A man accused of a double murder sobbed as he told his father-in-law, “I’ve stabbed two people,” a jury has heard.
Norman Kinney, 68, said Robert Stratton was planning to flee to Glasgow after he allegedly murdered two people in Drumlanrig Drive in February.
The 43-year-old is accused of killing Julie McCash, 43, and David Sorrie, 32, by stabbing them following a family vigil for missing teenager Ralphie Smith.
Stratton has admitted stabbing the pair but says he’s not guilty of murder, lodging special defences of self-defence and incrimination in relation to the charges he faces — which includes two assaults and possession of cocaine.
Jurors at the High Court in Edinburgh heard Stratton called Mr Kinney, the dad of his partner Lee Kinney, at about 6.10am on February 26.
Stratton asked Mr Kinney, who has another daughter to called Jennifer, to collect him as there had been “trouble”.
Giving evidence, Mr Kinney said: “Robert phoned me at about 6.10am. He said there’s been trouble and he told me, ‘get Jennifer and get down to my house’.
“He burst out crying and said, ‘I’ve stabbed two people’. I went right down to the house. My main concern was for my daughter.”
He added: “I decided off my own back to leave the scene and drive up to Wickes where Robert was. He got in the car and said, ‘take me to Glasgow’.
“I dropped him off just off the Forfar Road and he got in another car.”
That car belonged to David Bell, who worked with Stratton at SGM Distribution.
The 53-year-old said he never socialised with Stratton but received a call from him claiming he had been involved in an “altercation” with Ms Kinney.
Mr Bell told advocate depute Alex Prentice QC: “He called me about 6.30am asking if I would pick him up.
“He got out a blue car, I didn’t see who was in the car. He said, ‘I’ve fallen out with my wife, I need to get away’.
“I just thought he was needing to cool off. I was naive to the whole situation.”
He took Stratton — who denies all the charges — to his own home for half-an-hour then dropped him at Birkhill Cemetery as he wanted to visit his mother. The trial continues.
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