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Dead pensioner was in good shape Pensioner was 'scared to death'
(about 2 hours later)
There was nothing in the medical history of an 87-year-old woman to suggest she would die suddenly, her GP has told a murder trial. A retired nurse whose body was found in a shallow grave may have been "terrified to death", a murder trial has heard.
Dr Ross Reid said Dolina MacLean was in "remarkably" good shape for her age. A pathologist said Dolina MacLean's final ordeal may have lasted for hours.
He also told jurors the pensioner appeared to be quite an innocent person, who led a simple life. Prof Derrick Pounder sad he found evidence of extreme stress on 87-year-old Miss MacLean's body.
Former French Foreign Legionnaire John Lawson, 48, is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. He denies murdering Ms MacLean in May last year. Former French Foreign Legionnaire John Lawson, 48, is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. He denies murdering Miss MacLean in May last year.
He also denies trying to defeat the ends of justice by burying her body in a ditch. The court was told that after a four-hour post-mortem examination, pathologists were unable to decide how Miss MacLean died.
Perth-based GP Dr Reid, giving evidence on the fifth day of the trial, told the court he had known Ms MacLean for more than 25 years. But Prof Pounder - a pathologist since 1975 and a world expert on examining exhumed bodies - said Miss MacLean had grown a type of mini-ulcer in her last hours.
Although not a frequent visitor to the practice, she had seen him in relation to asthma and thyroid problems, he said. I wouldn't say scared because I think scared is too mild. I would say she was terrified Prof Derrick Pounder Advocate depute Derek Ogg QC, prosecuting, said the evidence in the case raised the possibility that Miss MacLean had been scared to death.
"My recollection of her as a patient was she was physically pretty well, remarkably so for her age," he said, adding that she "looked a lot younger than her years". She seemed a lady who would be upset by anything out of the routine Dr Ross Reid Prof Pounder replied: "I wouldn't say scared because I think scared is too mild. I would say she was terrified."
Describing her as a "proud, fit older person", he told the jury of eight women and seven men: "She was independent-minded. The pathologist said the ulcers or "erosions" were a sign that Miss MacLean had not died instantly.
"She worked hard to preserve her appearance and her demeanour. She was very polite and mannerly, a nice person." "We normally see it in the context of a person who has developed it over a period of hours," he added.
The court heard Ms MacLean had experienced some episodes of feeling dizzy or faint due to a drop in blood pressure, the last of which was recorded in March 2007. "It would be reasonable, I think, to say that it may develop in 15 minutes or 20 minutes but you usually see them develop over many hours."
Prosecutor Derek Ogg QC later asked the witness if there was anything in her past history which would lead people to suspect she would die suddenly. Mr Lawson of Spittalfield, Perth, denies murdering Miss MacLean and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by burying her body.
The witness replied: "No there isn't." The trial has seen video footage of Mr Lawson confessing to police that he jumped into her green Vauxhall Astra in a Tesco car park in Perth because he wanted to steal the car.
Dr Reid also told the court Ms MacLean struck him as being an innocent person. He claims the frail, elderly woman collapsed and died when he finally ordered her out of the car after a drive along remote country roads.
"I got the feeling she had led quite a narrow life, a simple life almost," he said. Mr Lawson was caught sleeping rough in Miss MacLean's Astra and after hours of questioning took them to where he had buried her body in an area known locally as Knowehead Woodland.
Asked whether she would be easily distressed, Dr Reid replied: "I think my impression would be initially no, but subsequently very much so. Dental records
"She seemed a lady who would be upset by anything out of the routine." Professor Pounder said the state of the body, which had lain in the open or in a shallow grave for almost three weeks, meant the cause of death was "undetermined".
'Reckless disregard' There was no significant natural disease which could account for her sudden death or discernable injuries to the outside of the body.
The jury has heard that Lawson told police he abducted Ms MacLean by getting into her car at a supermarket car park in Perth and making her drive him to the countryside. Miss MacLean's neck was broken, but that had occurred after death, possibly as a result of the body being carried then dropped.
He said in interviews with officers that she later stumbled and fell and banged her head. He said he lifted her back to her feet, and she fell again and died. And there were no findings to back Mr Lawson's account of how Miss MacLean died, the professor said.
Dr Reid told defence QC Gordon Jackson that picking up somebody who has just fainted would be "absolutely the wrong thing to do". Mr Lawson told police that she had fallen, hitting her head or neck against a farm gate.
Mr Lawson is accused of getting into Miss Maclean's car in a supermarket car park in Crieff Road, Perth, on 30 May last year and demanding that she drive off, placing her in a state of "fear, alarm and distress". The jury had earlier heard that there was nothing in Miss MacLean's medical history to suggest she might die suddenly.
They were also shown images of her body being dug from a shallow grave.
Miss MacLean had been unrecognisable but was later identified by her dental records.
Mr Lawson is accused of getting into Miss MacLean's car in a supermarket car park in Crieff Road, Perth, on 30 May last year and demanding that she drive off, placing her in a state of "fear, alarm and distress".
Miss Maclean's body was found in woods near Dunning
The charge alleges that the accused later ordered her to swap seats and drove the car to a farm lane in Moneydie in Perthshire.The charge alleges that the accused later ordered her to swap seats and drove the car to a farm lane in Moneydie in Perthshire.
It is alleged he assaulted the pensioner and tried to force her to walk up a woodland path "for a purpose unknown".It is alleged he assaulted the pensioner and tried to force her to walk up a woodland path "for a purpose unknown".
Mr Lawson is then said to have dragged and carried her to Saddlebrae Wood, where he abandoned the unconscious or dead woman.Mr Lawson is then said to have dragged and carried her to Saddlebrae Wood, where he abandoned the unconscious or dead woman.
The indictment accuses Mr Lawson of failing to get medical help and having a "wicked and reckless disregard" for the consequences of his actions.The indictment accuses Mr Lawson of failing to get medical help and having a "wicked and reckless disregard" for the consequences of his actions.
A second charge alleges that between 30 May and 6 June Mr Lawson returned to the wood, where he picked up her body and drove to Knowehead Woodland, near Dunning.A second charge alleges that between 30 May and 6 June Mr Lawson returned to the wood, where he picked up her body and drove to Knowehead Woodland, near Dunning.
It is claimed that he put the pensioner's body into a drainage ditch and hid it with soil and other debris.It is claimed that he put the pensioner's body into a drainage ditch and hid it with soil and other debris.
He denies the charges. The trial continues.