A man who died in a north-east home told Aberdeenshire Council his housemate had been violent towards him and had broken his ribs.
Gary Crossan is on trial, accused of murdering Malcolm Wright at a property in Peter Buchan Drive in Peterhead in January.
The pair moved to the coastal port in September last year and shared a home together until the Christmas period.
After they fell out, Mr Wright left the home and registered as homeless with the local authority.
And yesterday, Aberdeen High Court heard that he told council officers his housemate had been violent towards him.
Carol Mitchell, who works as a housing officer for the Peterhead area, stated that Mr Wright came to her after being given temporary accommodation by the Salvation Army, while the council was closed over the Christmas period.
Advocate depute, Alan Cameron, asked her to look at a statement which he gave on January 4 this year.
He said: “Did you write that Malcolm was due to pay his half of the rent, Malcolm couldn’t pay it and Gary flipped his lid and told Malcolm to leave and put him out on the street with a holdall of clothes.
“Malcolm says Gary has been violent towards him before, says he has scars on his head due to Gary hitting him, and he had broken his ribs before.”
Miss Mitchell replied she had written these words.
Mr Cameron added: “Was that what he told you on January 4?”
She said that it was.
But defence counsel Shelagh McCall responded he had told her things that weren’t true.
She asked: “Did he tell you that Gary and Malcolm had been friends for about 18 months?”
Miss Mitchell said that he had.
She was then asked: “If we hear that they had known each other for 10 years, he must not have been telling you the truth.”
Miss Mitchell replied: “I only wrote down what he told me.”
Crossan is also accused of a string of other charges, including assaults and attempted murder against the same victim.
He denies all the charges.
The trial, before Lord Mathews, continues.
