Closing speeches in murder trial

Arlene Fraser has been missing since April 1998

The lawyer defending murder accused Nat Fraser has urged a High Court jury to acquit his client because of the "untrue" evidence of a witness.

Paul McBride QC made the plea during his closing speech in the trial of Mr Fraser, who is alleged to have killed his wife Arlene "with others unknown".

The defence advocate said witness Hector Dick's story of a hitman hired to kill the mother-of-two was like a badly-written plot from TV soap Eastenders.

Nat Fraser has denied killing his wife

When the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh began three weeks ago, Mr Dick, 46, of Wester Hillside Farm, Mosstowie, Elgin, had faced a charge of murdering 33-year-old Arlene.

After four days of evidence it was dramatically dropped - and Mr Dick returned to court to give evidence against his former friend Mr Fraser.

The jury is expected to be asked to consider its verdict on Wednesday.

On Tuesday Mr McBride told them the mystery of how Arlene met her death would never be solved, and it was not for them to play "guessing games".

The lawyer said: "The prosecution are relying on a man who has been let out of a murder charge, who is a proven perjurer and a proven serial liar and a man against whom any half decent prosecution could have got a conviction for murder on the evidence that has been led."

'Tokens of love'

In his closing speech, prosecution QC Alan Turnbull showed the jury three rings belonging to Arlene which had been found in the family home in Elgin after her disappearance.

He said: "These are the rings he (Nat Fraser) gave to his young wife and the mother of his children.

"How ironic these tokens of love, permanence and fidelity should end up being his un-doing.

"They are the undoing of a husband consumed by jealousy and greed and these rings tell us that as eloquently and poignantly as a witness, who tells us he saw Nat Fraser kill Arlene."

"There is something inherently just in the way that, after death, something of Arlene's can reach back and ensnare the man who promised he would live with her for ever then took her life just because she no longer suited his purpose."

Special defence

Mr Turnbull also explained to the jury why three charges of defeating the ends of justice had been dropped against Mr Fraser - who now faces one charge of murder.

The advocate depute said: "It would seem to me to be difficult to believe that you could be satisfied that Fraser was responsible for all the things on the second page of the indictment, but not responsible for arranging the killing of his wife."

He added: "I'm proceeding on the basis that you are satisfied that his wife is dead.

"There seems to be no doubt in anyone's mind that Mrs Fraser is dead.

"The suggestion that she might be somewhere else and never have had contact with her children or family is ridiculous."

Mr Fraser, 44, denies murdering his estranged wife Arlene who was last seen in April 1998.

He has lodged a special defence of alibi, claiming he was carrying out deliveries for his fruit and vegetable business on the day his wife vanished.