Prostitute 'killed after cash mission'. Jury is told of accused's words at the graveside of his wife

Then he dumped 26-year-old Karen McGregor's body in a car park and

tried to make it look as though she had been murdered by a client.

This was alleged at the High Court in Glasgow by Mr William Totten,

prosecuting.

Mr Totten was making his closing speech to the jury at the trial of Mr

McGregor, 29, who denies assaulting Karen in their home at Maukinfauld

Road, Tollcross, Glasgow, on April 18 last.

Mr McGregor denies punching her, striking her with a hard object,

compressing her throat and murdering her and previously evincing malice

and ill-will towards her.

He also denies concealing her body in a car park at Glasgow's Scottish

Exhibition and Conference Centre and attempting to defeat the ends of

justice.

Mr Totten said the Crown case was that there was disagreement between

the accused and his wife on Saturday, April 17 last, and she went out to

work as a prostitute to get money for drugs.

He added that Karen met her death when she returned home early on the

Sunday morning.

Mr Totten said that after killing his wife, McGregor tried to make it

look as if she had been murdered by a client. He added that there were

similarities between the murder of Karen and the unsolved murder of

another prostitute, 23-year-old Diane McInally, whose body was found in

Glasgow's Pollok Park earlier.

Mr Totten said Karen was left in bushes and was wearing only a choker

and tights which contained #73 in the left sole.

He said part of the choker was found 50 yards from her body and she

had been dragged through bushes.

Mr Totten then asked why the killer had not carried Karen's body l0

yards to the River Clyde and thrown it into the water.

He said the answer was that Mr McGregor had to make it look as though

his wife had been killed by a client, and he got away with it for six

months until his arrest.

Mr Totten also referred to Mr McGregor being seen at his wife's

graveside saying: ''I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.''

He said the jury could take it that he meant, ''I didn't mean to kill

you''. Mr Totten asked the jury to the evidence of witness Mr Joseph

McGinty, 21, a self-confessed drug addict.

Mr McGinty had said early that Sunday morning, after another witness,

Mr Samuel Main, 21, called to see him, he went to the accused's house.

He did not see Mr McGregor but claimed Karen was lying on a couch dead

and with face injuries.

Mr Ian Hamilton, QC, defending, asked the jury to disregard the

evidence of Mr McGinty. He added that without Mr McGinty's evidence the

Crown had no case.

The counsel said that in October, six months after the murder, Mr

McGinty had been arrested on other matters. He had used his fertile

imagination to make up lies about the ''celebrated and unsolved murder

of Karen'' in order to do a deal with the police and get out of custody.

Mr Hamilton also referred to what Mr McGregor was heard saying at

Karen's graveside and told the jury the accused had said a lot at his

wife's grave and it could have meant anything when he said, ''I did not

mean it''.

Mr Hamilton rejected the Crown's submission that the accused had

killed his wife and tried to make it look like a client had killed her.

He said the Crown had submitted that Mr McGregor had sent Karen out to

get money for drugs and killed her on her return. Mr Hamilton said it

was incredible a drug-crazed wretch would have thought up such a plot.

He asked the jury if they thought this drug-crazed man would have

taken his wife's body to the car park, left her with #73 in her stocking

and made it look similar to the murder of Diane McInally.

described Mr McGinty as a liar.

The trial continues.