Partner tells of search for murder victim

THE boyfriend of a woman whose body was found in a bin told a murder trial how he searched for six weeks to try to find her.

Simon Sawers, 24, told the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday that the "sudden" lack of contact from Samantha Wright had left him "devastated".

He said he put notes through her front door, asked neighbours if they had seen her and looked for her on social networking websites.

The HGV mechanic was giving evidence in the trial of Robert Chalmers, 59, who is accused of murdering Miss Wright and hiding her remains in a bin. Mr Sawers told jurors he eventually thought she had stopped contacting him as the relationship had ended.

Chalmers is accused of killing Miss Wright, 24, by "means unknown" at a house in Magdalene Drive, Duddingston, on June 12 or 13, 2008. The trial continues.