A witness has told a High Court jury he saw murder accused Tasmin Glass’s car and a “sporty” white BMW together near Kirriemuir’s Peter Pan play park just hours before the discovery of Arbroath man Steven Donaldson’s battered and burnt body.
The sighting came minutes after both Glass’s Vauxhall and Mr Donaldson’s BMW 1 Series were picked up on various CCTV cameras in Kirriemuir, each following a similar route through the town within minutes of the other around 11pm.
Mechanic Alec Stewart had been parked up in the main car park at Kirrie Hill on the night of June 6 last year, watching music videos on his mobile phone.
He told the trial he saw an “awful 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, all of Kirriemuir, who deny attacking 27-year-old Arbroath oil worker Mr Donaldson, setting him on fire and murdering him on June 6 or 7 last year.
The witness told advocate depute Ashley Edwards the BMW stayed only a minute or two when he saw it for the second time going into the overflow parking area opposite where he was sitting.
Court hears murder accused hit Steven Donaldson so hard with baseball bat that it broke
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 50mph leaving the car park.
Jurors were also 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 Callum Davidson was the front seat passenger in Glass’s Corsa at the time it was captured on CCTV.
The trial, before Lord Pentland and a jury of eight women and seven men, continues.
THE CHARGES
The charge faced by all three accused alleges that between June 6 and 7 2018 at the Peter Pan playpark, Kirriemuir and Loch of Kinnordy nature reserve car park, they assaulted Mr Donaldson and arranged to meet him with the intention of assaulting him, and once there repeatedly struck him on the head and body with unknown instruments whereby he was incapacitated, and thereafter 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, 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, presenting weapons and acting in a threatening manner.
They are also charged with putting a kitten in a bag in Main Street, Lochore, Fife on an occasion between February 1 and May 31 2017, swinging the bag about and punching and kicking the kitten; 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 by pushing him to the floor and threatening 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 by seizing her by the wrist and neck and threatening her with violence.
