A MAN murdered his partner and fled to Thailand before he was due to go on trial for the killing, a court heard today.
Scott Storey absconded after stabbing mother-of-four Bridget Cameron, 35, in the neck on April 24 2004 at the house they shared in Edinburgh.
The 43-year-old was initially remanded in custody, but he was later freed when an appeal against the refusa
l of bail was granted by the High Court.
Storey, who was a partner in an Edinburgh roofing business, had been due to face trial in March 2005, but a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to turn up.
Police traced him to Thailand, where he remained until lengthy legal and diplomatic proceedings saw him returned to Scotland in April this year.
He is understood to be the first Scot ever to be extradited from Thailand.
At the High Court in Edinburgh today, Storey admitted murder and failing to appear in court.
He had previously claimed Ms Cameron, with whom he had an on/off relationship for around 12 years, inflicted the stab wound herself.
Several of the victim's relatives broke down in court as details of the crime were read out.
The court heard today that Storey and Ms Cameron went for drinks at a pub in Edinburgh's Leith area on the Saturday of the attack, before returning to their home in Pirniefield Bank.
Later that evening, two girls playing nearby heard screams and cries of "help" coming from the victim's back garden, the court was told.
Another neighbour heard a woman's voice shouting, "You b******" at around 10pm that night.
Advocate-depute Alastair Carmichael, prosecuting, said Storey later dialled 999 and claimed the victim had stabbed herself.
The lawyer added: "He further referred to the scene in the house as 'madness', with blood everywhere and stated that he had attempted to wipe it up.
"At this point, the accused terminated the call.
"The accused made a further 999 call about five minutes later when he stated, 'She's stabbed herself in the back of the neck' and also, 'I hope she's not dead'."
Ambulance workers found Ms Cameron in the house, covered in blood and wearing only her underwear and a dressing gown. She had a "gaping wound" on the right side of her neck and there was no sign of a pulse.
She was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where medics tried to revive her.
Ms Cameron was given drugs to stimulate her heart and six units of blood – the equivalent of 60% of the body's normal amount – but she was pronounced dead shortly before midnight.
A post-mortem examination found she bled to death as a result of a single stab wound, 10cm deep.
Mr Carmichael said: "The wound tracked forwards and up to the left and damaged both the jugular and carotid arteries as well as notching a bone of the spine.
"Moderate to considerable force would have been required to inflict this wound."
He continued: "The pathologists state that Bridget Cameron would have bled to death in a matter of minutes and that this wound was not self-inflicted.
"It is unlikely that even extremely prompt medical intervention could have saved her."
Police who went to the scene of the attack found Storey covered in blood, which he claimed happened when he carried Ms Cameron indoors.
They found a knife and "extensive areas of blood staining" in the garden, as well as bloody footprints inside and outside the house.
Judge Lord Kinclaven heard Storey has previous convictions for breaches of the peace and assaults.
Convictions dating back to March 1996 and October and November of 1999 were all said to be for behaviour directed towards his dead partner, with whom he had one child.
"The relationship between the accused and Bridget Cameron was stormy and volatile and had resulted in the accused being convicted of assaulting her," said Mr Carmichael.
The court heard Storey was also involved with another woman throughout their relationship.
Storey was remanded in custody shortly after the attack, but an appeal against the refusal of bail was granted by the High Court on May 24 2004.
Mr Carmichael said Storey was due to go on trial for murder at the High Court in Edinburgh on March 29 2005, but he failed to appear for the case.
The prosecutor said: "Inquiries revealed that he had gone 'on holiday'.
"On March 30 2005 a warrant was granted for his apprehension.
"Thereafter a formal extradition request was issued to the Thai authorities, who issued a warrant for the arrest of the accused.
"The accused remained in Thailand until his extradition in April 2008."
Inspector Sean Scott, the senior investigating officer in the case at the time, today said it was "old fashioned" police leg-work which resulted in Storey being tracked down.
It was Storey's use of bank cards in Thailand which eventually enabled officers to work out exactly where he was.
Mr Scott said they had to present the Thai authorities with a full case for extradition.
"We had to go through the full extradition process.
"That took a while and once that was done they would then make efforts to find him," he said.
Officers from Lothian and Borders Police eventually went over to Thailand to pick Storey up.
Mr Scott said it had been a "hard" four and a half years.
Indicating the victim's family members, he said: "I'm just glad for them. That's four and a half years it's been hanging over them."
He added: "It's been a frustrating period but it's great that there's some kind of closure now."
Storey, who was remanded in custody, will be sentenced in Edinburgh on September 23.
The full article contains 962 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
