Witness in Foxbar murder trial saw a man making a stabbing motion

A witness told a murder trial he looked out his window and saw a man make a stabbing motion twice. Steven Richardson was giving evidence at the trial of James Wright and Stuart McLellan who deny murdering 31-year-old dad-of-three Craig McClellan in Tweed Avenue, Paisley, on July 23, last year.

He told prosecutor Paul Brown that he heard a noise outside his flat in Morar Drive, Foxbar, on July 23, last year, between 11.20pm and 11.11.30pm, looked out and saw a man dressed in black shouting at someone.

Mr Richardson told the jurors at the High Court in Glasgow that a second taller man then appeared wearing grey clothing and with one trouser leg rolled up.

He said: “It looked as if he was telling his friend something and made two stabbing motions. It was as if he was telling his friend that he had just stabbed someone. He made two stabbing motions with his left hand.”

The witness, who said the two men were about 200 yards away, told the court he could not see any reaction from the other man.

Defence QC Ian Duguid asked Mr Richardson: “You saw that the person doing the stabbing motion was the taller one could you have got them the wrong way round and it was the smaller man who made the gesture,” and he replied: “No.”

Mr Duguid then said: 'You think the bigger man was telling the smaller man he had stabbed someone, but you did did hear what was said, could he have been asking a question,. He could haver been asking how he just stabbed someone,” and Mr richardson replied: “He could have been doing anything.”

The court has heard that Mr McClelland was stabbed twice in the chest as he walked from his Foxbar home to his brother's home to play X-Box games.

He left the house at 11.15pm and five minutes later made a 999 call saying he had been stabbed.

The trial before Lord Matthews continues.