A man has gone on trial accused of killing his step-father in Peterhead.
Malcolm Wright was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with serious injuries following an incident on Peter Buchan Drive in January this year and died a week later.
And yesterday Gary Crossan appeared in Aberdeen High Court charged with his murder.
The 31-year-old also faces charges of assault to severe injury and attempted murder on him from earlier dates.
Giving evidence, Crossan’s former girlfriend Lynsey McKeachan claimed the pair fought a lot.
She said she met Crossan via a dating website and soon afterwards both he and his stepfather relocated to Peterhead, where she lived.
Advocate depute Alan Cameron asked her: “What was the relationship between them like?”
She said: “Sometimes they were really tight, sometimes they would fight like cat and mouse.”
Mr Cameron then asked: “What did they argue about?”
She replied: “Absolutely anything.”
The court heard she referred to Crossan as “Gaz” and Mr Wright as “Raggie.”
Miss McKeachan was then asked to recall the events of January 25 this year, the day before the alleged murder took place.
She said: “I picked them up from the Grange Inn pub.
“I went down after 11 or 11.30pm, they were standing at the bar.
“Gaz looked a bit agitated, Raggie was mortal, I could not understand what he was saying.
“He downed his drink and Raggie punched him in the stomach.
“I do not know what for. He stumbled backwards lost his balance and landed on the floor.”
She went on to say: “I drove them to Peter Buchan Drive.
“I said I wanted to leave. Gaz came back up to my face and he had his arm around my neck. It didn’t last long but I was scared. I left after about 15 to 20 minutes.”
Mr Cameron asked: “Did you hear from Gaz again that night?”
She replied: “Yes, on the phone and through messages.”
She claimed at around 12.30am on January 26 he had sent a message threatening to harm Wright and “get his money back.”
She added: “I went back to the house, there had been some sort of altercation, there was blood on Raggie’s nose and Gaz was shouting about money.”
Crossan denies the charges against him.
The trial, before Judge Matthews, continues.
