively trying” to get pregnant to her boyfriend Mr Donaldson in the weeks before his death. Mr Donaldson had confided in one of his closest pals he thought the then teenager was expecting, and Glass then told the friend that she believed a baby would bring the couple closer together.
The trial continues.
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