A north-east dad who was allegedly murdered outside a city bar flopped “like a teddy bear” when police tried to sit him up, a court has heard.
Craig Grant died outside Tonik bar in Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Street between August 8 and 9 last year.
Bouncers Kiel Hauley, 33, Jonas Marcius, 23 and Adrian Morley, 33, are on trial at the High Court in Aberdeen accused of murdering the 26-year-old.
The men deny the charges against them and counsel for Hauley and Marcius have lodged a special defence of self defence.
Yesterday the court heard from two witnesses who claimed Mr Grant was “extremely drunk” and confrontational during the hour before his death.
Shaun Wheeldon said Mr Grant tried to start a fight with his friend after he saw him “flexing his muscles around the ladies”.
Stuart Downey, a bouncer who was working at nearby Paramount, also told the court he had noticed Mr Grant trying to start trouble with Declan Cullen, a friend of Mr Wheeldon, and refused him entry into the bar.
He said as a result Mr Grant then challenged him to a fight, but Mr Downey asked him to leave and he disappeared towards Union Street.
Both Mr Wheeldon and Mr Downey said that about half an hour later, at around midnight, they saw Mr Grant being restrained on the floor by two or three door stewards outside Tonik.
The court heard that neither of the witnesses were surprised to see this given the way he was acting earlier.
However, a crowd had started to gather around Mr Grant and friends became concerned he wasn’t moving, Mr Wheeldon said.
But Mr Downey – who has been a bouncer in Aberdeen for 17 years – said at the time he was convinced Mr Grant was faking it when he failed to respond either physically or verbally.
He said he believed Mr Grant was “playing the dead swan” so he would be released.
Mr Wheeldon said Mr Grant’s friends were trying to intervene when police arrived at the scene because he had shown no response on the ground.
He told the court police took over and tried to sit him up.
He said: “They sat him up like a teddy bear. It wasn’t a recovery position.”
Mr Keegan asked: “When you say a teddy bear what do you mean by that?”
He replied: “Because he was limp.”
The trial, before Lady Wolfe, continues.
