Court hears doubts cast on car fire scenario

A ROAD crash expert has told a court it was impossible for the fireball car crash which killed murder accused Malcolm Webster's first wife to have happened as he described to police.

Dr Hugh Barron, 67, was giving evidence for a second day yesterday at the trial of Webster, 51, who denies murdering his first wife Claire Webster in a car crash in Aberdeenshire in 1994.

He told prosecutor Derek Ogg, QC that he was asked to examine reports and photographs of the crash in which his wife died.

The court has heard that Webster told police that he was travelling at 25mph in a Daihatsu Sportak when he swerved off the road to avoid a motorcyclist who was on the wrong side of the road.

Dr Barron gave his evidence at the High Court in Glasgow by a recorded video link because he is too unwell to attend in person. His evidence was recorded at a police station near his home in Aberdeenshire.

In his conclusion, Dr Barron said: "It is most probable that to end up in its final position the Daihatsu would have to be driven off the road in a straight line at speeds of less than 20mph. The speed of the vehicle at impact was 15mph or less."

The court heard that after using geometry and physics to assess the crash scene, Dr Barron gave his findings to a company which produced animations of what would have happened to the Daihatsu at 25mph and at 20mph.

Dr Barron said that this showed that it was not possible for the accident to have happened the way Webster told police it had.

Webster denies murdering his first wife by drugging her, crashing his car on the Auchenhuive to Tarves Road, Kingoodie, Aberdeenshire on 27 or 28 May 1994, and setting it on fire. He is alleged to have formed a fraudulent scheme between 2004 and 2008 to enter into a bigamous marriage with Simone Banerjee to get access to her estate. He also denies two charges of trying to murder his second wife.

The trial continues.