Man, 66, goes on trial for murder of wife in flat

A 66-year-old man has gone on trial charged with the murder of his wife at their flat in Lanarkshire.

Walter Buchanan is accused of killing Darrel Buchanan, 37, at their home near Hamilton Racecourse in February 2023.

Prosecutors claim he grabbed this wife by the wrists, restrained her and repeatedly hit her on the head - then covered her nose and mouth and compressed her neck.

Mr Buchanan denied the charges at the High Court in Glasgow, in a trial that is expected to last 10 days.

Prosecutor David McLean stated that a 999 call was made by Mr Buchanan who reported that he "woke up to find his wife was cold to the touch".

He also said she had been drinking heavily and she was upset during the night.

Medics gave Ms Buchanan life support but she was pronounced dead at the scene at 07.45.

Paramedic Rebecca McLaughlin, 32, told the court Ms Buchanan had no pulse when she arrived.

The witness said Mr Buchanan told her he had returned home at 02:00 and that his wife went back and forth to the bathroom.

He also said Ms Buchanan had fallen into a plant pot in the bedroom on an earlier occasion.

Ms McLaughlin reported that there was soil on the wall.

Iain McSporran KC, defending, asked the witness if Mr Buchanan assisted her as best he could. She replied: "Yes."

The advocate also put to Ms McLaughlin that his client was "in a state of disbelief".

Mr Buchanan was arrested a week later. He was examined by a doctor and found to have a scar on his left eyebrow.

Mr Buchanan faces a separate domestic abuse charge spanning from April 2019 to the day of the alleged murder.

He is accused of controlling his wife by buying her gifts so she was "indebted" to him and isolating her from others.

Mr Buchanan is separately charged with assaulting his wife at Edinburgh Waverley train station in early 2018 and also behaving in a threatening manner.

The trial before Judge Lord Cubie continues.