The ex-girlfriend of a murder suspect told a court that she was so “petrified” of him she lied to the emergency services about what she saw.
Lynsey McKeachan, whose former partner Gary Crossan is on trial for killing his step-father Malcolm “Raggie” Wright, said she saw Crossan land two punches to the victim’s head before he “booted” him in the head while he lay on the floor at his home in Peter Buchan Drive, Peterhead.
The 31-year-old accused put Mr Wright to bed but, after he and Miss McKeachan heard him struggling to breathe the following evening, she called an ambulance.
Man goes on trial accused of murdering step-father in north-east home
Mr Wright died at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary a week later.
A tearful Miss McKeachan told Aberdeen High Court: “Gary was angry about money that Raggie owed him. He kept shouting at him. He punched him twice in the head and Raggie just dropped to the ground.
“It was so quick. Raggie was sitting up against some cupboards in the kitchen. Gary grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him into the middle of the floor. He sped at Raggie and booted him in the head. His head just bounced off the floor. I said we need to phone an ambulance but Gary said he’d be fine.”
She said that after arguing with Crossan after the January 25 incident, she left and slept at her own home before returning the following day. Crossan tried to wake Mr Wright that evening, but he was unresponsive, prompted the pair to phone an ambulance.
She said Crossan ordered her to tell the ambulance call handler that Mr Wright had left the house for 45 minutes on the evening of the attack before later returning with the injuries that resulted in his death. She also said that the defendant made her repeat the story to police.
She said: “He knew that he had properly hurt Raggie. Gary told me what I had to say. I went along with it because I was petrified of Gaz.”
Police arrived at the house and asked them both what had happened. Miss McKeachan went along with the story, but broke down when officers returned the next day.
She said: “I told Gary they aren’t stupid, they’ll work out what happened.”
The jury was also shown footage taken from Crossan’s phone which appeared to show Mr Wright writhing in agony on the floor while a voice taunted him.
Miss McKeachan identified the voice as Crossan’s.
He denies charges of murder as well as attempted murder and assault to severe injury from earlier dates. The trial continues.
