Accused 'said he disposed of body'

Jan 31 2013

A man accused of murdering a missing businesswoman told a friend he had disposed of a woman's body, a court has heard.

Pamela Pearson, 40, said Philip Wade came to see her at her home and told her he was having nightmares and not sleeping well.

She was giving evidence at the trial of Wade, 42, Colin Coats, 42, David Parker, 38, and Paul Smith, 47, who deny abducting, torturing and murdering missing financial adviser Lynda Spence, 27, who disappeared in April 2011.

The four men also deny attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of, destroying or concealing Ms Spence's body somewhere in Scotland.

"At first we just spoke about normal things: Nicola (Wade's wife), the kids. Then he was appearing more agitated," Ms Pearson told jurors.

"He just said he hadn't been sleeping well. I asked him why. He told me he hadn't been sleeping very well because him and Colin had disposed of a woman's body. I was shocked. Disgusted. I told him how shocked I was, my disgust was obvious.

"He appeared more agitated, much more agitated. I have never seen Phil like that. I started to feel quite threatened, which had never happened before either."

Solicitor general Lesley Thomson, prosecuting, referred the witness to a statement she gave to police on October 27, 2011, which she agreed was a truthful, accurate account of the conversation, some of which Ms Pearson said she could not remember in court.

Parts of it were read out to the jury. The statement said: "I asked if it was the woman whose phone was found in Kilbirnie and he said it was. I asked how her phone ended up in Kilbirnie, and he said it was a mistake."

The court has heard that a mobile phone used by Ms Spence was found in a bin outside the Lunchbox cafe in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, on June 2, 2011.