THE daughter of a Scottish woman who was allegedly murdered in Australia has told a court her stepfather, David Slater, threatened to kill her mother if she ran off with his money.
Melanie MacEachen flew from Scotland to Perth to give evidence at the trial of Ronald Pennington, 82, who is accused of murdering Cariad Anderson-Slater in 1992 and burying her remains.
The 41-year-old's body was discovered last year when renovations were carried out at Mr Pennington's former home.
The pensioner denies murdering Mrs Anderson-Slater, who is originally from Elgin, Moray, and blames Mr Slater for the death.
Ms MacEachen yesterday described her mother as a loving and caring woman who turned into a different person when she drank.
She told jurors: "It was difficult because the vast majority of the time she was a lovely woman. You wouldn't equate the two people."
She said she visited her mother and Mr Slater in South Australia before they moved to Perth.
During the visit, she went to the pub with her mother but Mr Slater arrived and threatened to kill himself if his wife did not come home.
Ms MacEachen, a doctor, returned home without her mother later that day and found Mr Slater sitting in the dark before they started talking about her mother.
The witness said he told her that he worried her mother might run off and take money that he had put into her account for tax purposes.
Recounting the conversation, she told the Supreme Court in Perth: "If she did that, he would kill her."
Ms MacEachen said she understood her mother's husband had been upset and angry against the background of her mother's pattern of binge drinking.
She added that his anger was not unjustified but his comments made her anxious, despite her underlying belief he would not carry out the threat.
The court previously heard that, following their move to Perth, the married couple became friends with Mr Pennington and went to his house for dinner on the night of July 12, 1992.
When they returned home, they began to argue and Mrs Anderson-Slater started to drink.
Mr Slater told the court his wife was an alcoholic, and every few months would go on binges and disappear for days and end up at strangers' houses and hospitals.
He said that night he left the house and drove to Lake Monger to allow Mrs Anderson-Slater to calm down. When he returned he saw her walk to their neighbour's house and that was the last time he saw her.
The trial continues.
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