Text told Lynda Spence she would be ‘chopped up’

The text, which was sent to Miss Spence on 14 April, 2011, at 9:18am was read out in court as financial adviser Tony Kelly gave evidence for a third day at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.

Colin Coats, 42, David Parker, 38, Paul Smith, 47, and Philip Wade, 42, deny abducting, torturing and murdering Miss Spence at a flat at Meadowfoot Road, West Kilbride, between 14 and 28 April, 2011.

Under his cross-examination of Mr Kelly, defence counsel Derek Ogg, QC, read out a text which was sent to her from Crown witness John Glen’s phone on the day she disappeared. It read: “Listen stupid, be warned school fees paid today ten, yesterday ten, zero down. He will chop you up Lynda at 2pm today if that 20 isn’t there cash. I will help him sort you as he says it’s my responsibility as I brought him in. If you don’t show, no problem. I will sort things myself.”

Mr Ogg said to Mr Kelly: “That is a reference that if sums of money are not paid by 2pm he is willing to chop her up and John Glen will assist him.” He replied: “That’s what it says.”

The QC also read out another text which was sent from Mr Glen’s phone on 4 October 2010. In part of the text read: “Lynda, if you don’t wisen up when someone is dragging you out of bed and cutting off your fingers.”

Mr Kelly was asked about these texts and said that Lynda had told him she was receiving threats from Mr Glen.

Mr Kelly said: “She was consistently under threat from John Glen for several months. She said to me at one time she’s been threatened by John Glen and that she would be chopped up.”

The financial adviser denied being involved with Miss Spence in a multi-million-pound fraud and said he did not realise that Danish government bearer bonds in the sum of £3.2 million and £3.6m were fakes.

Printer Amash Shah Syed, 50, told the court that Miss Spence, who was friendly with his wife, came to his home in late summer or autumn 2010 and asked him to make the bonds as a prank.

Mr Syed told Solicitor General Lesley Thomson, QC, prosecuting: “She said she just wanted it as a prank. For a small amount. Then she asked for some more zeros to be added and she was laughing.” Miss Thomson asked what sort of prank, and Mr Syed said: “I think she just wanted to play a prank on someone. We had quite a laugh and joke about it.”

The jury has heard that Miss Spence disappeared on 14 April, 2011, and was reported missing by her parents on 13 May, 2011. It is alleged that she was tortured and had her kneecaps broken and thumb and the tip of her little finger cut off before being killed and her body disposed of.

In evidence, Mr Syed told the court that during the first week of June 2011 Mr Kelly came to his Glasgow home and asked if he could change the date on the bearer bonds. Mr Syed said that he told Mr Kelly he would not do this and Mr Kelly had a conversation on the phone with a man called “Colin”.

Minutes later he said this man came into his house shouting and swearing and threatening him if he did not agree to do this work. Mr Syed said that he had a coffee table with a glass top and said the man called Colin threatened him with it. He said: “He said: ‘I’ll smash that over your head and cut your arm off and you’ll never be able to work again.’”

Mr Syed claimed that Colin then started shouting at his wife and daughter. He said that the man finally left after he agreed to carry out the work, but told the court he never did change the date on the document.

The trial before Lord Pentland continues.