Arlene husband 'hired killer'

Arlene Fraser went missing almost five years ago

The husband of missing Elgin woman Arlene Fraser hired a killer to murder his wife and then disposed of her remains himself, a witness has told a murder trial.

Hector Dick, 46, said that Nat Fraser told him he had arranged for his estranged wife to be killed and then got rid of her body by grinding it up and burying it.

However, Mr Fraser's lawyer accused Mr Dick of being a "habitual liar" who had repeatedly deceived the authorities over Mrs Fraser's disappearance.

Mr Dick had been accused of plotting the murder of Mrs Fraser and its alleged subsequent cover-up with Mr Fraser, until the charges were dramatically dropped last week.

Nat Fraser: Denies charges

The trial, at the High Court in Edinburgh, was adjourned on Tuesday to allow Mr Fraser's legal representatives to respond to the development.

It resumed on Monday with Mr Dick giving evidence for the prosecution - against the friend who was best man at his wedding.

There has been no trace of Mrs Fraser since the 33-year-old mother-of-two disappeared from her home in Smith Street, New Elgin, on the morning of 28 April, 1998.

Her husband has denied conspiring to murder her and defeat the ends of justice by disposing of her body.

Mr Dick told the court he had heard from Mr Fraser that he had arranged for his wife to be killed and had given someone a key to get into her house.

Bought a car

He said Mr Fraser told him he had paid the person money but Mr Dick was not sure how much.

Asked how Mrs Fraser had been killed, Mr Dick said Mr Fraser had motioned a couple of times with his hands suggesting she had been strangled.

However, Paul McBride QC, defending, accused Mr Dick of being a "practised, consistent and habitual liar".

Earlier the trial had heard how Mr Dick bought a B-reg Ford Fiesta from local mechanic Kevin Ritchie, 36, on 27 April.

On Monday, Mr Dick told how the Ford Fiesta was taken from his farm, at Mosstowie, near Elgin, the night before Mrs Fraser disappeared and turned up again the following weekend.

When it was returned, he found a bundle of child's clothing and a woman's coat in the car.

He was "concerned about the connection with the disappearance of Mrs Fraser", Mr Dick told the court.

Hector Dick: Concerned and alarmed

After burning the car Mr Dick half-crushed the vehicle with his farm digger, loaded it into a tractor-trailer and delivered it to a scrap-yard in Elgin.

Mr Dick also told the court of conversations he had with Mr Fraser before the disappearance of Arlene.

He spoke to him about 10,000 people going missing without trace every year.

He said Mr Fraser had also told him that he had been to a library and read up about the only two cases in Scottish legal history when people have been convicted for murder in the absence of a body.

The conversations "concerned" and "alarmed" him, Mr Dick said.

The trial continues