Gun victim was watched by police

Mr McAlroy was shot outside his home

A man shot dead at his home was under police surveillance for months before he died, a court has heard.

Justin McAlroy was shot in the head and body outside his home in Cambuslang in 2002 and William Gage has denied murdering him.

Mrs McAlroy's widow Tracy told the High Court in Glasgow that she knew of the police surveillance.

She could not think why he was killed and agreed there must have been a part of his life she did not know about.

Mr McAlroy was shot in the head and body outside his four-bedroomed home in Acacia Way on 7 March, 2002. He died in the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow, the next day.

Mr Gage, 32, has denied murdering him and setting fire to a car in Easterhouse, Glasgow, in an attempt to destroy evidence. The accused has lodged a special defence of alibi.

Police search

The court heard details of the police operation during cross-examination of Mrs McAlroy.

Defence counsel Jim Keegan asked Mrs McAlroy about her husband's work, a police search of her home and statements she gave to a detective after the death.

Mrs McAlroy, who gave birth to a daughter after her husband's death, said her husband worked with his father in the building trade.

She agreed that she gave a statement to police saying that for eight weeks before his death she had been aware that Mr McAlroy had not been turning up on time for his work and she did not know why.

The court heard about a police operation

Mrs McAlroy said her husband traded in her car to give her a £28,000 Audi TT and did not know how he could have afforded it.

She agreed with Mr Keegan that during a police search of their home officers found a transcript of a tape recorded police interview with a man in her bedroom and she had no idea how it got there.

She was also handed a photocopy of her husband's passport which revealed he had made a trip to Estonia in 2002 and admitted she had known nothing about the trip at the time.

Mr Keegan then asked Mrs McAlroy if she was aware that police had put her husband under surveillance, to which she replied "yes".

Defence counsel asked her if they told her for how long and she revealed: "I can't remember exactly...months.

She also admitted police had told her that on the day her husband died he had visited inmates at Perth Prison.

Mrs McAlroy told prosecutor Alan Mackay that she did not know of any reason why her husband had been killed.

Mr Mackay asked: "There must have been a part of his life that you did not know about?"

To that she replied: "Yes".

The trial before Lord Emslie continues.