A witness told a High Court jury he saw murder accused Tasmin Glass’s car and a white BMW together in a Kirriemuir playpark hours before alleged victim Steven Donaldson’s body was discovered.
The sighting came minutes after both Glass’s Vauxhall and Mr Donaldson’s BMW 1 Series were picked up on CCTV cameras in Kirriemuir within minutes of each other around 11pm.
Mechanic Alec Stewart had been parked up in the main car park at Kirrie hill on the night of June 6.
He told the trial he saw a “sporty” BMW come into the car park and pass in front of him, but turn around and then leave immediately.
Minutes later, the same car re-appeared and went into the overflow car park where it illuminated an orange Vauxhall Corsa, which Mr Stewart recognised as the car owned by Glass.
Mr Stewart, 20, was giving evidence on the sixth day of the trial of 20-year-old Glass and 24-year-olds Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson, who deny murdering Mr Donaldson.
The witness told advocate depute Ashley Edwards the BMW stayed only “a minute” when he saw it for the second time.
Mr Stewart said it had been driving “normally” when he saw it arrive and leave the car park the first time, and then normally again when it re-appeared. The prosecutor asked: “how about when it left?”
The witness replied: “It was speeding,” estimating it could have been travelling at 50 miles per hour leaving the car park.
Jurors were shown a series of CCTV clips covering the period from around 10.45pm to just after 11pm on June 6, showing Mr Donaldson’s distinctive BMW 1 Series, registered S73 VED, and Glass’s Corsa taking a similar route through Kirriemuir town centre and turning up The Roods.
Agreed evidence already presented to the jury has confirmed the two vehicles as being owned by the deceased and the accused.
It has also been agreed that co-accused Davidson was the front seat passenger in Glass’s Corsa at the time it was captured on CCTV. The trial continues.
The charge faced by all three accused – Tasmin Glass, Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson – alleges that between June 6 and 7 2018 at the Peter Pan playpark, Kirriemuir, and Loch of Kinnordy nature reserve car park, they arranged to meet Mr Donaldson with the intention of harming him and assaulted him.
Once there, they repeatedly struck him on the head and body with unknown instruments whereby he was incapacitated.
Thereafter, they took him to Loch of Kinnordy where they repeatedly struck him on the head and body with a knife and baseball bat or similar instruments, then repeatedly struck him on the head and neck with an unknown heavy bladed instrument and set fire to him and his motor vehicle, registered S73 VED, and murdered him.
Dickie and Davidson face four other charges including one of behaving in a threatening manner towards two men between January 2014 and June 2018 by making threats, following them on foot and in a motor vehicle.
They are also charged with putting a kitten in a bag in Main Street, Lochore, Fife, during an incident between February 1 and May 31 2017, swinging the bag about and punching and kicking the kitten. Another charge includes behaving in a threatening manner towards a man in St Malcolm’s Wynd,
Kirriemuir, and elsewhere between December 1 2017 and February 28 2018 by following him on foot and in a vehicle, and threatening him with weapons.
Both also deny following and staring at a woman and kicking her car in Kirriemuir between August 1 2017 and April 31 2018.
Davidson faces a further charge of assaulting a man between June 1 2017 and December 31 2017 at a house in Glengate, Kirriemuir.
He allegedly pushed him to the floor and threatened to punch him.
Dickie is also accused of assaulting a woman at the Ogilvy Arms pub in Kirriemuir between February 1 and 28 last year. he allegedly seized her by the wrist and neck and threatened her with violence.
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