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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Pizza boss 'was accused's friend' | Pizza boss 'was accused's friend' |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| The man accused of murdering Glasgow restaurant manager Eleni Pachou has told his trial he had no reason to kill her as she was his friend. | |
| Juan Carlos Suarez Crispin was giving evidence through an interpreter at the High Court in Glasgow. | Juan Carlos Suarez Crispin was giving evidence through an interpreter at the High Court in Glasgow. |
| He denies murdering the 25-year-old at Di Maggio's restaurant in the west end of the city last May. | He denies murdering the 25-year-old at Di Maggio's restaurant in the west end of the city last May. |
| He also claimed he did not need to rob her as his mother had won money in the Spanish lottery. | He also claimed he did not need to rob her as his mother had won money in the Spanish lottery. |
| Mr Crispin told defence QC Ian Duguid: "She was a happy girl and I was a happy guy and we just became friends." | Mr Crispin told defence QC Ian Duguid: "She was a happy girl and I was a happy guy and we just became friends." |
| He said he went to the restaurant on the night Ms Pachou died so she could give him £100 she owed him. | He said he went to the restaurant on the night Ms Pachou died so she could give him £100 she owed him. |
| When asked why he had lied to the police in a statement he gave last June, when he denied ever being at Di Maggio's that night, Mr Crispin said: "I didn't want to be accused of the death of Eleni. I wasn't there when it happened." | When asked why he had lied to the police in a statement he gave last June, when he denied ever being at Di Maggio's that night, Mr Crispin said: "I didn't want to be accused of the death of Eleni. I wasn't there when it happened." |
| Mr Crispin, who came to Glasgow about 12 years ago, told the court he worked for most of that time at Di Maggio's in Ruthven Lane, Glasgow, as an assistant manager. | Mr Crispin, who came to Glasgow about 12 years ago, told the court he worked for most of that time at Di Maggio's in Ruthven Lane, Glasgow, as an assistant manager. |
| Ms Pachou's body was found inside Di Maggio's in Glasgow's west end | Ms Pachou's body was found inside Di Maggio's in Glasgow's west end |
| Through the restaurant he met the cleaner Marion Hinshelwood, 44, and began an affair with her. | |
| Hinshelwood has pleaded guilty to the culpable homicide of Ms Pachou on the basis she bought the alleged murder weapon. | |
| She claimed that she and Crispin ended their relationship after his partner found out about them last February. | |
| But in evidence, Crispin claimed the pair were still lovers until 29 May last year when he visited Ms Pachou at the restaurant. | |
| He said that before and after his visit to Di Maggio's he went to Hinshelwood's flat in Marchmont Terrace, Glasgow, and claimed that she accused him of sleeping with Ms Pachou. | |
| Mr Crispin told the court he then left Hinshelwood's flat and got a taxi home. On the way he claimed she phoned him 12 times on his mobile. | Mr Crispin told the court he then left Hinshelwood's flat and got a taxi home. On the way he claimed she phoned him 12 times on his mobile. |
| He said he did not answer her calls, but rang Hinshelwood back and told her to leave him alone and stop calling. | He said he did not answer her calls, but rang Hinshelwood back and told her to leave him alone and stop calling. |
| Lottery win | Lottery win |
| Crispin was also asked if he had asked Hinshelwood to kill Ms Pachou and he replied: "Never." | |
| He also denied asking her to buy a knife to kill Ms Pachou. | |
| The waiter, from the Canary Islands, said he was not in financial difficulties at the time and had taken out a £4,300 bank loan to pay for a summer holiday for his family in Gran Canaria. | The waiter, from the Canary Islands, said he was not in financial difficulties at the time and had taken out a £4,300 bank loan to pay for a summer holiday for his family in Gran Canaria. |
| The court also heard he had £42,000 equity on his family home and his mother had won 25,000 euros in a lottery in Gran Canaria in 2005. | The court also heard he had £42,000 equity on his family home and his mother had won 25,000 euros in a lottery in Gran Canaria in 2005. |
| Mr Crispin said that if he had been in dire straits he could have approached his mother for money. | Mr Crispin said that if he had been in dire straits he could have approached his mother for money. |
| The 37-year-old is accused of, while acting along with Hinshelwood, repeatedly striking Ms Pachou on the head and body with a knife or similar instrument, opening a safe and robbing her of £1,320.25, attempting to open another safe and murdering her. | The 37-year-old is accused of, while acting along with Hinshelwood, repeatedly striking Ms Pachou on the head and body with a knife or similar instrument, opening a safe and robbing her of £1,320.25, attempting to open another safe and murdering her. |
| Mr Crispin denies the robbery and murder. | Mr Crispin denies the robbery and murder. |
| Two further charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice were withdrawn by the Crown. | Two further charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice were withdrawn by the Crown. |
| The trial, before Lord Turnbull, continues. | The trial, before Lord Turnbull, continues. |