A man accused of murdering his friend during a drunken altercation has been found not guilty after a trial at the High Court in Inverness.
Bruce Rothwell had denied the charge, saying that he acted in self-defence and “lashed out” at Thomas McTeir after the man struck him over the head with something “hard and heavy”.
The four day trial in Inverness had heard how Mr Rothwell himself dialled 999 on June 13 2020 while his friend lay foaming at the mouth on the floor of his home in Barrogill Street, Wick.
He told the call handler that the two had had an argument and that he had “just had to put him down”.
The jury was told when police arrived he told them he “had to do it”.
During the call he was heard asking his friend: “Oi, are you dead yet?”
Mr McTeir died three days later in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
A post mortem examination, which showed bruising and abrasions to the right side of his neck, as well as a fractured thyroid cartilage, concluded that the cause of death was multiple organ failure and hypoxic brain injury due to external compression of the neck.
Pathologist questioned post-mortem findings
But those findings were called into question by consultant forensic pathologist Marjorie Turner.
Under questioning from defence advocate Tony Lenehan, Dr Turner told the court Mr McTeir’s injuries could be explained by medical interventions following his collapse.
She also said that underlying conditions of coronary artery disease and liver disease would have left him vulnerable to a heart attack at any time.
Jurors in the trial saw pictures of piles of empty vodka bottles on the floor of Mr Rothwell’s three bedroom terraced home.
He said there had been an altercation over how quickly he was drinking vodka the other man had bought.
He said Mr McTeir told him: “You drank that too quickly. Do you think I’m made of money?”
Mr Rothwell told the jury: “All I seem to remember is I went to go and get the vodka bottle and the next minute I have been hit across the face with something I can only describe as hard and heavy. I’m assuming it was the ashtray.”
Man ‘lashed out’ in self-defence
He said he had “lashed out” at Mr McTeir after being struck on the head.
Under cross-examination from advocate depute John McElroy he told the court that he could not fully recall the altercation or his own actions.
He said: “There is a period I don’t know, the next thing I see when I come to my senses is Tommy on the floor, face down.”
Questioned on his own evidence that he could have “mistakenly” done it, Mr Rothwell conceded: “That could have happened in that instant – I cannot 100% tell you that it did or it didn’t.”
The former motorcycle courier and call centre operator also asserted: “I would most definitely have remembered if I had tried to choke my friend.”
The jury took just over four hours to return a majority verdict of not guilty.
Speaking outside the court, Mr Rothwell said: “I am relieved. It is two years that this has been sitting over me and I have not been in trouble with the law in my life.
Mr Rothwell said that the altercation was “One of those incidents.”
‘It is a shame’
He added: “It is a shame with my friend that his son has lost a father, I have lost my friend and my friend has lost his life.”
Mr Rothwell indicated that he was now planning to move forward with his life and said: “Now I can get on with things that need to be done, I’m not getting any younger.”
In a statement released following Mr McTeir’s death his family said: “Tommy was a much-loved father and brother. His loss will be sorely felt by many.”
