Man accused of killing soldier said 'I plugged him' court hears

Kerry Gribben told the High Court in Glasgow that Barry McGrory made the claim just hours after Scots Guardsman Paul McGee died.

The 22-year-old claimed that her partner at the time, Ian Wallace, who is accused of assaulting the 28-year-old soldier, asked McGrory why he did it.

Miss Gribben said that McGrory replied: "I had to do something, your face was going blue so I plugged the c***."

McGrory, 28, is on trial accused of murdering Mr McGee by stabbing him to death at McConnell Road, Lochwinnoch, on 25 October last year. McGrory's co- accused, Wallace, 28, is charged with assaulting Mr McGee, his mother and his girlfriend. Both men also face charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by getting rid of the knife and washing their blood-stained clothes.

They both deny the charges.

Miss Gribben told the court that she and Wallace were babysitting on the night of the incident but McGrory turned up and the two men left to buy cigarettes.

She claimed that they were gone for over an hour and when Wallace returned he had cuts to his face and arm.

Miss Gribben said: "Ian was all shaking and everything and he said that he had been done in.

"Barry came in just after that and he looked pure white.

"I heard Ian saying 'what did you do that for?'"

Defence advocate Tommy Ross asked Miss Gribben why she didn't call the police straight away after being told that someone had been stabbed and later died.

She replied: "I don't know, obviously I wasn't thinking at the time."

The trial, before Judge Lord Woolman, continues.