Murder trial told of taxi caution

The court heard evidence from Sandra Niven

A nursery nurse got into a car she had mistaken for a taxi three months before she was killed, a jury has heard.

The incident made Elizabeth McCabe very wary about getting into anything other than a licensed cab after a night out, according to close friend Sandra Niven.

The 49-year-old gave evidence at the trial of Vincent Simpson at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The former taxi driver denies murdering Miss McCabe, whose body was found in Templeton Woods in Dundee in 1980.

The court heard that Miss McCabe went missing after a night out on 10 February that year.

Her body was found 16 days later, on the eve of what would have been her 21st birthday.

She didn't go into great detail but she was very upset when she told me Sandra Niven

Ms Niven, who worked with Elizabeth, told the jury her friend was careful about getting into taxis following her error, which had happened about three months before she vanished.

She said: "She told me she had got into a car thinking it was a taxi, but obviously it wasn't a taxi, because the driver took her away up the back of beyond.

"She didn't go into great detail but she was very upset when she told me.

"She told me the driver of the car let her off in Cupar Angus Road."

Asked about the effect on her friend, Ms Niven added: "She wouldn't get in a taxi if it didn't have a light on the top or if the light wasn't lit."

'Shy girl'

Ms Niven also told the court Miss McCabe had been mistaken for a prostitute shortly before she vanished.

The friends had laughed about it over coffee the weekend Elizabeth disappeared.

Ms Niven said that Elizabeth was "shocked" about being propositioned in the Oriental bar, and that nothing about her behaviour had justified the approach.

Elizabeth was a very quiet, shy girl, very family orientated. She loved her family Anne McCabe

Vincent Simpson, 61, from Camberley in Surrey denies murder.

He is accused of killing Miss McCabe by striking her on the head and compressing her neck.

He claims he has an alibi for the night she went missing and has lodged a list of 13 names of men he believes might be to blame for the killing with the court.

The trial heard that Elizabeth had slept with two of the names on the list - her boyfriend, Charles Lamont, and Ms Niven's then boyfriend, Brian Lindsay.

Earlier, Elizabeth's mother Anne McCabe, 67, told the trial her daughter was cautious when she went for occasional nights out and would never accept lifts from strangers.

Elizabeth McCabe was found dead more than 27 years ago

Mrs McCabe said: "Elizabeth was a very quiet, shy girl, very family orientated. She loved her family. She loved children as well."

She said that her daughter hardly went out, until about three or four months before she died.

She added: "Elizabeth was never a worry. I mean, I didn't worry about her going out you know. She didn't smoke or drink a lot or anything like that."

Mrs McCabe also claimed that her daughter never stayed out all night.

That was challenged by Mr Simpson's defence, who pointed out a discrepancy with the statement she made to police when her daughter disappeared.

It said: "Elizabeth, as a rule, returns home at night but on any occasion when she is staying out she will phone her mother in advance."

The jury was sent home early after one complained of feeling unwell.

Judge Lord Kinclaven told them: "It is important that all of your number should be fit and healthy while sitting as jurors so I am going to adjourn this case."