Three men are due to go on trial today accused of murdering a north-east dad outside a city nightclub.
Kiel Hauley, 33, Jonas Marcius, 22, and Adrian Morley, 33, are expected to appear at the High Court in Aberdeen this morning accused of murdering Craig Grant.
Prosecutors allege the trio assaulted Mr Grant at the entrance to the Galleria Shopping Centre.
When the men last appeared in court in July they all denied the charge against them.
Mr Grant died during an incident outside Tonik bar in the city’s Bon Accord Street between August 8 and 9 last year.
Paramedics battled to save him but he died at the scene.
The father-of-one had returned home from a trip working offshore only hours before he died.
Earlier that evening he had been socialising with friends near his home town at Kemnay before he left for town.
Mr Grant’s death certificate revealed that he died of mechanical asphyxia.
Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene at the shopping centre shortly before midnight on Thursday, August 8, 2013.
The time of his death was recorded on his death certificate as one minute past midnight.
Floral tributes to the former Alehousewells Primary and Kemnay Academy pupil were laid outside the bar, which remained closed the weekend after the incident.
At the time of his death, oil worker Mr Grant, 26, who was brought up in Kemnay, had only recently moved to Monymusk with his wife, Fiona, and seven-year-old son, Owen.
Mr Grant was a keen sportsman, golfer and a regular supporter of the Kemnay Youth amateur football team.
In a statement released after his death, his family said: “Craig always had time for his friends and would have done anything to help them. We know they will miss him greatly.
“He will be sorely missed and his loss will leave a hole in the lives of everyone who knew him.
“Craig was a devoted family man who was at his happiest when spending time with his son and wife.”
Mr Grant worked as a tool specialist for M-I Swaco for seven years.
A spokesman from the oil services company said: “On behalf of everyone at M-I Swaco, our heartfelt sorrow goes out to Craig’s wife and son for their loss.
“Craig joined M-I Swaco in 2006 and was well respected, both professionally and personally, by his colleagues and friends.”
The trial has been adjourned until tomorrow.
