Man accused of murdering friend in Greenock sent photo of dead body to girlfriend

A mum of two wept as she told a jury murder-accused Kyle McAuley sent her a photograph of a dead body.

Midwifery student Hayley Campbell was giving evidence at the trial of McAuley who denies murdering his friend 28-year-old Kevin McCluskley at flat 2/2, 17 Nelson Street, Greenock, on March 24.

Ms Campbell, who was in a relationship with 30-year-old McAuley until 2016, said that she received it around 7am on March 24, but did not open it until noon.

Prosecutor Greg Farrell asked her what she saw and she replied: "It was a picture of a body. It was lying on the floor. The place was all blood. It was a man. I couldn't tell from looking at the picture who it was."

She said that a six-year-old girl she was looking after saw the photo when she opened it and added: "She asked me why there was a dead body on my phone."

Mr Farrell asked the witness: "Did you reply to Mr McAuley".

She said: "I asked him why he was sending me something like that."

She was then asked how she felt and replied: "I was scared."

McAuley is accused of murdering his friend by striking him on the head with a dumbbell and punching, kicking and stamping on him.

McAuley denies this and has lodged a special defence of self defence and claims that Mr McCluskey attacked him with a knife.

He is also charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by sending a post-mortem photograph of Kevin to his former girlfriend and to Marie Orr.

It is also alleged that McAuley moved Mr McCluskey's body from the bedroom to the entrance of the flat in Nelson Street and placed a knife on the floor near his body in an attempt to defeat the ends of justice.

Earlier Ms Orr, a care assistant in a nursing home, who was in a relationship with McAuley at the time, told of being wakened at home early in the morning by her phone vibrating and finding a picture of a dead body on it.

She was asked who the picture was from and replied: "It was from Kyle. It was a guy lying on a bed and there was blood.

Ms Orr told the jury she did not recognise the man in the photograph, but said she recognised the room it had been taken in.

She said: "It was Kyle's bed and his room. The man was lying to one side with his right arm in the air. He had on a black bubble jacket and grey shorts and there was blood on the wall above the bed."

The witness said she texted McAuley saying: "Wtf Kyle is that in your room" and she replied with what she described as "gobbledegook."

When asked how the photograph made her feel, she replied: "I felt sick. I didn't know what was going on."

Defence QC Thomas Ross asked Ms Orr: "Is it correct you told the police that Kyle and Kevin were great pals," and she replied: "Yes as far as I know. I never met him."

The trial before judge Lord Mulholland continues.

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