Nat Fraser trial: Accused in Arlene murder case will not give evidence

Nat Fraser is accused of murdering his wife Arlene in 1998

A man accused of murdering his wife will not be giving evidence in the trial.

Nat Fraser, 53, denies murdering Arlene Fraser, who was 33 when she disappeared from New Elgin, Moray, in 1998.

Mr Fraser claims that if mother-of-two Mrs Fraser was murdered, the man responsible could be Hector Dick.

The defence case, at the long-running trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, got under way on Monday afternoon after the Crown case finished.

At the beginning of the defence case, John Scott QC told the jury: "Mr Fraser will not be giving evidence."

The defence counsel told judge Lord Bracadale that he expected to call about 36 witnesses on Mr Fraser's behalf.

As the prosecution drew to a close earlier, witness Marion Taylor described a conversation with Mrs Fraser 14 years ago, weeks before she disappeared.

Ms Taylor said: "She had said that she knew Nat had said to her if she was not going to live with him she would not be living with anybody."

It is alleged Mr Fraser strangled his wife or murdered her "by other means to the prosecutor unknown".

The trial, now in its fifth week, continues.