Murder trial accused 'threatened former police officer'

A retired wildlife police officer has told a murder trial he was allegedly threatened by the accused in 1995.

David Campbell, 77, a former head gamekeeper, is accused of murdering dog walker Brian Low by shooting him near Aberfeldy on 16 February 2024.

The 65-year-old's death was initially thought to be "medical-related", but a later examination revealed that the retired groundsman had been shot.

Campbell denies a total of eight charges at the High Court in Glasgow.

He is also accused of placing retired police inspector Alan Stewart in a state of fear and alarm at Scone Palace in 1995.

The 78-year-old was latterly a wildlife crime co-ordinator in the Perthshire area after leaving the force.

He met Campbell while investigating alleged bird poisoning on the Edradynate Estate.

Prosecutor Greg Farrell asked the witness if there was "a certain amount of tension" between them due to their respective roles, to which he replied yes.

Stewart also agreed that he believed Campbell did not like him.

He then spoke of a "chance encounter" with Campbell at a summer game fair at Scone Palace in Perth in the summer of 1995.

Stewart was there with his wife and granddaughter when Campbell allegedly appeared to threaten him.

The men passed each other in an aisle, and when asked if Campbell said anything, the witness told jurors: "He looked across and said: 'It is great what vermin you see when you have not got a gun'."

Stewart stated he was "absolutely" sure Campbell made the remark at him.

He said: "It was not said as a joke. It was said with a bit of venom. He was not shouting, he was only five yards away.

"It was not a nice thing to have said. My wife and grand-daughter were quite upset."

He added: "I was reasonably used to getting that type of threat, if you want to call it that.

"It upset them, but I was annoyed as it was made in a public place and my wife and grand-daughter were there. I was off duty, so I just let it lie."

In cross-examination, Campbell's lawyer Tony Lenehan KC put to the witness that there was "no dispute" that Campbell said "something unpleasant" that day.

He said that Campbell may not have been the only gamekeeper not to be on Stewart's "Christmas card list".

Campbell, of Aberfeldy, is accused of murdering Low, having previously shown ill-will and malice toward him.

He is alleged to have disabled CCTV cameras at an address in Aberfeldy on the same day, in an attempt to conceal his whereabouts.

He is also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of the alleged murder weapon and an airgun, and having replacement tyres fitted on an electric bike between February and May 2024.

Campbell is further accused of possessing an air rifle without a licence and discharging it on various occasions, and faces five charges of breach of the peace dating back to July 1995.

He is alleged to have acted in a disorderly manner putting three men and two women in a "state of fear and alarm".

The trial also heard from Richard Wright, who Campbell is accused of threatening to shoot in the summer of 1999.

Wright, who at that time worked in grounds maintenance at Edradynate Estate, said that Campbell accused him of stealing fuel.

An arrangement followed where Campbell himself would get fuel if it was needed.

Prosecuting, Farrell asked whether matters came to a head, to which Wright replied: "At one point I needed fuel and he was busy.

"He just said I will (expletive) shoot you one of these days for making me go and get fuel."

He told the court he was not bothered by the remark, and said it was "water off a duck's back".

During cross examination, the defence's lawyer Lenehan asked Wright how he felt about the comment.

Wright said: "It was neither here nor there to me, it didn't bother me one little bit."

Jurors also heard from other people who were allegedly threatened by Campbell over the years.

This included Marta Oles, 42, who told how she once rented a room at a property Campbell owned in Aberfeldy.

She had bought a black Labrador puppy for her young daughter while staying there.

Campbell was said to have visited and told her dogs were not allowed.

Ortes then claimed: "He was not very pleased with me. He said that he did not care and that if he saw the dog again, he would shoot it and us."

Another, Leona Forrest who lived in a cottage on the estate with her husband, who worked on the estate, and her children.

She described an incident in the spring of 1997 when she told the court Campbell threatened to kill or shoot her husband.

Farrell asked whether Campbell said kill or shoot, to which she replied: "I'm not 100% sure".

Another witness, farmer Sally Crystal, told the court she knew both Campbell and the victim Low from her regular visits to the estate where they worked.

She described Campbell as cold, but got on well with Low, much to the accused dissatisfaction.

The witness said on one occasion Campbell said to her: "I cannot stand that man, I loathe him."

Lenehan has lodged a special defence of alibi on behalf of his client in connection with the murder accusation.

It is said Campbell was not in Leafy Lane at the time of the alleged killing and was instead at home in Aberfeldy.

In evidence agreed by the prosecution and defence, the trial was told that Campbell was employed as the head gamekeeper at the Edradynate Estate between May 1984 and February 2018, and that Brian Low was employed as a groundsman there between August 2000 and February 2023.

The trial before Lord Scott is expected to last three weeks.