Murder jury visits site of 'death crash'

A JURY has visited the remote country road where Malcolm Webster is alleged to have murdered his first wife 16 years ago.

The prosecution claims that Webster, 51, from Guildford, Surrey, drugged his wife Claire, drove her to the spot in rural Aberdeenshire, crashed the car and set it on fire with her inside.

Webster denies murdering the 32-year-old on the Auchenhivie to Tarves Road, Aberdeenshire, on 27 or 28 May, 1994.

In an unusual legal move, the jury of nine women and six men was driven 160 miles from the High Court in Glasgow yesterday to the crash site. The jurors, who travelled from Glasgow by coach on Monday and stayed in a hotel overnight, arrived at the scene at 10am escorted by two police motorcyclists.

Although it was an official court session, there was an air of informality. Judge Lord Bannatyne had swapped his wig and red and white silk robes for dress trousers and a brown Barbour jacket.

Webster also denies attempting to murder his second wife Felicity Drumm in New Zealand in 1999, to obtain more than 1 million in insurance policies. He also denies attempting to enter a bigamous marriage with Simone Banarjee from Oban and inducing her to leave everything to him. The trial continues.