A man accused of murdering a grandad by pushing him down a flight of stairs referred to himself as an “angel of death”, a former work colleague has claimed.
Tristan Simpson has gone on trial at the High Court in Aberdeen accused of murdering Bob Parks, 59, almost a decade ago.
Simpson, whose wife’s mother had been the partner of Mr Parks for 22 years, denies murdering him on May 3 2014 at an address on Coutens Place in Oldmeldrum, along with a string of other charges.
It had initially been thought Mr Parks’ death was an accident, but five years after his passing, a former colleague of Simpson’s contacted police with new evidence.
Simon Atkin took to the witness stand on day one of the trial at the High Court and told the jury of eight men and seven women Simpson, 46, had “confessed” to him about what happened.
He said the confession happened during a cigarette break at Weatherford, where they had both worked as quality control inspectors, just weeks after Mr Parks’ death.
Mr Atkin, 53, said: “He looked quite distressed and said ‘Simon, I’ve got something to tell you. Bob didn’t fall, I pushed him’.
“He said he flew off the top and never touched a step on the way down.”
‘You’re telling me you got away with murder?’ and he said ‘yes’
Asked by advocate depute Alex Prentice KC what his reaction was, Mr Atkin replied: “Shocked, stunned. I took it with a pinch of salt because I knew Tristan could exaggerate.
“I said ‘you’re telling me you got away with murder?’ and he said ‘yes’.”
Mr Prentice KC asked Mr Atkin if his relationship with Simpson changed over the next five years.
When he confirmed it did, he asked: “Did that lead you to reporting the situation to the police?”
Mr Atkin replied: “Yes, once my tyres were slashed and my satellite dish pulled down, that’s when I went to the police.”
Witness ‘processed’ alleged murder confession for five years
Defence counsel Iain Paterson, cross-examining the witness, put it to him that he “did nothing” for five years after the claimed confession.
Mr Atkin said: “No. I processed it within myself.”
Mr Paterson asked: “That process took five years, did it?”
The witness replied: “It took a long time. As his actions got worse and worse and worse I went to the police.”
Mr Paterson said: “You didn’t go to the police about Tristan saying he pushed Bob down the stairs, did you?”
Mr Atkin said: “No. At that time, no.”
Mr Paterson exclaimed: “Even by the time we got to you going to the police, we’re not going to the police about Bob getting pushed down the stairs.”
Mr Atkin said he went to the police due to a “combination of factors”.
‘He used to call himself the angel of death’
He told the court about “falling out” with Simpson, and how Simpson had been “argumentative” and “aggressive” and befriended his ex-girlfriend on Facebook.
Mr Atkin added that Simpson “used to call himself the angel of death” as well as a “sociopath”.
At one point, Mr Atkin wished to get rid of Simpson and suggested to management at their work, which was Baker Hughes by this point, that he be drug tested.
He also outlined an incident where his tyres had been slashed, a satellite dish damaged and a plastic otter ornament moved – all of which he suspected Simpson was behind.
Mr Paterson told the witness: “What’s happened here is quite simple. You’ve just lied. You’ve lied to cause trouble.”
Mr Atkin replied: “I’m not lying.”
Partner heard a ‘thud’
Evidence was also given by Rona Sangster, who had been Mr Parks’ partner for 22 years.
The 68-year-old told the court she, along with Mr Parks and others, had been out celebrating her birthday.
The couple then went back to her daughter (Simpson’s wife) Carleen Sangster’s house, where they continued to drink.
She described hearing a single “thud” before finding her partner lying at the bottom of the stairs.
Ms Sangster said Mr Parks and Simpson “tolerated each other” and, despite there having been a previous incident where they came to blows, she had not been aware of any conflict that night.
She said that, after returning from the hospital, Simpson left to go to his father’s house.
Asked if that had been expected, she replied: “No. I expected him to support us because we were all, as you can imagine, very emotional.”
Mr Paterson KC referred Ms Sangster to her police statement from the time, in which she described Mr Parks as being “extremely drunk”, “swaying from side to side” and “staggering”.
Simpson, of Victoria Street, Dyce, pleads not guilty to the charge of murder.
He also denies five charges of assault and one of assault to injury on various different people.
The trial, before Lady Drummond, continues.
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