The murderer: No sign of emotion in the dock

IT WAS one of the longest trials in Scottish criminal history, but at no point did Malcolm Webster fit the stereotype of a cold-blooded killer.

For four months, the chubby-cheeked son of a retired detective chief superintendent in the fraud squad arrived in court dressed in an array of woolly jumpers and chino trousers, eschewing the traditional wardrobe of the accused: a suit and tie.

He shuffled to court every day and sat quietly reading newspapers as he waited for his case to be called.

But inside Lord Bannatyne's courtroom, his mask was stripped away as prosecutors presented a damning body of evidence.

Portly, with grey hair and a neatly trimmed beard, he was led up from the cells and into the dock yesterday, wedged between two prison officers. He appeared calm, but began to blink with increasing frequency as the judge took to the bench. As the jury returned, he struggled to keep his focus firmly fixed on the judge.

The clerk then stood and asked the jury forewoman: "What is your verdict on charge one?" "Guilty".

Webster shook his head twice and exhaled, swallowed, then faced straight ahead for the rest of the verdicts, any emotion screwed tightly down.

It took a further six minutes for the clerk to run through all the charges and their various sub-clauses, all of which were answered with a definitive: "Guilty".

After the fourth "guilty" Webster reached for a plastic cup of water, took a few sips, then sat it down and scratched his nose. When the jury forewoman finally sat back down, having effectively sentenced Webster to perhaps decades in prison, he again refused to acknowledge her.