Fraser murder jury told prosecution depends on evidence of 'proven liar'

A jury has been told the suggested motive for why a man would want his estranged wife murdered is "feeble" and "unconvincing".

Defence lawyer John Scott QC also said one of the prosecution's witnesses in the trial of Nat Fraser had lied so often that even he could not always separate his lies from the truth.

Fruit and vegetable wholesaler Fraser, 53, denies acting with others to murder his wife Arlene, 33, at her home in Smith Street, New Elgin, Moray.

He pled not guilty with a special defence of alibi and incrimination, blaming former friend Hector Dick, of Mosstowie, Elgin, if she was killed. The mother of two vanished on Tuesday, April 28, 1998 and has not been seen since. Mr Scott made the statements during his closing speech at the High Court in Edinburgh, where the trial entered its sixth week on Monday.

The jury has previously heard from advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, when he summed up the case for the prosecution that "there is nobody in the world other than Nat Fraser who had the motive for murder".

Mr Scott said: "The Crown seems to be suggesting the motive was she was divorcing him and this would cost him money, and he could not bear the thought of her being with someone else. I suggest that is a dramatic overstatement of Nat Fraser's circumstances and thinking at the time. If you examine the evidence, you have been offered a feeble justification and an unconvincing motive for murder."

The defence DC said the prosecution's case had relied on details in Hector Dick's evidence. He argued that the witness had not seemed to realise that repetition "does not transform a lie into truth".

He added: "Hector Dick is a man who has lied so often and about so much, he has his own expressions for telling the truth, 'crossing the threshold' or 'coming off the shelf' are examples he uses to soften for other people and maybe himself the simple idea of telling the truth."

Mr Scott also said the police inquiry had been "deeply flawed" as a criminal investigation. He said: "I suggest this case has been blighted by hindsight and assumption. I ask you to help me blow this away and see if you can see what lies beneath."

Crown theory

Asking the jury to reject Mr Dick's evidence, Mr Scott said he was the type of person who if he came in from outside soaking wet, "you would have to put your hand out the window to check". In his submission, the lawyer said Mr Dick was an "easy, habitual and accomplished liar".

Mr Scott said: "I suggest to you that much of the Crown evidence is unreliable. I also suggest the Crown theory about Nat Fraser is wholly unlikely - it does not hang together at all, it doesn't convince, it doesn't sound right." The fact that Fraser did not give evidence in the trial "does not take the Crown one millimetre closer to proving their case", he said.

"Nat Fraser has been consistent in saying one thing: he did not kill his wife and he was not involved in her disappearance," the defence lawyer said.

Mr Scott submitted that there was an absence of forensic evidence in the case. He suggested that, in hindsight, from the point of view of a police investigation, allowing people to live in the house after Mrs Fraser went missing "was not a good idea".

During the prosecution's summary, Mr Prentice said Mr Dick was a self-confessed liar but suggested it would be "quite wrong" to dismiss all of his evidence. Talking about the alleged motive suggested by the Crown that Fraser was considering the financial implications of divorce, Mr Scott said: "If that is a motive for murder, then this country has thousands of men police will need to keep a close eye on."

Asking the jury of seven men and eight women to acquit Fraser of the charge against him, Mr Scott said the evidence was "not good enough" for them to establish "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt". He added: "This is not a game of Cluedo. No-one appears later on with a black envelope producing a card."

Judge Lord Bracadale told the jury he will give his legal directions on Tuesday when the trial continues.

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