The 16-year-old boy accused of the Cults Academy killing of Bailey Gwynne owned a laptop that was used to search the internet for advice on “how to get rid of someone annoying”.
Yesterday, the High Court in Aberdeen heard that the laptop accessed by the accused and handed to police by his father, had been used to conduct a number of Google searches.
In the days before the killing, the computer also accessed a YouTube video, entitled: “Fourteen-year-old Bronx student stabs bully to death outside school”, while another website was found using the search terms: “Switchblade knife for sale – 1 offer”.
The evidence was presented by Charles Bruce, 52, a forensic computer analyst, stationed at the Cyber Crime Unit North (Police Scotland). Mr Bruce presented a list of search terms which had been used on the computer in the months before Bailey’s killing.
These included: “knuckledusters UK”; “knife merchant”; “difference between a homicide and a murder”; “illegal knives UK”; and, a month before Bailey’s death; “Aberdeen stabbings death per 1000”.
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The court heard that analysts could not tell who had used the laptop, only that the information had been searched for by someone using the computer.
Cross-examined by Ian Duguid, for the defence, Mr Bruce conceded that he watched none of the videos which were available at the links, nor was he aware of any of the information that the searches might have turned up.
Mr Duguid said that the YouTube video about a Bronx student who stabs a bully linked to a cartoon. Mr Bruce said he did not know about the cartoon, nor that it was accessed from a video website called Fouseytube, which has 8 million subscribers.
Mr Duguid said: “I’m asking about the limitations of your evidence. I’m wondering if you or any police officer researched how this computer got to that video?”
Mr Bruce replied: “I don’t know.”
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Putting the question “how to get rid of someone annoying” into an internet search engine produced innocuous advice for young children, Mr Duguid said. The top answers were, “make him go away”, “stop speaking” and “be mean”. Mr Duguid demanded: “Did you know that?” Mr Bruce did not. The QC added: “It sounds like no one has followed through on searches to see the information the searcher was getting.” Mr Bruce conceded: “It would appear so.”
Earlier, Sarah Jones, 45, a forensic scientist, said she had examined clothing belonging to both Bailey Gwynne and his assailant, and a knife recovered from a recycling bin.
Blood staining from the tip of the knife and along the 8cm blade matched Bailey’s DNA.
The trial continues.