Margaret Fleming's mother 'assaulted' by murder accused

It is alleged that Margaret Fleming was murdered

A woman has told a court she was assaulted by the man accused of murdering her daughter.

Margaret Cruickshanks, 71, was giving evidence at the trial of Edward Cairney, 77, and Avril Jones, 59, at the High Court in Glasgow.

They deny murdering Margaret Fleming at Seacroft, Main Road, Inverkip, between 18 December 1999 and 5 January, 2000.

Margaret, who would now be 38, has allegedly not been seen for more than 19 years.

Ms Cruickshanks told prosecutor Iain McSporran QC that she was attacked by Mr Cairney while Margaret was staying with him and Ms Jones.

She claimed she had turned up at their house to see Margaret, but was banged up against a wardrobe and thrown over a chair.

The court heard that Ms Cruickshanks first met Mr Cairney at the funeral of Margaret's father Derek, who had cared for her, in October 1995.

Respite care

She said Mr Cairney and Ms Jones were at the funeral and Mr Cairney introduced himself and offered to help care for Margaret.

Ms Cruickshanks said: "After Derek died, they were at the funeral. Eddie Cairney came and approached me and said if I needed any help with Margaret he would give me respite care."

Mr McSporran asked her: "Did you know them," and the witness replied: "No."

The QC then said: "Was Mr Cairney a stranger to you," and she replied: "Yes, he was actually."

Ms Cruickshanks told the court that she allowed her daughter to stay with Mr Cairney and Ms Jones at their home in Inverkip for up to a fortnight at a time.

She told the court the last time she saw her daughter at Seacroft was on 26 November 1997, when she was "summoned" there by a call from Mr Cairney.

Ms Cruickshanks sobbed as she told the jury: "When I got there, I said wanted Margaret to come home.

"He started to assault me. He banged me up against a wardrobe and threw me over a chair and said he wanted me out of the house and he spat in my face. It was a surprise."

'A bit nervous'

The witness claimed that Ms Jones was in the room when the alleged assault took place. She said that Margaret was in her attic bedroom.

Margaret was then brought downstairs and asked where she wanted to live.

Her mother said: "I think she was a bit nervous and she turned round and said she wanted to stay there. There was nothing I could do about it."

The court heard that Ms Cruickshanks made her way home and called the police who went to check on Margaret.

She told the court: "The police came back to say she was alright. As far as I knew, that was where she was living. I didn't visit any more. I got a letter. It said she didn't want to see me any more."

Ms Cruickshanks told the court that she thought she subsequently saw Margaret and Mr Cairney outside a Morrisons store in Greenock.

She told Mr McSporran she thought it was two months after the incident at Seacroft, before saying to defence QC Thomas Ross that it could have been more than two years later.

'Difficult to cope with'

The court heard that Margaret stayed with her mother for some months after her father's death.

Ms Cruickshanks said that she found her daughter difficult to cope with and said she would take things out on her.

She added: "She would come back from school and I'd say what were you doing and her temper would be up and she would batter me."

The mother of accused Avril Jones later told the court her daughter had claimed Margaret Fleming "left with a traveller".

Florence Jones 79, said the last time she could remember seeing Margaret was at her ruby wedding celebrations in Inverkip on 31 March 1999.

The jury was shown a photograph which Mrs Jones said was Margaret with her and her late husband Walter at the anniversary party.

Mrs Jones told the court that at Christmas 1999 she and her husband celebrated with her son Richard and his family in his home, and her daughter and Mr Cairney were also there.

She was asked if Margaret had been at the Christmas meal and replied: "I don't remember Margaret being there. I took it she must have been at Seacroft. I don't remember anything being said about it."

Mrs Jones said that on 5 January 2000 she had a phone call with her daughter, and added: "She said Margaret had left with a traveller. I wasn't sure what had happened. It was up to them."

When asked what she meant by a traveller, she said: "A member of the travelling community."

Mr Cairney and Ms Jones deny murder and defrauding £182,000 in benefits and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by claiming Margaret was alive.

The trial before judge Lord Matthews continues.