Two men have gone on trial at the High Court in Glasgow charged with the murder of 16 year old Liam Aitchison on November 23rd 2011 at a house in Steinish on Lewis.

The trial of Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and Stefan Millar (22) started on Tuesday and is expected to last for around three weeks.

Liam’s girlfriend, 17 year old Ellen Maclennan told the court she and Liam had been together for about a month when he disappeared and she had met him through her sister Pemma (22) whose house he stayed at sometimes on McCallum Place in Stornoway.

Miss Maclennan told the court that Liam had been staying there as ‘he had nowhere else to go’ and had no clothes or belongings.

She said the last time she had seen Liam he had been upset and crying because he heard that his mother had been self harming.

She had seen him at her sister’s house on the Tuesday after school and had left that evening to go home to her parents. She said Liam had been due to appear in court in Stornoway on the Wednesday.

Prosecutor Mr Iain McSporran asked Miss Maclennan: “When you left on the evening on Tuesday when were you expecting to see Liam again?”

“The next day,” she replied.

“Where did you expect to see him?” Mr McSporran asked.

“At my sister’s.”

“Did you see him again?”

“No,” she replied.

She said they had no way of making contact with him and when he didn’t appear, she assumed he had been sent to prison following his court appearance.

Liam did not, however, turn up for court and it was only three days later – when they established that he had not been sent to prison and indeed had not turned up to court – that she and her friend Emily Smith reported him missing to Stornoway police.

She said she had heard that the two accused had ‘left Liam in a ditch’ because he was rolling around in the road and being an idiot.

Her sister Pemma Maclennan also gave evidence and said Liam stayed at her house ‘for a couple of nights on and off’ but she didn’t expect him to be there every night and so his absence on the Wednesday night had not given her cause for alarm.

On the Wednesday evening she had gone out with a friend and when she returned in the early hours of the next morning he was not there.

He had planned to go out the previous night.

She agreed that he was a welcome visitor and could turn up at her home and be well received. When it transpired that he had not turned up to court and no one had been able to find him, she had become concerned.

She remembered something about reference to an aftershave in the discussions between the group of friends in the period following Liam’s disappearance but before his body was found.

An aftershave bottle belonging to Johnathan Mackinnon had fallen out of Liam’s jacket and there may have been a disagreement. She said the two accused and Liam had been drinking together.

She said the accused Stefan Millar was a regular visitor to her house and that she didn’t notice anything unusual about him after Liam’s disappearance and he continued to come to her house.

The final witness on day one of the trial was Pemma Maclennan’s boyfriend, Warren Mackay (24) from Stornoway.

.

The trial of two men accused of murdering 16 year old Liam Aitchison at a house in Steinish on November 23rd 2011 continued today (Wednesday).

Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and and Stefan Millar (22) are standing trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

This afternoon, a former girlfriend of Johnathan Mackinnon gave evidence and said he had had an accident with a knife on the night the teenager disappeared.

Seventeen year old Amy Burns said she had been going out with Johnathan Mackinnon for about a week at the time and had been spending time with him at his home in Plasterfield.

She said it was not common knowledge that they were in a relationship as she didn’t want her father to find out as she didn’t think he would approve.

She had gone up to his house on the Tuesday night with her friend and Mr Mackinnon was drinking alcohol. She said he had got ‘quite drunk’ but that he ‘was fine’ and had been perfectly happy but there had been an accident.

She said: “He was mucking about with a knife and trying to seem cool, I don’t know. He put the knife down and was rolling a fag and changing the music. I went to move it and it cut his hand open.”

The incident happened before Stefan Millar and Liam Aitchison arrived.

She said he had told her he had the knife because it ‘made him feel safe’. She said it was a meat cleaver and she had first seen it in his room before and that there was another knife. She said he had injured his right hand and was bleeding and he had asked her to bandage it. The blood had dripped on the bed and floor and on his clothes.

Later that night Stefan Millar and Liam Aitchison had arrived and were soaking wet as it was raining outside. Stefan had gone upstairs to get changed and Liam had put a bottle of vodka on the table and had then also gone upstairs to change his clothes, she said.

She left the house with her friend to go home but spoke to Mr Mackinnon later that night as she wanted to make sure he was ok.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran asked how he was when she spoke to him.

In a statement to police she had said he had got angry but said in court this was because he didn’t want to keep their relationship a secret anymore.

She had gone to bed but the next morning found she had several missed calls from Mr Mackinnon between 2:51 and 3:09am. She met up with him the next day and went to his house and she asked Mr Mackinnon why Stefan Millar was coming over that night.

“Johnathan said he needed to speak to him. I asked what he needed to speak about and he wouldn’t tell me,” she said adding he kept saying ‘it doesn’t matter.’

Responding to questioning from defence QC Mr Paterson, she said the next day he was not acting unusually and was ‘just the same as he always was.’

Her friend Christine Hazelton (18) also gave evidence at the trial

In evidence given this morning, Johnathan Mackinnon’s ex-girlfriend Stephanie Flanigan (22) said she had received a phone call from him in the early hours of the morning after Liam disappeared.

Miss Flanigan said she spoke to Mr Mackinnon and he asked her if Liam had made it back to Pemma Maclennan’s house – the house where she was staying for the night with her current boyfriend and where Liam had been expected to stay.

She said it was not unusual for her and Mr Mackinnon to speak to each other ‘when they were drunk’. She said he had told her there had been a fight that night with Liam and then they talked about getting back together.

Prosecutor Mr Iain McSporran asked if she could tell where he was phoning from and she said it was from his house as she could hear Stefan Millar in the background and heard him say ‘Get off the phone. I’m trying to sleep. I’m working at six.’

She said Mr Mackinnon had told her that Liam was ‘being a brat’ and that was the reason for the fight. The boys had left Liam walking back to Pemma’s house he told her.

“I was annoyed at him for leaving Liam and I had a go at Johnny for that,” she said.

“I started shouting at him. He laughed at me because he knew it would annoy me.”

She agreed in cross-examination by defence QC Mr Paterson that it was not unusual for her to speak to Johnathan as they had been in a long term relationship and that he had said that Liam ‘was ok’.

She also said she had a missed call from someone the following day from a number she thought was Liam’s because she thought she recognised the last three digits.

She explained that she had become increasingly concerned about Liam in the hours and days that followed and thought of him as ‘a wee brother’ who confided in her a lot.

She said on the night he went missing they had all been at Pemma’s house on McCallum Place and that he had gone out to the Co-op and came back with a bottle of vodka.

Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar had also been at the house but Mr Mackinnon left earlier and she believed they were all going to his house later.

She had been contacted by Liam later that evening asking for a number. Earlier that afternoon he had returned with a slip of paper with a number on it and had used her phone to call that number. She said she thought it was the number for ‘some Polish guy’.

She agreed in questioning from defence QC Frances McMenamin that Stefan had not wanted to go up to Johnathan’s house because he was working the next day.

Following Liam’s disappearance Miss Flanigan said she also had contact with Stefan Millar. Her mobile phone had been examined as part of the case and text messages between the two were read to the court in which Stefan Millar had stated he had last seen Liam when he left to walk back to Pemma Maclennan’s house.

Evidence was also given at the High Court in Glasgow by Liam Aitchison’s former foster carer, 49 year old Catherine Macdonald.

Dr Macdonald who lives in Lochboisdale, South Uist said she had known Liam since he was about nine years old but he had been under her care for a period of three months until December 2010.

She said she had retained contact with Liam for the next year when he moved back with his father and also during some of the two periods when he moved to Lewis.

She had spoken to him following his involvement in a car accident in Lewis at the end of 2011 and also in the days running up to his expected appearance in Stornoway Sheriff Court. She had offered to come to Lewis to support him at his court appearance and he had accepted.

She travelled to Stornoway to meet him the day before but they later agreed to meet at the court the following day.

When Liam didn’t turn up at the court she said she had phoned the mobile phone he had phoned her from but did not manage to get hold of him.

“I was cross with him,” she said. “I assumed he hadn’t had the courage to turn up to court.”

She said she had looked for him but had no way of contacting him and eventually returned home to Uist.

Stephen Macleod (20) from Stornoway also appeared as a witness.

He had been at Stornoway Sheriff Court the day after Liam disappeared and was also appearing at court. In his statement to police he said he had heard a conversation at the court involving the accused Johnathan Mackinnon about someone getting hit – although at his appearance at the High Court he was unable to recall the details.

A discussion between a group of young men in the foyer of Stornoway court that morning took place, he said, but was unable to say if Liam Aitchison’s name had been mentioned.

Defence QC Mr Paterson asked Mr Macleod if he could have made a mistake in his statement to police which he had given three weeks after the incident.

“Probably could have,” he said. “There were so many of us speaking at the same time.”

.

The trial of two men accused of the murder of 16 year old Liam Aitchison in November 2011 continued today (Thursday) with evidence coming from a former work colleague of Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and Stefan Millar (22).

Gavin Wright (20), a fisherman from Stornoway, worked alongside the two men aboard a local fishing boat and claimed in his statement to police that he had heard Mr Mackinnon say he ‘would love to stab someone.’

Mr Wright worked alongside Mr Millar regularly and had also worked with Mr Mackinnon for a period.

He had also known Liam Aitchison and had socialised with him and the two accused.

In his previous statements to police, Mr Wright recalled a conversation onboard the boat when Mr Mackinnon had allegedly said ‘I would love to stab someone’.

In this statement Mr Wright admitted he had been under the influence of alcohol at the time he heard Mr Mackinnon say that.

Speaking in court he said he couldn’t recall saying this to police but said: “If it is in my statement it must have been something he said.”

He also claimed a meat cleaver had gone missing from the boat and that Johnathan Mackinnon had turned up at his house with the knife in his pocket.

He did remember a conversation when working with Mr Mackinnon that he had asked if stabbing a fish would be similar to stabbing a human and Mr Mackinnon had said the closest to stabbing a person was stabbing pig skin.

In his statement he said Mr Mackinnon had said when stabbing someone you are ‘not meaning to kill them’ but Mr Millar had added that ‘you are meaning to kill them’.

Mr Wright said in court he could vaguely remember that conversation. He had said in his statement that Mr Millar had made fun of Mr Mackinnon and said that he would be too scared but Mr Mackinnon had said he was not. Again Mr Wright could not recall telling police this but said if it was in his statement it must be true.

In cross examination by Mr Mackinnon’s defence lawyer Mr Paterson, he was asked why he had not mentioned the conversation they had allegedly had about stabbing in his first statement to police. Mr Paterson also asked if he recalled police asking him ‘quite a significant question’.

After some prompting he said: “They said something about some woman who had said something. Some woman said I was involved.”

Asked again about the conversation he referred to in his subsequent statement to police, Mr Wright couldn’t recall when it had taken place or whether the boat was at sea or in the harbour.

He said the skipper was strict in his rules regarding alcohol on the boat and did not approve of crew turning up after a night of drinking although it had taken him a ‘few tellings off’ before he adhered to this. He also admitted that they did consume alcohol on the boat in the harbour but that the skipper did not know.

Mr Paterson asked him of the stabbing conversation: “Do you remember if you were joking? Do you remember if Johnathan Mackinnon was joking? Were you all just fooling around?”

He said he didn’t know.

Mr Paterson asked him when was the last time he had seen Liam who was a regular visitor to his home in Stornoway and had stayed there one weekend.

In his statement to police he said he had seen Liam on the pier on Saturday November 19th.

“I really can’t remember,” he said.

“Did you just say anything to the police to get out as soon as possible?” asked Mr Paterson.

In further cross examination by Stefan Millar’s defence QC Frances McMenamin, Mr Wright was asked if his first statement to police might be more accurate as it was closest in time to the 23rd November. She added that in the conversation about stabbing, referred to in Mr Wright’s statement to police, that Stefan Millar’s position had been that it was ‘just wrong to stab anybody.’

He told the court he had worked with Stefan Millar on the day after Liam had gone missing and he and his boss had picked Mr Millar up in the morning near Mr Mackinnon’s home.

He had asked Mr Millar about what he had been up to the night before and he told him he had been drinking with Mr Mackinnon and Liam Aitchison. He said Mr Millar told him there had been a disagreement over an aftershave and Liam had then headed off to Pemma Maclennan’s house which was the last time Mr Millar had seen him.

A nurse at Western Isles Hospital, Peggy Macleod (58) also gave evidence this morning.

She was on duty at the Western Isles Hospital in the Accident and Emergency Department when Johnathan Mackinnon had come in with an injury to his hand on November 23rd 2011.

She said he came to the hospital about 2am and explained that he had been cut with a knife.

While he was being treated by Mrs Macleod, he said something which struck her as odd.

She said: “I think I remember him saying that his mother said to him that he should be in a mental institution or some words to that effect and then he asked did we think he should be.”

She said she told him that he had been very co-operative with the A&E staff.

“I could smell alcohol on his breath, he wasn’t shouting, he wasn’t being aggressive and he answered questions when you asked him,” she said adding that the remarks about mental health were ‘quite spontaneous on his part.’

A further witness Maureen Stewart (46), who is a healthcare assistant in the A&E department had been working with Mrs Macleod in aiding Mr Mackinnon.

She said he had said: “Do you think I’m mentally disturbed?”

She said there was nothing about his presence which suggested that he was and so the remark had struck her as odd.

.

The partially-clothed body of Liam Aitchison was found in a blood stained room in a derelict house at Steinish on Lewis, the High Court in Glasgow heard today (Friday).

The scene in the room ‘was one of themost horrendous scenes’ Scene Examiner Josie Busby (34) of the Scottish Police Authority had come across in her eight year career, she said.

Giving evidence to the court in the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar (both 22) who are charged with the murder of Liam Aitchison on November 23rd 2011, Ms Busby said she had been sent to Lewis to examine the scene following the discovery of the body on November 29th 2011.

Some of the photographs taken by Ms Busby were shown in court which showed Liam’s body in a room at the property where he had been found the day before by local volunteer coastguards.

She said there were ‘heavy blood stains’ on the carpet and near the body and blood on the walls. She also said there were teeth on the carpet.

“In my eight year career it was one of the worst scenes I’ve been to,” she said.

Evidence was also given by coastguard volunteer Ronald Maclean (40). He had been part of a team tasked to search farm buildings in the area in the search for Liam. He said they had searched farm buldings in the Mossend area and then had gone to Steinish where they had searched the old Bomb Dump. On finding nothing, they decided to search one more property – the derelict house.

He said they had entered the house by climbing through a broken glass panel on the door.

Describing what he saw when he entered the house, he said it was a mess with empty beer cans on the floor. They had gone through the house looking in rooms with him behind his colleague moving down the hall to the last room on the left, where they discovered Liam’s body.

“The boy’s body was lying on the floor,” he said describing that the only clothes on the body were a t-shirt, boxer shorts and a pair of socks.

He said they then left the building to get a handheld radio and to ‘buy yourself a bit of time to get yourself together.’ They then called for the police to attend and then received a phone call from another team member who was a paramedic. He asked if they had checked if there were any signs of life, said Mr Maclean, which they hadn’t, so they returned to the house and checked.

He went on to say it was about ten minutes before the police arrived and in that time ‘a large white van appeared with three boys in it.’ The coastguard team were in a marked vehicle which would have been visible to any approaching vehicle. He told them to leave and they did.

He said they he had noticed signs of blood on the broken window going back out of the house.

In cross examination by defence lawyer Iain Paterson, he was asked if they had had to pull themselves up and through the gap to enter the building – the gap which had bits of glass round the edges. Yes, replied Mr Maclean. Mr Paterson also asked if they had entered the building during the day and whether it was daylight? “We could see easily,” said Mr Maclean, “It was not a problem to see.”

Earlier in the day evidence was given by a Steinish resident who told the court she ‘got a fright’ when she saw three people in hooded tops on the road to Steinish just after midnight on November 23rd 2011.

Mrs Donalda Kennedy (62) told the court she was driving home from visiting a friend between 12:15 and 12:30am and had been alarmed.

She said: “They pulled down their hoods and it was quite obvious that they didn’t want me to see their faces. They turned their backs and covered their faces and that is what left me very alarmed. I got a fright to be honest, it wasn’t normal behaviour.”

She said it had been very dark as the street lights are turned off at midnight but that it wasn’t unusual to see people on the road. She knew all the teenagers in the village and it wasn’t any of them, she said.

On arriving at her house, she rushed inside and ran upstairs to tell her husband about it. In her hurry, she left her handbag in the car and had to return outside when she heard vague voices from the three further down the road.

She had not reported this incident to the police until several days later when she heard on the news that a body had been found in Steinish.

In her statements to police, she had suggested the three were around five foot four to six but in court she said she couldn’t be certain.

Defence lawyer Iain Paterson questioned whether her sighting of the people could have been a little earlier, but no, she said, it was between 12:15 and 12:30.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin asked Mrs Kennedy if she knew of the derelict building in Steinish where Liam Aitchison’s body was found.

She said she did know of it but when asked if she knew it was used as a drinking den for young people, she said she had not known that.

.

The mother of one of the accused told the High Court in Glasgow yesterday (Friday) that Liam Aitchison had tried to jump out of an upstairs window of her house in Plasterfield on the night he disappeared.

Giving evidence on day four in the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and Stefan Millar (22), who are accused of murdering Liam on November 23rd 2011, Mrs Bella Mackinnon (47) – mother of Johnathan Mackinnon – said her son, Stefan Millar and Liam had been at the house in Plasterfield on the night of November 22nd and had been drinking upstairs.

She explained that she had gone upstairs to check everything was alright and that Liam was standing on top of the single bed and he was going to climb out of the window.

She said she heard Stefan Millar say: “Get down from there, don’t be so stupid.”

On the night of November 22nd she said she knew he was expecting his girlfriend Amy Burns to come to the house. She had come up with her friend and later Mr Millar and Liam Aitchison had also arrived.

She said Mr Mackinnon had cut his finger and blood was dripping on the floor but he had said it was just a scratch. She said when she looked at it she thought he would need stitches.

The girls had left and Mr Mackinnon, Mr Millar and Liam Aitchison had gone upstairs and taken the bottle of vodka with them.

She said it was a few hours later when they were about to go out that Liam had tried to climb out of the upstairs window. She said they left at 12:20am and she knew because she had looked at her mobile phone and had turned on teletext on the television.

Prosecutor Mr McSporran questioned whether it could have been earlier than that and whether she had been having problems with her mobile. She said it sometimes froze and the SIM card and battery had to be removed and then the time would have to be reset, but she was sure it was always set correctly.

She was asked if she had texted Stefan Millar at 12:21am to ask where they were going? Mr McSporran asked why a text had been sent just one minute after they left and why she had not just asked them when they were still at the house. She said there was no point in talking to them when they had been drinking as they didn’t listen. She said they later said they had been at Fusion takeaway in Stornoway. Mr McSporran questioned why if they had been around the area of Fusion takeaway, which is near the Western Isles Hospital, would Mr Mackinnon have come all the way home to get his mother to take him to Accident and Emergency.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin referred to Stefan Millar having said they were ‘just having a smoke and then came up the road’. Ms McMenamin asked could it be that they were in a derelict house near Fusion, opposite the Cabarfeidh Hotel, where they had gone for a smoke. Mrs Mackinnon said she did not approve of cannabis taking.

Mr Mackinnon and Mr Millar had returned just before 2am, said Mrs Mackinnon and Johnathan Mackinnon had asked her to take him to the hospital as his cut hand from earlier in the evening was still bleeding. One of them had told her Liam Aitchison had gone off to Pemma Maclennan’s house. She had taken Mr Mackinnon to the hospital and Mr Millar had gone to bed. They had returned from the hospital by 2.40am, she said.

She was asked by Mr McSporran, prosecutor, if she was aware that Mr Mackinnon had a meat cleaver in his bedroom. She said she did know and had removed it.

Defence lawyer Iain Paterson also asked her about this and clarified with her that when Mr Mackinnon had gone out that night with Stefan Millar and Liam Aitchison, the meat cleaver had remained in the house. Yes, she said.

She was asked by prosecutor Mr McSporran if she knew of the house where Liam’s body was found and whether she knew that Johnathan was in the habit of going there. She said yes she had known he had gone there in the past as it was a ‘drinking den for the young ones.’

.

Forensic evidence was presented to the High Court in Glasgow today (Monday) in the ongoing trial of two men accused of murdering Liam Aitchison and it was confirmed that one of the accused’s blood and DNA had been identified in the room where the body was discovered.

Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar – both 22 – are accused of murdering the teenager at a house in Steinish on November 23rd 2011.

Forensic scientist Sarah Jones from the Scottish Police Authority, who specialises in identifying blood stain patterns, said drops of blood found in the room where Liam’s body was found were identified as a match to Johnathan Mackinnon’s DNA profile.

She said the majority of blood in the room was Liam’s blood but that spots in one area on the carpet were a match to Mr Mackinnon.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran asked if someone had been bleeding from a cut on their hand, could that produce drops of blood like those found in this area? She agreed that was one possible explanation.

She said that Mr Mackinnon’s blood was also found on one of the socks which Liam was wearing with a DNA match to the other sock and also the door handle of the room.

No blood was found outwith the room.

Ms Jones had attended the scene at the Steinish house and carried out chemical testing to identify blood stains and also took samples for further examination in a laboratory in Aberdeen.

In analysing the stains she concluded that some of the blood stains could have come from a person being struck perhaps repeatedly while lying or crouching on the floor. She said there was also blood smearing in one area which indicated contact with a source that was wet with blood. She said they had also found hair in this area.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran asked her if the scene was typical of violent death. She said there was really no such thing as ‘typical’ in crime scenes but commented: “In this particular scene the areas on the carpet were quite saturated and in my mind indicated quite a significant blood loss.”

She said the position of blood staining suggested that the deceased was not assaulted in the position where his body was found but in another part of the room and she said in her view it was feasible that the deceased had moved across the carpet by crawling or crouching or was dragged to his final position.

The blood and damage to the t-shirt Liam was wearing was also examined. All blood on this item of clothing was found to be Liam’s and it was also analysed to have 20 areas of damage to it. Eighteen of those were interpreted as from separate actions involving a sharp edged object and a further two areas of complex cutting which could have been two separate actions.

She said it was not possible to age blood stains so she would not be able to say when blood spots matching Mr Mackinnon’s DNA profile would have been deposited.

In cross examination by defence lawyer Mr Iain Paterson, Ms Jones was asked was it likely that if someone had repeatedly punched or kicked or struck the deceased in the position where the blood smearing was evident, there would have been a transfer of blood? She said this was correct.

He asked: “Would it not be virtually impossible for there not to be a transfer to the person carrying out the assault?”

“Essentially it would be quite surprising not to get a transfer,” she replied.

Mr Paterson pointed out that the person responsible might have carried the rest of Liam’s clothes out of the house, going down the hallway in the dark in an area which contained several items. Ms Jones said those items in the hallway had been examined for traces of blood but none were found.

Pieces of broken glass were also analysed, some of which included blood stains and also hair which had been cut near the root end which could mean the deceased was struck with broken glass.

Cigarette ends found in the property were also tested for DNA but did not offer a match.

Ms Jones said searches of Mr Mackinnon’s home in Plasterfield had included the removal of a large quantity of knives and sharp objects which were tested but none of them were found to have traces of Liam’s blood on them. Items were also taken for testing from Stefan Millar’s home and none were found to have DNA from Liam Aitchison on them.

.

The trial of the two men accused of murdering 16-year-old Liam Aitchison on November 23rd 2011 was adjourned early today (Tuesday) following evidence given by Liam Aitchison’s ex-girlfriend Ashley Macdonald.

Seventeen year old Ashley Macdonald said she had known Liam Aitchison for several years and had been his girlfriend at one point but not at the time of his death.

She had been in contact with him on and off since then and again when he had moved to Stornoway in the summer of 2011.

She told police she had seen Liam on November 25th 2011 but in court said she had made a mistake and it had actually been the week earlier on the 17th or 18th of November.

She was questioned by both the Advocate Depute Mr Iain McSporran and Defence lawyer Mr Iain Paterson before the court adjourned. The trial is due to resume tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

.

The trial of two men accused of murdering 16 -year-old Liam Aitchison in November 2011 was adjourned today (Wednesday) while some administrative work is carried out.

It was adjourned yesterday for the same reason and is due to resume tomorrow.

Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Milar – both 22 – are accused of murdering Liam on November 23rd 2011 at a derelict property in Steinish near Stornoway.

On Tuesday morning the court heard from Liam’s former girlfriend 17-year-old Ashley Macdonald who said she had seen him on November 25th 2011, but she said she had later realised that was a mistake and it was actually the week before on November 17th or 18th.

Both men deny the charges against them.

Yesterday would have been Liam Aitchison’s 18th birthday.

.

The trial of two men accused of murdering Liam Aitchison on November 23rd 2011 continued today (Monday) with the court hearing the remainder of evidence from Liam’s former girlfriend Ashley Macdonald who said she wanted ‘justice for Liam’.

Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar – both 22 – are accused of murdering the 16-year-old at a house in Steinish.

Miss Macdonald (17) was adamant in cross examination by the defence today that she had last seen Liam Aitchison on November 17th or 18th and not November 25th as was recorded in her numerous statements to police.

She was asked about her relationship with Liam and said that they had been boyfriend and girlfriend in the week before he disappeared and she was not aware that he was in a relationship with anyone else.

She was questioned by Mr Paterson, defence lawyer, on when she had changed her mind as to when she had last seen Liam. She said she couldn’t remember.

Mr Paterson pointed out that in her statements to police, she was sure that it had been the 25th and that if that was the case, Johnathan Mackinnon had been in prison at that time and could have not committed the murder.

“You were clear as today is Monday that you saw Liam on Friday the 25th of November,” he said. “That is the truth, isn’t it?” he asked. “No, it’s not,” she replied. I got my dates mixed up.”

She said she had been very upset after hearing that Liam’s body had been found and was in a ‘bad state’ at the time.

Miss Macdonald broke down as she recalled the aftermath of finding out Liam was dead.

Mr Paterson questioned why there was no record of her changing her mind about the dates in the police records and why there was no reference to her being drunk in the log book records at the care facility where she was staying, as she said she had been on the night she had last seen him.

She said she thought she had told police about the mistake over the dates but couldn’t remember and said she had gone out of her way to hide any signs of her drinking from the facility staff.

“Did somebody put you up to this?” asked Mr Paterson on her change of mind over the dates.

“No,” she replied. “I’m entirely sure that nobody has told me to say anything.”

Mr Paterson pointed out that there was no record of her telling police, the staff at the care facility, the Procurator Fiscal or anyone that she had been mistaken about the date she had last seen Liam.

She said on the night she last saw Liam she had been out with her friend Jean Anne McLaughlin.

Mr Paterson said the records from the care facility showed that Miss McLaughlin had been off the island on the 17th and 18th and had only returned on Saturday the 19th.

In further questioning she said she had seen Liam for the last time when she was at a bus stop at the corner of Goathill Road. She said she had told him to leave her alone as long as he was hanging around with a group of people she didn’t approve of.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin asked Miss Macdonald if Liam Aitchison had been her boyfriend just the week before he disappeared and also whether she had sneaked him into her room at the facility she was staying in. She said that was true.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran, who had called Miss Macdonald as a witness, added at the end of questioning that he had been surprised by her change of dates.

“Do you think it would be justice for Liam if innocent men were convicted of his murder?” he asked. “Let us be quite clear,” he added. “If Liam Aitchison was alive and well on November 25th these men are completely innocent of his murder.”

He said that he was suggesting that she was not a person as of November 2011 who could be relied upon and when she told police that she had seen Liam on the 25th of that month, she was not capable of being relied on.

“If Liam Aitchison was alive and well on November 25th, these men should walk free,” he said.

.

Further evidence at the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and Stefan Millar (22) – accused of murdering Liam Aitchison in November 2011 – came from Lena Dawson (22), a hairdresser from Stornoway today (Monday).

She said she had been at the derelict house in Steinish with friends six or seven years ago and Johnathan Mackinnon had turned up and smashed a window.

Miss Dawson said she had been camping with a group of friends near the house – the property where Liam Aitchison’s body was found – on one occasion and another when they had entered the house and stayed there.

She said they had been drinking in the house and that most of their bottles and cans had probably been left in the house when they left. She said there was no electricity in the house and they had used artificial lights from mobile phones. They had stayed in a room which she believed was the main room of the house.

She said Johnathan Mackinnon had come to the house but had not been part of their group and was an unwelcome visitor. He was associated with another member of the group. She said he had only stayed about five minutes but had broken a window.

“Did he come into the room you were camping in?” Prosecutor Iain McSporran asked. She said he had not. She was shown a picture of a scene from the house with empty bottles but she said the bottles were not from her group’s visit as they had not been drinking Budweiser or Magners.

Final witness of the day was Dr Lisa Cameron, a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Pyschologist employed by NHS Greater Glasgow.

Dr Cameron had provided the defence with a report on last week’s witness Mr Dominic Long (17).

Mr Long was a former cell mate of the accused Stefan Millar and said in court last week that Mr Millar had told him that he and Mr Mackinnon had killed Liam Aitchison.

Dr Cameron was asked to give a Psychologist’s opinion on Mr Long’s cognitive and memory functions given his ADHD diagnosis and substance abuse difficulties.

She said she had not seen Mr Long face to face but was able to comment given his records and that there had been tests of his cognitive functions. She said people with ADHD could suffer cognitive and memory difficulties but this was likely to be linked to initial encoding of information.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin asked if the information received was not encoded appropriately, could that person then give a false account later on.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran asked if the nature of the information could affect the person’s ability to recall it? Yes, replied Dr Cameron who said if information was ‘emotionally salient’.

He asked if a young man had been told that a person and another murdered someone by stabbling and beating and cutting their throat, and the person receiving the information felt this was wrong, would that be something which was ‘emotionally salient’?

It could be, said Dr Cameron depending on whether this kind of conversation was a normalised experience from their life.

It was pointed out that Mr Long also had a history of alcohol and drug related problems and that he had undergone a detox programme when he arrived in prison in December 2011 when he shared a cell with Mr Millar.

Dr Cameron said she could only draw conclusions on the cognitive testing with caution as it had become clear that Mr Long had taken drugs on the day of the assessment.

.

Murdered teenager Liam Aitchison had said Johnathan Mackinnon was ‘like a brother to him’ according to Mr Mackinnon’s statement to police when interviewed as a witness early on in the investigation, the High Court in Glasgow heard today (Tuesday).

At the ongoing trial of Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and Stefan Millar (22) – who are accused of murdering 16-year-old Liam Aitchison on November 23rd at a house in Steinish – the court heard evidence from several police officers who had interviewed the two accused, initially as witnesses but then as suspects in the crime.

Both gave statements as witnesses and were very co-operative, police witnesses said, and Mr Millar also spoke at length to police when he was interviewed as a suspect and refused his right to have a solicitor present. Mr Mackinnon gave a statement as a witness but when interviewed as a suspect he declined to comment, as was his right.

Both said in statements to the police that they had been drinking with Liam in Johnathan Mackinnon’s house in Plasterfield on the night of November 22nd 2011 and that later Liam had left them to go to Pemma Maclennan’s house and that was the last time they had seen him.

In his statement to police made at Inverness while he was in prison, Mr Mackinnon said he had been at Pemma Maclennan’s house with Liam and Stefan Millar that night and had left to go home at one point. Later his girlfriend and her friend had come to his house and he had cut his hand, he said in his statement.

He admitted that he had a knife in his room as well as a 10 inch meat cleaver because it ‘made him feel safe’.

He said the three men had been drinking upstairs that night and that he had been arguing with his mother about the volume of the music and because Liam Aitchison had tried to jump out of the window. He also said that he and Liam had been sick out of the bedroom window. They had left around 12:30am and had planned to go to the derelict house opposite the Cabarfeidh Hotel. He said at one point Liam had fallen over and Mr Mackinnon’s aftershave had fallen out of his pocket leading to an altercation.

In his statement he said: “I got angry and called him a thief. I challenged him and squared up to him. He said something like I was a brother to him. I threw a punch at him but he tried to block it with his arm, it was just the once.” He said Stefan Millar had not been involved and it was all over quite quickly and they had gone on their way. He also said he had punched Liam earlier in the house when he had tried to jump out the window but it was just ‘one of those things’. He had last seen Liam when he had left to go to Pemma Maclennan’s house.

When asked if he knew of the derelict house in Steinish where Liam’s body was found, Mr Mackinnon said he used to go there quite a lot when he was about 16 or 17 but that he hadn’t been inside the house for over two years. He said he had been there before with Mr Millar but not with Liam Aitchison.

“As far as I know if Liam was up there,” he said to police, “it’s a mystery how he knew about it.”

Defence lawyer Iain Paterson pointed out that Mr Mackinnon had been very cooperative in giving details of that night and had even provided a DNA sample to police before he was a suspect.

In his initial statement as a witness, Stefan Millar also gave a similar account of events and said he had last seen Liam on the hill at Anderson Road where he took one of the turnings into town to go to Pemma Maclennan’s house.

In his subsequent statement when he was detained as a suspect, Mr Millar again gave a lengthy interview. He said that night when they left Mr Mackinnon’s house in Plasterfield, they had walked towards the Cearns but that Liam had said he was going to Pemma Maclennan’s house. They had then gone to the derelict house opposite the Cabarfeidh Hotel and stayed for a while trying to make phone calls but didn’t get hold of anyone so had headed back to Mr Mackinnons.

Mr Millar was asked by police if he recognised a picture of the house in Steinish and if he had ever been there. Not that he could remember, he said in his statement.

Stefan Millar was asked in this interview why had not mentioned that Johnathan Mackionnon had punched Liam that night in his earlier statement. He said it had ‘slipped his mind’.

“There is a big difference between punching someone and murdering someone,” he said to police.

He was also asked what he could tell them about reports that he had hit Liam on the head with a bottle which did not break. He said he didn’t know what they were talking about.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin highlighted that there had been more than 600 witness statements and that some of the questioning of Mr Millar had come from some information in those statements, which could be based on rumour.

She said where ever it had come from, Mr Millar’s response had been: “I don’t know who is giving you this information but it’s not correct.”

Police witnesses reported to the court that a forensic team from the Scottish Police Authority had carried out a search of the derelict house opposite the Cabarfeidh Hotel and they had found the garage door open and had found no traces of blood there.

Both men deny the charges against them. The trial continues before Lord Kinclaven.

.

Hundreds of hours of CCTV footage from around Stornoway were viewed by officers in the investigation into the murder of Liam Aitchison, the court heard this afternoon (Tuesday).

Also more than 600 witness statements were taken by police.

At the ongoing trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar – both 22 – who are accused of murdering Liam Aitchison on November 23rd 2011, the court heard evidence from Police Constable Neil Moir who was the CCTV Co-ordinator in the investigation.

He said in his evidence that there had been no sighting of Liam Aitchison on CCTV on or since midnight on November 22nd 2011.

He said viewing CCTV footage had been a huge operation which had lasted 23 days with a team of officers watching footage for 12 hours each day. He said they had focused on the Plasterfield and Steinish areas but no CCTV footage had been recovered. Mackinnons Bakery in Plasterfield had no external cameras, a house on Constable Road which may have had cameras did not and footage from Stornoway Airport tower had proved too far away.

Of the CCTV footage viewed, Defence lawyer Mr Paterson said: “It’s as simple as this, having looked at CCTV you didn’t see any images as someone you could identify as Liam Aitchison.”

Mr Moir said they had identified Liam in footage at the Co-op supermarket on the evening of November 22nd.

Mr Moir said that they could only identify the person if the footage was of sufficient quality. He said that also if they were looking at footage with some form of intelligence, they could identify movements.

Mr Paterson questioned whether some people would know where cameras were placed in a small place and Mr Moir replied that he highly doubted they would know of business premises cameras.

Earlier today the court also heard evidence from a childhood acquaintance of Liam Aitchison. Amanda McCall (26) said she knew Liam’s family as she had grown up with his Auntie in Ness. She hadn’t seen him since he was about three or four years old but a visit to a Chip Shop in Stornoway in November 2011 had brought him back into her mind.

She saw a poster which said he was missing and was asking for information from anyone who had seen him. She remembered that she had seen Liam at a bus stop on Macaulay Road.

In her statement to police she said she had seen him on Thursday November 24th but said in court she was mistaken and it was actually Tuesday November 22nd.

She said she had seen him when she was getting off the bus opposite the hospital when she was with her friend. They had planned to meet for a Chinese takeaway on the Thursday but it was changed to Tuesday and that was why she been mixed up with the dates. She said her friend had always been confident it was the Tuesday they had seen Liam. She said he had been wearing a white zip up top and she had noticed that it had looked quite dirty.

In cross examination by defence lawyer Iain Paterson, she was questioned on why she had never informed police that she had got her dates mixed up. She said she was ‘scared’ and didn’t want to make things difficult.

Mr Paterson asked her if she knew what perjury was? Lying under oath, she said. Had anybody suggested that she change her position, he asked. No, she replied.

“If you saw Liam on the 24th of November, these are the wrong men, you know that don’t you?” he asked. He said it was ‘ridiculous’ that somebody could be so convinced at the time that it was the Thursday and then 18 months later be convinced it was the Tuesday.

“It might sound ridiculous but it’s true,” she said.

.

The trial of two men accused of murdering 16-year-old Liam Aitchison was adjourned this morning due to one of the jury being ill. Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar – both 22 – are accused of murdering the teenager in a house in Steinish on November 23rd 2011. The case is due to resume tomorrow morning.

.

Murdered teenager Liam Aitchison was stabbed 20 times, the High Court in Glasgow heard today (Thursday), including injuries which ruptured two of his major arteries.

In the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar – both 22 – who are accused of murdering Liam on November 23rd at a house in Steinish, the court heard evidence from Consultant Pathologist Dr Rosslyn Rankin who examined the body at the scene and carried out the post mortem.

She said Liam had been stabbed eight times in the neck – one of which had penetrated the carotid artery in his neck; seven times in the chest – one which ruptured the Aorta, the main artery in the body; five times in the abdomen penetrating the spleen and the small bowel; and also had severe injuries to his face and incised wounds on his hands and forearms which suggested he had tried to defend himself from the attack.

Prosecutor Mr Iain McSporran asked her: “There is no question whatsoever that serious violence was done to Liam Aitchison?” She agreed.

She told the court she had travelled to Stornoway on Wednesday November 30th, the day after the body had been discovered, and she had examined it at the scene. When the body was transported to Inverness, she had carried out an autopsy on December 2nd.

On describing the injuries to Liam’s face, she told of numerous wounds including a laceration on his forehead with the most severe being around his mouth. She also said his upper and lower jaws had been fractured and there was a cut to his left ear which had left a part missing.

Mr McSporran asked: “Would it be right to say Liam Aitchison’s face was in a mess?” Dr Rankin replied: “Yes that would be a reasonable description.”

She said of the eight stab wounds to the neck that two had caused damage to organs with one puncturing the carotid artery which takes blood to the brain. She said this would have resulted in significant haemorrhaging from a major artery and in itself would have been fatal.

Of the seven stab wounds to his chest the most significant was the wound which had penetrated the Aorta. She explained that this was the largest artery which distributes blood from the heart around the body. She said this would also have been a fatal injury.

The injuries to the abdomen, some of which had penetrated the spleen and the small bowel, could also have been potentially fatal, she said, if not treated medically.

She was also asked about injuries to his upper limbs which she called ‘incised wounds’ which she said could have been defensive type injuries suggesting Liam had tried to defend himself.

She was asked extensively by Mr McSporran and defence lawyer Mr Paterson about the examination of the body initially and the ability to determine how much time had passed since his death.

She said on examination of the body at Steinish she had concluded that Rigor Mortis was almost fully established. She explained that there are three stages of Rigor Mortis which can help determine how much time has passed since death occured, but could not say for sure.

She said the speed of the onset of Rigor Mortis was very dependent on the environment in which the body lay and in a cold environment it would take much longer than in a warm place.

Mr McSporran asked: “Is there anything that would exclude the possibility that Liam Aitchison was killed in the early hours of Wednesday November 23rd?” No, she said.

Mr Paterson pointed out that that period in November had actually seen temperatures which might be considered relatively mild for that time of year. Dr Rankin, however, reiterated her position that she believed, in her opinion, that death had occurred several days before her examination.

Toxicology reports were also carried out on Liam Aitchison’s body and he was found to have 242mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood – about the equivalent of three times the legal drink driving limit. He was also found to have very low levels of a prescription drug in his system.

In cross examination on this point, Frances McMenamin QC asked about the testing for other drugs in his system. Dr Rankin said he had tested negatively for others including cannabis. She asked about testing for acid, or LSD. Dr Rankin said testing for LSD was not routinely carried out and she was not aware of any laboratory in Scotland which still tested for it.

.

The High Court in Glasgow heard evidence from intelligence analysts at today’s (Thursday) proceedings in the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar (both 22) who are accused of murdering Liam Aitchison in November 23rd 2011.

Mairi Matheson (43) an Intelligence analyst said she was not a police officer but her role was to assist in investigations by collating and managing data.

In the investigation into the murder of Liam Aitchison, she had been involved with looking at telephone records from a number of phones and particularly activity between 11pm on November 22nd 2011 and 7am on November 23rd.

The call records had come from Vodafone and showed a record of all activity on phones looking at both calls and text messages.

Johnathan Mackinnon’s phone was examined and several calls and text messages were shown before midnight on November 22nd but then a period of inactivity from 12:23am to 1:20am. He then made three calls, two to the same number and one to another. His mobile phone then showed an attempt to phone his current girlfriend several times and another number and the his ex-girlfriend and a series of text messages had followed. A further attempt to phone his current girlfriend then followed.

Stefan Millar’s phone showed he received a text at 23:11pm on November 22nd and then sent a text to a number at 23:34pm. A text message was received from Johnathan Mackinnon’s mother Bella Mackinnon and then a voice call later. A text message was sent to another number at 2:02am and then a string of 50 messages were sent between the phone and another belonging to a Lorna Macdonald, between 2:04am and 3:35am. A message was sent to his boss early that morning and then a phone call was received from him.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin pointed out there had been a lot of texting going on between Stefan Millar and Lorna Macdonald before the time examined and was not the case that he had come back to the house in Plasterfield that night and ‘suddenly started texting’ her.

Evidence was also given by Mark Ferguson (40) a Forensic Computer Analyst based in Inverness.

He had been looking at activity on Johnathan Mackinnon’s mother, Bella Mackinnon’s phone.

The records showed that a text message had been sent from the phone to Stefan Millar’s phone but showed this as November 24th rather then November 23rd. Mr Ferguson said it was possible that the date stored on the phone could have been set wrongly and this could mean it appeared incorrectly in the data.

Mr Ferguson also stated that examination of Johnathan Mackinnon’s phone had found a contact stored on it which was Liam Aitchison’s number.

Final witness of the day was Detective Constable James Morrison (51) who is based in Inverness but was involved in part of the enquiry into the murder of Liam Aitchison in Stornoway early in the investigation. He had been later called to attend at Porterfield Prison in Inverness to take a statement from Dominic Long on August 8th 2012. The court heard last week from Dominic Long who was a cell-mate of Stefan Millar at the end of 2011 and alleged in his statement that Mr Millar had admitted that he and Mr Mackinnon had murdered Liam Aitchison.

In questioning Mr McSporran asked Mr Morrison: “In the course of discussions with Dominic Long, did you or your colleague offer any details of the crime?” No, he replied. Mr McSporran also asked if any reward had been offered for Mr Long’s co-operation? No, he answered.

“He came across as a genuine person,” he said.

In cross examination by defence Ms McMenamin, she asked if Dominic Long had had any difficulty in remembering what Stefan said. No, said Mr Morrison. She asked him if he knew of the drug and health problems Mr Long had experienced. He said he did not.

.

An experienced pathologist told the High Court in Glasgow today (Friday) that it was ‘unlikely’ Liam Aitchison had died on November 23rd as has been argued by the Crown case.

At the ongoing trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar (both 22) – who are accused of murdering the teenager at a house in Steinish – the first witness called by the defence was Professor Anthony Busuttil (67). Professor Busuttil has more than 30 years of experience which includes his role in charge of pathology in several high profile cases such as the Dunblane School massacre and the Lockerbie Air disaster.

Professor Busuttil was asked to carry out a post mortem on Liam Aitchison’s body on behalf of the defence. He was asked by Mr Paterson about the issues regarding rigor mortis and decomposition.

Professor Busuttil stressed that no pathologist was able to say exactly when someone had died as it was not ‘an exact science’ but that given the evidence before him in this case, he found the suggestion that Liam Aitchison had died on November 23rd to be ‘unlikely’. In the report by Dr Rankin, who gave evidence to the court yesterday (Thursday) she had concluded that when she first examined the body she found that rigor mortis had almost completely set in. She said her findings were consistent with the view that Liam Aitchison had died on November 23rd.

Given that Liam was allegedly murdered on November 23rd and then his body had lain undiscovered until November 29th and was examined by Dr Rankin the day after, Professor Busuttil said he had difficulty with the timing and he would have expected rigor mortis to have receded by the time it was examined if the deceased had died on the 23rd.

He was also struck by the lack of evidence of decomposition in the body given the time scale. He said it was usual for a body to first show signs of decomposition by discolouration on the left side of the lower abdomen. In an average environment at room temperature, he would expect this to be seen within 12 to 14 hours after death. Liam’s body showed no signs of this discolouration.

Professor Busuttil said: “I would have thought that the passage of days is unlikely, the body wouldn’t have died when the incident was supposed to have occurred. In my view it is unlikely.”

Prosecutor Iain McSporran asked Professor Busuttil if it was possible that Liam had died on November 23rd?

He replied: “In medicine everything is possible, some things are more possible or probable than others. Sometimes we are surprised by exceptions to the general rule.”

He said he had not examined Liam’s body at the scene and said that the environment in which his body lay could have been a factor in delaying the process of rigor mortis and decomposition.

.

A Lewis taxi driver told the High Court in Glasgow today (Friday) that Liam Aitchison had been sleeping in the derelict house in Steinish where his body was found and that the last time he had seen the teenager he had said: ‘If I last that long’.

The ongoing trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar (both 22) – who are accused of murdering Liam Aitchison at 17 Steinish on November 23rd 2011 – heard evidence from Donald John Macrae (41).

Mr Macrae said he had known Liam since he had started working on a fishing boat out of Stornoway and that he regularly gave him a lift in his taxi free of charge.

Defence lawyer Iain Paterson said: “You did this out of the goodness of your heart?”

Mr Macrae agreed and said: “When someone is struggling, I didn’t mind helping him out.” He said he knew Liam’s position in that he didn’t have a permanent address.

He said he had given Liam a lift to the house in Steinish on a few occasions and that Liam had been sleeping at the house.

He was asked about the last time he saw the teenager and he said he thought it was in November 2011 and that Liam had been ‘concerned’ and had asked him a couple of questions.

Mr Macrae said: “He was concerned, he was normally a jovial kind of guy.” He said Liam had been ‘quite low’ but he remembered he was looking forward to seeing his girlfriend.

On parting, Mr Macrae had offered to help him find accommodation when he returned from a trip to the mainland and Liam had said: “If I last that long.”

Mr Macrae added: “Those were his last words to me. I feel guilty about that to this day.”

Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar deny the charges against them.

,

No murder weapon was found in the investigation into the death of Liam Aitchison, the Court heard from the final witness for the Prosecution earlier today (Friday).

In the 12th day of the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar (both 22), the court heard from Detective Sergeant Iain Morrison (41) who is based in Stornoway and was the Deputy Investigating Officer in the murder enquiry.

He said no murder weapons had been found and the remainder of Liam Aitchison’s clothes and any bearing his blood had not been recovered.

Prosecutor Mr Iain McSporran asked if in the course of the investigation they had been given witness accounts that were demonstrably untrue. He said that was correct and also confirmed that they had identified people who were likely to have information who refused to give that information.

Mr Morrison said as part of the course of the enquiry he had walked the routes between the accused Johnathan Mackinnon’s home in Plasterfield to the house in Steinish and had taken both routes – walking the main road along the Steinish road and also another route along back roads turning off at North Street to 17 Steinish. He had also walked the route from Mr Mackinnon’s home in Plasterfield to Fusion takeaway area where Mr Mackinnon and Mr Millar say they were in the early hours of November 23rd. All journeys walking at a comfortable pace had taken 23 to 24 minutes.

In cross examination he was asked if the journey could have taken considerably longer if a person had been drunk. Defence lawyer Mr Paterson drew attention to the toxicology reports which had shown a very high level of alcohol in Liam Aitchison’s body.

Mr Morrison responded: “It would depend on the person’s ability at the time. I have seen people who are three or four times the limit for driving who have been able to walk quite well.”

Mr Paterson also pointed out that two of the numbers, which Johnathan Mackinnon’s phone had called in the early hours of the 23rd, were for residents living in the Cearns.

Defence QC Frances McMenamin also asked if Mr Morrison was aware of there being people in the Cearns who cannabis could be purchased from. He agreed.

Steinish resident saw three males

At the start of the defence case, evidence was heard from Calum Smith (46), a Steinish resident.

Mr Smith, a Divinity student, had spoken to police in December 2011 as part of their door-to-door enquiries in the course of the murder investigation. He said his home was in Stewartfield just before Steinish village and that one evening he had seen three youths walking down the road.

“The first reason I was suspicious was because I had never seen them before or since,” he said. “I was going out to take in my car into the driveway. I started checking round my car because I was so suspicious of these three lads. They were wearing tops and all had the hoods up.”

He said one of them had been carrying a white plastic bag. It had been some time between 8pm and 10pm one evening between the 21st and 24th of November. He said he could not be certain but that he was leaning towards it being the 22nd as there had been an important church meeting on that day and he had been speaking to someone about it.

He was asked about the weather conditions and said it had been dry but the three males had their hoods up.

Accused may have cut himself at Steinish house years ago

Johnathan Mackinnon may have cut himself and been bleeding on a visit to the house in Steinish where he and Stefan Millar are alleged to have murdered Liam Aitchison.

A witness called by the Defence team, Jonathan Nape (24) said he had been living on Lewis from February 2006 to June 2007 and during that time he and a group of friends had been camping near to the derelict house in Steinish where Liam’s body was discovered.

Mr Nape said that three youths had come to the house when his group were there and that Johnathan Mackinnon had been one of them. He said they had thrown stones at the windows and that Mr Mackinnon had entered the building through a window. He said in his statement to police that Mr Mackinnon had cut himself when coming out of the building and had cried out with pain because he had hurt himself. He said Mr Mackinnon had become angry and kicked over a bin outside the building. When questioned further he said he could not be certain if Mr Mackinnon had cut himself on the way in or the way out of the building.

.

Stefan Millar denied he had any involvement in the murder of Liam Aitchison as he gave evidence at the High Court in Glasgow today (Tuesday).

The trial of Stefan Millar (22) and Johnathan Mackinnon (22) – who are accused of murdering Liam Aitchison on November 23rd at 17 Steinish – continued today with one of the accused taking to the stand.

Mr Millar denied that he had murdered Liam Aitchison and also said he had never been at the house in Steinish where Liam’s body was found.

His defence lawyer Frances McMenamin asked: “Did you kill Liam Aitchison?”

“No, I never,” he said.

“Did you take any part in the attack on him that resulted in his death? No, he replied.

“Were you in the house in Steinish when he was attacked?” No, I wasn’t, he said.

Mr Millar said he had known Johnathan Mackinnon since they were about 15 and had both attended the Nicolson Institute. He said they were close friends. He added that he had met Liam Aitchison in the summer of 2011 on the pier at Stornoway and they had become friends.

On the night when it is alleged that Mr Millar and Mr Mackinnon murdered Liam Aitchison, Mr Millar said he and Mr Mackinnon and Liam had been drinking at Mr Mackinnon’s home in Plasterfield and had gone out again about half past 12. Prior to that he and Liam had been at a house in McCallum Place and had walked to Plasterfield in the rain and had been soaked. On arriving at Mr Mackinnon’s house they had changed their wet clothes. He said when they arrived he could tell Mr Mackinnon had had a drink and was slurring his words and was a bit uneasy on his feet. He said they had all drunk vodka straight and wine but that he had not consumed as much as the other two. At one point Liam had tried to climb out of the window because Mr Mackinnon’s mother was shouting at Mr Mackinnon for drinking and playing music too loud but Liam had thought she was shouting at him.

Mr Millar was asked about his mobile phone activity during the time he was at the house in Plasterfield and later and was asked why all activity had stopped between 23:34pm and 2:02am. He said this was because they were out in the rain.

He explained that when they left the house, Liam was ‘messing about, rolling about in the road and trying car doors.’ Mr Millar said he and Mr Mackinnon had told him to stop it. He said a bottle of Mr Mackinnon’s aftershave had fallen out of Liam’s pocket and Mr Mackinnon had punched Liam. He also said Mr Mackinnon had punched Liam when they were still in the house.

Ms McMenamin asked: “Did he (Liam) ever fall in a ditch?” No he had not, said Mr Millar although he had fallen on the verge and pavement ‘just by tripping over his own feet’.

“At any time on the way down the road did you lay a finger on Liam Aitchison?” No, he said.

He said the plan had been to go to the Cearns and see if they could get anything to drink but Liam had left them around Anderson Road Nurseries to head back to McCallum Place.

He was then asked if he had ever been along the Steinish Road? No, he said and he had never been to 17 Steinish, he was 100 per cent sure of that.

Ms McMenamin referred to a statement made by Johnathan Mackinnon when he was interviewed as a witness when he said he had been to the house in Steinish before and had also been there with Mr Millar. Mr Millar said that was not true.

He said they had been unable to get in contact with anyone in the Cearns so they had gone to the garage of a derelict house near Fusion takeaway.

He said on December 10th when he was taken to Stornoway Police Station as a suspect in the murder case, he had not been worried as he hadn’t done anything and when he was taken to prison in Inverness he had been ‘pretty devastated’.

He said the information he had given to his cell mate Dominic Long was based on what the police were accusing him of doing and not what he had actually done. Dominic Long appeared as a witness earlier in the case and alleged that Mr Millar had admitted to him that he and Mr Mackinnon had killed Liam Aitchison.

.

The trial of two men accused of murdering Liam Aitchison in November 2011 in Steinish is drawing to a close with the court hearing the remainder of evidence from Stefan Millar today (Wednesday) who continued to deny any involvement in the crime.

He is the final witness in the case and the court also heard the closing speech from Prosecutor Iain McSporran. Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar are accused of murdering the 16-year-old at a house in Steinish on November 23rd 2011.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Mr Millar began his evidence and was questioned by his defence lawyer Frances McMenamin QC and was today cross-examined by Mr McSporran.

Mr McSporran said Mr Millar’s account of what had happened in the early hours of November 23rd was a story which was ‘simple to maintain’.

Mr Millar said that he and Mr Mackinnon had been drinking with Liam Aitchison at Mr Mackinnon’s house in Plasterfield, they had gone out around 12:30am, parted company with Liam at Anderson Road Nurseries where he had said he was going to McCallum Place and they had carried on towards the town. As they hadn’t got in touch with anyone who lived there, they had gone to the garage of a derelict house near Fusion before heading back to Plasterfield.

Mr McSporran asked if there had been any point when he and Mr Mackinnon had not been together. No, replied Mr Millar.

“Whatever he was up to, you were up to?” asked Mr McSporran. Yes, said Mr Millar.

He asked if Mr Millar was aware of a knife or cleaver in Johnathan Mackinnon’s bedroom. He said he was but that he had never asked him why he had it. Mr McSporran asked if Mr Mackinnon had ever said it was to make him feel safe? He might have, said Mr Millar.

Mr McSporran then asked if Mr Mackinnon had had a knife with him when they went out in the early hours of November 23rd. No, said Mr Millar. “How do you know?” he was asked. “I never saw one,” he replied.

When asked why all mobile phone activity had stopped on his phone during a period between 23:34pm and 2:02am he said he had no reason to use it and it had been ‘pouring with rain’.

Mr McSporran asked him about what he had told police about that night and referred to his statement in which he is recorded as saying it was ‘spitting rain’. Mr Millar said he had obviously made a mistake as the way he remembered it was that there was heavy rain.

In the period of time when neither Mr Millar nor Mr Mackinnon had used their phones, Mr McSporran asked what they were doing.

He said it had taken half an hour to 40 minutes to get to Anderson Road with Liam as he was stopping all the time and trying car doors.

“Was there anybody else about?” asked Mr McSporran “Not that I can remember,” said Mr Millar.

After the period of inactivity on the phones they had both resumed activity and Johnathan Mackinnon had made several calls and Mr Millar had continued texting until 3:35am.

Mr McSporran said no murder weapon or the clothes removed from Liam’s Aitchison’s body had been found and he asked Mr Millar if he had disposed of items at sea? No, he said.

He asked Mr Millar what clothes Liam had borrowed from Mr Mackinnon that night. Dark bottoms, a dark top and trainers, he said.

Mr McSporran said Liam had been found in just a t-shirt, boxer shorts and socks and said: “Someone removed the clothing that belonged to Johnathan and left boxers, socks and a t-shirt.”

“They were Johnathan’s too,” said Mr Millar. “Do you want to tell me how you know that?” Mr McSporran asked. Mr Millar said Liam had changed them earlier that night. He then said he thought the boxer shorts were Liam’s own.

The injuries to Liam’s body were highlighted by Mr McSporran who asked Mr Millar if Mr Mackinnon had asked him to stab Liam’s body too after he had inflicted injuries so they were both responsible? “No that’s not true,” said Mr Millar.

When asked about the evidence given by witness Dominic Long who said Mr Millar had told him that he and Mr Mackinnon had killed Liam, Mr Millar said Mr Long had got it wrong.

Mr McSporran asked him why he had given such fine detail in his account to Mr Long of what the police were accusing him of but had failed to say he had gone into town and not to Steinish.

“You omitted to tell him about your cast iron alibi,” said Mr McSporran.

The Prosecutor also asked about his relationship with Mr Mackinnon and how many houses he had been to with him in the past when he was dripping blood?

“Quite a few,” he replied. “He was bad for self harming.”

Defence Frances McMenamin asked him again about the knife in Mr Mackinnon’s bedroom and asked of the night they had gone out: “As far as you were concerned, he didn’t have any knife or cleaver with him?” No, he said.

Of the questioning regarding his alleged confession to Dominic Long, Ms McMenamin asked: “Did you confess to Dominic Long?” No, he said.

Both accused deny the charges against them. The trial before Lord Kinclaven continues.

Further reports of today’s proceedings will be added later this evening.

.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran said there was compelling and persuasive evidence against Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar who are accused of murdering Liam Aitchison at a house in Steinish in November 2011.

In his closing speech to the jury, Advocate Depute Mr McSporran said all evidence pointed to the guilt of the two accused.

The closing speeches for the defence will be given tomorrow (Thursday) before the jury retires.

He said: “They (the accused) have given a simple and consistent account, they stand or fall together.”

He said on November 23rd the two accused and Liam Aitchison had left Mr Mackinnon’s house in Plasterfield at some point after midnight.

Despite extensive searches, there had been no sighting of Liam alive after this point by any credible witness, he said.

He said just before leaving the house Liam had been drunk and had vomited. When his body was examined he was found to have a high alcohol level and an empty stomach which was consistent with the Crown’s case that he died shortly after that time.

Mr McSporran drew attention to the evidence from witness Mrs Donalda Kennedy who had seen three people walking past her house in Steinish all wearing hoodies. He said door to door enquiries had found those people had not gone to any occupied home in the village.

He said it had been shown that Mr Mackinnon and Mr Millar would have had enough time to go from Plasterfield to Steinish, commit the murder and return to Plasterfield in the time they were away.

He also pointed out that despite considerable phone use before and after a period of just over an hour, there had been no phone activity by either of them for a time.

He added: “Despite having Liam’s number stored in his phone, Johnathan Mackinnon phoned Stephanie Flanigan out of the blue and asked if Liam had made it to Pemma’s house. Why not simply phone Liam?”

He asked why if Mr Mackinnon had indeed gone to a derelict building near Fusion takeaway, why he had not just crossed the road and gone up to the hospital to have his wound – which was sustained earlier at his home – attended to and not walked back to Plasterfield and woken his mother to take him to the hospital.

He pointed out that Mr Mackinnon’s blood was found in drips on the carpet in the room where the murder took place and there had been no evidential basis for that presented to the court.

He said the presence of drips of blood on the carpet in the very part of the room where Liam was killed was an ‘astonishing coincidence’.

He reminded the court of evidence that Mr Mackinnon had been to that house before but said there was no positive evidence of him bleeding in the living room.

He referred to evidence given by witness Gavin Wright who alleged that Mr Mackinnon had said he would ‘love to stab someone’.

Mr McSporran said they knew there had been a falling out when the three were leaving the house in Plasterfield but ‘it was hard to imagine that theft of an aftershave would lead to this terrible death’

He said the evidence given by witness Dominic Long had been compelling and that this was not a boy who wanted to be at the trial and was no reason for him to lie.

He had shown Mr Long a disturbing photograph of Liam’s body which had prompted his evidence that Mr Millar had told him he and Mr Mackinnon had committed the murder.

He said there was nothing in the psychological report on Mr Long which suggested his evidence would be unreliable.

“You can have a jigsaw but not have all the pieces but still see the picture,” he told the jury. “That’s the nature of a circumstantial case.”

He said Liam had been missing from the moment he had not turned up at Pemma Maclennan’s house in McCallum Place and that: “He was never seen again, never seen in CCTV, not one positive sighting of him.”

He said in the period after the Crown alleges Mr Mackinnon and Mr Millar had killed Liam Aitchison, Mr Mackinnon had gone to Western Isles Hospital to have his wound seen to and had asked one of the nurses out of the blue: ‘do you think I’m mentally disturbed?’

He said it was a curious aspect of this case that whoever had killed Liam Aitchison they had managed to leave no trace outside the room where the body was found.

Defence closing statements will be given tomorrow (Thursday).

.

The trial of two men accused of murdering 16- year-old Liam Aitchison drew close to an end today (Thursday) with the jury hearing the final two closing speeches from the defence.

Johnathan Mackinnon (22) and Stefan Millar (22) are accused of murdering the teenager at 17 Steinish on November 23rd 2011.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Advocate Depute Mr Iain McSporran presented his closing speech to the jury and today the court heard from Mr Iain Paterson, defence lawyer for Mr Mackinnon and Ms Frances McMenamin QC for Mr Millar.

Mr Paterson said there were ‘enormous gaps’ in this case and that there were ‘more curious aspects than you would find in a curiosity shop’.

He said Mr Mackinnon and Liam Aitchison were friends and that they had been drinking together. He referred to the evidence showing Mr Mackinnon had phoned his ex-girlfriend in the early hours of the morning on the day the Crown allege that he and Stefan Millar had killed Liam.

Mr Paterson asked: “If Johnathan Mackinnon had murdered Liam Aitchison in the early hours of that Wednesday morning why on earth was he on the phone to Stephanie Flannigan not long after saying he had an altercation?”

He said it was ridiculous to say this had been some sort of ‘set up’ but that these were ‘lads trying to arrange a few drinks before they were due in court.’

He said Mr Mackinnon had cut his hand that evening, he said that was a ‘stupid thing, idiotic’ but ‘it doesn’t make him a murderer.’

He asked why if Mr Mackinnon had committed this brutal murder would he go to a hospital with an injury which had come from a knife and when he had blood on his trousers?

“You just wouldn’t do that, would you?” he said.

In relation to the comments two nurses said Mr Mackinnon had made at Western Isles Hospital when he attended to have his hand seen to, about his mother thinking he should be in a mental institute, Mr Paterson said they needed to be looked at in context. It was two o’clock in the morning and he had woken his mother to get her to take him to the hospital and ‘any mother in Scotland’ would think that in those circumstances.

He said in the murder investigation a search of Mr Mackinnon’s home in Plasterfield had found ‘nothing which was incriminating against Mr Mackinnon’.

Regarding the identification of Mr Mackinnon’s blood in the room in the house where Liam’s body was found, Mr Paterson said there could be an explanation for that.

He said Mr Mackinnon had told police in his statement he had been to that house before and evidence from the Forensic scientist had confirmed that blood stains could not be aged and so they could not tell when that blood had arrived there. He also said evidence from witness Jonathan Nape had been that Mr Mackinnon had potentially cut himself at the house some years ago.

He also said that no trace of Mr Mackinnon’s blood had been found outside the living room of 17 Steinish and given that his hand was bleeding on the night in question, there was no evidence of his blood dripping ‘on the way out, on the door, nothing.’

He said the pathology evidence in this case had ‘undermined the Crown case’ given that the pathologist Professor Busuttil had concluded it was ‘highly unlikely’ Liam had died on November 23rd based on the progress of rigor mortis and the lack of signs of decomposition.

He said the pathology evidence and also that of the Forensic scientist was ‘extremely important’ as was the evidence from taxi driver Donald John Macrae who had said Liam had been sleeping in the house at 17 Steinish.

He said there was no evidence that Mr Mackinnon had been at 17 Steinish on November 23rd and the only evidence the Crown had proved was that Liam Aitchison did not stay at Pemma Maclennan’s house in November 23rd.

Mr Paterson told how prosecutors had to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the accused were involved in the murder.

He said every question had been answered with a piece of evidence that ‘pointed to the innocence’ of Mr MacKinnon and asked the jury to acquit him of the murder.

.

In her closing speech to the jury, Stefan Millar’s defence lawyer Frances McMenamin said there was no evidence at all to link Mr Millar to the house in Steinish where Liam’s body was found.

She said there was also no evidence that the attack on the murdered teenager had been carried out by more than one person.

In the final part of the trial of Johnathan Mackinnon and Stefan Millar (both 22) – who are accused of murdering Liam Aitchison at a house in Steinish on November 23rd 2011 – Ms McMenamin spoke at length to the jury.

She said the evidence from the Crown’s ‘star witness’ could not be taken at face value. Dominic Long shared a cell with Stefan Millar at the end of 2011 and alleged in court that Mr Millar had told him that he and Mr Mackinnon had committed the murder.

Ms McMenamin pointed out that Mr Long had issues with drug addiction, suffered from ADHD which could affect his ability to interpret information, and was also going through a detox programme at the time when he shared a cell with Mr Millar.

She said Mr Millar had told Mr Long what the police were claiming he and Johnathan Mackinnon had done. She said Mr Long had missed out ‘three wee words’ in his account which were ‘the police said.’

She said: “The Crown would have you believe that Stefan Millar chose him – a 16-year-old total stranger with such obvious and serious problems – and having maintained his innocence to friends, to the police, to other cell mates, that he confessed to Dominic Long.”

She said that confession had been so shocking to Mr Long that ‘he didn’t tell anybody’. She said he had only told this version of events to the police when they turned up at the prison to speak to him.

“Dominic Long’s evidence is just a lot of made up exaggeration of what he was actually told,” she said.

She said if Stefan Millar was guilty of anything it was being ‘completely naïve’ in thinking he could have a conversation with Mr Long which wouldn’t be misunderstood, misconstrued and misquoted.

She said that no matter how hard you looked at the evidence presented in the trial, there was nothing which placed Mr Millar at that derelict house in Steinish.

“There is no DNA evidence linking him to the attack, no forensic transfer, no fingerprints and not one piece of evidence within any of those circumstances which puts Stefan Millar at that house, far less inside it,” she said.

She said there was also no evidence that the attack on Liam Aitchison could only have been carried out by more than one person.

She added that Mr Millar had given evidence to the court and had also answered all questions put to him by the police and had had not wanted a solicitor to be present because ‘as far as he was concerned, he had nothing to hide.’

She said when the jury considered the evidence put to them by the Crown, they must ask whether it had satisfied them ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

She drew attention to the high level of alcohol found in Liam’s body and said to the jury: “How do you know that Liam Aitchison didn’t part company with the two accused and go off for more drink?”

She said no one was suggesting that when Mr Mackinnon, Mr Millar and Liam had left Plasterfield that they had a carry out with them. She noted that evidence from Forensic Scientist Sarah Jones had found Liam’s DNA on the neck of a bottle at 17 Steinish.

She said the Crown’s suggestion that Liam’s stomach was found to be empty because he had vomited before leaving Mr Mackinnon’s house was just one explanation.

She reminded the jury of the statement by Advocate Depute Mr McSporran that Liam had relied on others for money, clothing and food. She said another explanation for an empty stomach was that you hadn’t had anything to eat for a while.

Ms McMenamin said there was no verdict by the jury which could bring Liam Aitchison back.

She said she was sure the jury would reach a verdict in relation to Stefan Millar which would allow him to walk out of the courtroom.