Bernadette Walker trial: Murder accused knew girl's mum lied to police

Bernadette Walker was last seen when Scott Walker picked her up from his parents' house on 18 July last year

A man accused of murdering his ex-partner's teenage daughter said he knew the girl's mother lied to police when reporting her missing, a court heard.

Scott Walker, 51, is accused of killing Bernadette Walker, 17, who was last seen when he picked her up from his parents' Peterborough home last July.

He told Cambridge Crown Court that he knew the girl's mother, Sarah Walker, 38, had Bernadette's phone when reporting her missing three days later.

Mr Walker denies Bernadette's murder.

Prosecutors say Mr Walker - whom Bernadette called "Dad" but was not her biological father - killed her to silence her claims that he sexually abused her.

It is alleged he and Bernadette's mother Ms Walker then formed an "unholy alliance" to cover up her death.

Bernadette was last seen when Mr Walker picked her up from his parents' house on 18 July. Her body has never been found.

Ms Walker has admitted sending some messages from Bernadette's phone and providing false information to the police. She denies two further counts of perverting the course of justice.

Bernadette Walker's body is yet to be found, despite police searches

During cross-examination at the trial, prosecutor Lisa Wilding QC asked Mr Walker about the call Sarah Walker made to police on 21 July 2020 to report Bernadette missing.

She put it to Mr Walker: "You knew full well, didn't you, Sarah Walker was lying to the police when she was describing messages sent from Bernadette's phone?"

Mr Walker replied: "I knew Sarah had Bernadette's phone, yes."

He agreed with Ms Wilding that the girl's mother "was lying to the police and [he] knew that was a lie".

Ms Wilding put it to Mr Walker: "When Sarah told police she knew where [Bernadette] was until she stopped messaging, that was a lie wasn't it?"

"Yes, because [Ms Walker] was using the phone," he replied.

Scott Walker, accused of killing Bernadette Walker, denied being "deliberately vague with the police"

He agreed that Ms Walker did not know where Bernadette was, and that she lied to police when she said Bernadette had been messaging them until 01:00 BST on 20 July.

Asked why police were not called sooner, he said it was because of Ms Walker's "fear of social services being involved".

He denied a prosecution suggestion that he was "deliberately vague with the police" and denied that he "wanted to muddle this up for the police as much as possible to give them no hope of finding" Bernadette.

With the jury present on Wednesday morning, Mr Walker indicated that he did not wish to continue with his evidence.

It prompted a break in proceedings, before he returned to the witness box.

He denies murder and perverting the course of justice.

The trial continues.