Court hears how Heather Stacey met "stalkerish" man prior to her death

THE DISMEMBERED remains of a woman whose body was chopped up by her lover and dumped in bags near her Edinburgh flat, were so decomposed it was impossible to tell how she met her death, a murder trial jury was told today.

Forensic pathologist Ralph Bouhadir, who examined the remains of mother of four Heather Stacey, told the High Court in Livingston it was difficult to even tell her gender, let alone cause of death.

He was giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of shop worker and charity volunteer Alan Cameron, 56, who denies a charge of murdering Ms Stacey but admits dismembering and dumping her remains.

The prosecution allege that he killed her by means unknown at her home in Royston Mains Place, Edinburgh between the end of November and mid-December 2007 – after starting to go out with her in the summer of that year.

Dr Bouhadir, 35, of NHS Lothian and Borders, told the jury that only 95 per cent of Ms Stacey's body was ever found – he said her left hand, part of a foot, and a total of 39 bones were still missing.

He said: "After three post mortems I could not tell what the cause of death was, due to the condition of the remains.

"It was difficult to tell the gender. The remains appear to be that of a female between 35-60 and a total of 39 bones were missing."

Jurors also heard evidence from a Caithness couple, who said Cameron came to stay with them in Thurso in Christmas 2007.

Margaret MacKenzie – who said her husband Dennis had known Cameron for 10 years – said Cameron told them 44 year old Ms Stacey had gone to see her mother.

She said that a number of times during his stay he would go outside, saying he "had to call Heather".

Mrs MacKenzie said: "At one point he was speaking on the phone, and he said 'I can't deal with this right now'.

"When he came off the phone he said he had been speaking to Heather."

She said he then told her – on Christmas eve – that he had split up with Ms Stacey.

She said: "He said their relationship was over and he had to go to her flat and pick up his belongings from her father-in law.

She described him as "very scruffily dressed on arrival".

She told the advocate depute, Alex Prentice QC: "He could be very childish at times. I'd go as far as to say he was also a bit of a fantasist."

She added that Cameron had brought woman's conditioner for the trip, and claimed that "Heather had put it in his bag for a joke".

Dennis MacKenzie, 70, said that Cameron had seemed besotted with Ms Stacey.

But he also said Cameron had described her as "stroppy", and said that Cameron became jealous when she spoke to other men.

Mr MacKenzie said: "On Friday, 2 January, 2008 he called me to say that police had found a decomposed head near to where he worked.

"He said it was found in a bag."

Mr Prentice asked: "How did he seem when you were talking to him about it?"

Mr MacKenzie replied: "He wasn't bothered about it one way or another".

Mr McKenzie said he called Cameron back on 4th January, after he found out more about the story on the news.

He said: "When I spoke to him this time he seemed like a different man. He wasn't the Alan I knew."

Julie Donegan, 42, a mental health counsellor, said she met Ms Stacey in July 2007 – and Ms Stacey told her about a man she met in a charity shop around that time.

She said: "She described him as creepy and stalkerish. She said that men were her problem and she always ended up with the wrong guy and if she could keep away from creepy guys she would be fine."

The head and remains of Ms Stacey, formerly of Dingwall, Ross-shire, were found in a bag by a dog walker on Hogmanay, 2008.

Cameron, of Edinburgh, has admitted hiding her body for over a year in her flat, going back periodically to check it had not been discovered, and sawing the limbs from her decomposed torso, wrapping her body parts in bags and covers; and dumping the pieces near the path and elsewhere in the area.

He has also admitted that over 11 months between November 2007 and October 2008 he made repeated withdrawals from her Post Office card account to convince the benefits authorities she was still alive, and induced them to continue to pay out disability living allowance, income support and tax credits totalling nearly 5000 in her name; sent a text purporting to be from her; and over five days in December 2007 repeatedly pretended that she had phoned him.

But he pleads not guilty to murdering her. The trial, before Lord Matthews, continues.