A police statement has revealed knowledge a witness had of plans of the accused in the Steven Donaldson murder trial to run another man off the road.
Nicola Matthews said she heard Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson talking about Sam Wilkie – with whom she had a child before returning to long-term boyfriend Dickie.
The murder accused are charged with threatening Wilkie over a period of more than four years.
On the third day of the Edinburgh High Court murder trial, Miss Matthews was cross examined by Ian Duguid, representing Dickie, about a statement she gave to police on June 13, 11 days after 27-year-old Mr Donaldson’s body was found at Kinnordy Loch nature reserve just before 5am.
Dickie and Davidson, both 24, along with 20-year-old Tasmin Glass deny murdering Mr Donaldson by attacking him and setting him on fire in June last year.
The two men also face a number of other charges of assault and threatening behaviour.
The trial heard there was “bad feeling” between Dickie and Mr Wilkie and Miss Matthews told police: “I remember one time Steven and Callum came to my house, they were on about writing Sam off the road at the Kinnordy to Kingoldrum road.
“It was just Callum who was going to get a Jeep or vehicle and he would write Sam off the road. Whatever evidence they had, Callum would throw in Backwater reservoir.”
Mr Duguid asked the witness: “If I’m reading this correctly you were saying it was Callum Davidson who was saying he was going to write him off the road and throw the evidence in Backwater Dam, is that what you’re saying?” Miss Matthews said: “Yeah.”
“What is Steven Dickie’s involvement in this?” he asked. The witness said: “I can’t remember.”
She was also asked about an incident in which a family vehicle had been damaged by paint and it was suspected Sam Wilkie had been responsible.
During earlier evidence, Miss Matthews said Dickie, who was staying with her at the time, had gone to his BMW car, taken out an axe and driven off after threatening to “chop Sam’s head off”.
Questioned by Mr Duguid, she denied ever seeing an axe or weapons in the boot of the car, which she was insured to drive.
Mr Duguid asked her if she had phoned either the police or Mr Wilkie after Dickie drove off with the weapon and she said no.
“I just thought he was angry, I didn’t think he was going to do it,” she said.
The trial continues.
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