The former wife of a man accused of murdering a mother in 1984 has alleged that he confessed to killing a woman because he “just wanted to know what it felt like”.
Mary McLaughlin, 58, was found dead at her home in Partick in Glasgow’s west end in October 1984 after spending a night out at bars playing dominoes, the High Court in Glasgow has been told.
Graham McGill, 59, denies murdering her and tightly fastening a belt from her dressing gown around her throat with intent to rape on September 26 or 27. DNA samples on her dress, the dressing gown cord, a cigarette end, and a black bra found near her flat are all attributable to McGill, the court was told.
Suzanne Russell, McGill’s former wife, said that when they were together he had told her that he had murdered a woman but she did not believe him.
Giving evidence from behind a screen, she said: “He said he went back to her flat, that he had murdered her, that he had strangled her and that he just wanted to know what it felt like.
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“He said he used her tights. He said he was shocked at how long it took to actually murder her. I said, ‘Were you not worried that the police are after you?’ He said, ‘No, not at all’; he said he wasn’t worried about it at all because she was on her own, she didn’t have anybody and she was more like a prostitute.”
Russell added: “I didn’t believe him . . . he was threatening me because he didn’t want me breaking up with him.”
She said: “He said if I ever told anyone he would kill me. He said if I ever repeated it or ever tried to leave him that’s what would happen.”
The pair were together from about 1985, marrying in 1993, before Russell left him in 1999.
Earlier, Joanne Cochrane, a forensic biologist told the court that she had re-examined items of evidence in the cold case with modern techniques. She said: “The finding of semen attributable to Graham McGill on the dress worn by Mary McLaughlin in our opinion would be explained if semen from Graham McGill was deposited on to the dress during some form of sexual activity. In our opinion one explanation for the finding of DNA attributable to Graham McGill within the knot of the ligature could be that Graham McGill had held the ligature while tying the knot.”
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Under cross-examination by Sarah Livingstone, for the defence, Cochrane agreed that she could not say when the DNA was deposited on the dress and the manner in which it occurred.
Livingstone said: “You’re not saying Graham McGill tied this knot?”
Cochrane replied : “No, we’re considering it as one explanation. We’re aware there could be another explanation,” adding: “We accept the possibility of secondary transfer.”
Russell also denied a suggestion from Livingstone that she only told police about McGill’s alleged confession after finding out he was in custody.
A post-mortem examination carried out on October 2, 1984 found that McLaughlin died of ligature strangulation at least five days before. The level of alcohol in her blood indicated she was intoxicated at the time of her death.
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McLaughlin was unemployed and had previously gone by the surnames Cullen and Mullen.
McGill was arrested by officers in December 2019 and charged after police interview, the court heard.
He denies another charge of stealing a set of keys from McLaughlin’s flat.
Brian Foster, who worked on the case in 1984 and is now retired, told the court: “The belief was that whoever had committed this murder left the door locked and left with the keys.”
McGill also denies a charge of threatening to murder Russell and children at a house in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, between 1985 and 1988.
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The trial, before the judge Lord Burns, continues.