Lawrence Haggart
On 16 march 1996, two days after the Dunblane school massacre, Lawrence Haggart, aged 15, was savagely beaten with a blunt instrument and then thrown at the gas fire in his living room.
Lawrence was found unconscious in the living room by his older brother John, aged17.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
John
Police were called to Lawrence's house at 1:30am.
Lawrence lived in Larbert, in Stirlingshire, not far from Dunblane.
Jimmy Savile with Jock Stein, manager of Celtic football club.
Lawrence died in hospital from his injuries.
Lawrence was a Glasgow Celtic youth football player.
Lawrence had played for the Scottish Schools under-15 side in their victory over Belgium the week before .
Lawrence
Initial reports suggested that Lawrence was attacked when he answered the door of his mother's home late in the evening, or, in the early hours of the morning.
Police found no sign of a weapon or forced entry.
Dennis
His mother Janet was on a night out and brothers John, 17, and Denis, 12, were reportedly 'asleep' upstairs.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
Larry Haggart
Lawrence's father Larry lives nearby in Denny.
Lawrence had been returning from an evening out with friends at an under-18 nightclub knows as Ziggy's at Denny.
A friend had accompanied him in a taxi as far as Bonnybridge.
Lawrence left the taxi at 10.20pm that night and reportedly got home at 11pm.
Six months after Lawrence's death, Lawrence's father Larry Haggart said that he was planning a private investigation into the killing.
Larry Haggart was furious at the lack of progress by police.
Larry claimed the investigation into Lawrence's murder suffered because it came two days after the Dunblane massacre, also in the Central Scotland Police area.
A year after the killing, the police had still not found the murderers.
Thomas Hamilton - blamed for the Dunblane school shooting of 1996 - The Dunblane school massacre occurred in scotland on 13 March 1996. The official story is that, on 13 March 1996, a mad loner called Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children at a primary school in Dunblane in Scotland. The unofficial story is that Thomas Hamilton was supplying pornography, and young boys, to top people including policemen and politicians; and Thomas Hamilton may have been murdered, to shut him up.
In October 1997, it was reported that the police were holding a known child abuser suspected of murdering Lawrence Haggart.
Allegedly, he followed Lawrence home.
In 1991, the man had been jailed for five years for assaults on adolescent boys.
Reportedly he lived just a few miles from the scene of the murder.
Lockerbie. Thanks to the Lockerbie Bombing trial, many people believe that the Scottish Criminal Justice System cannot be trusted.Police chief- Lockerbie evidence was faked - The Scotsman / NEW REPORT OF 'FAKE' EVIDENCE IN LOCKERBIE/ Police officer said that he planted the Lockerbie bomb ...
Allegedly the man made incriminating comments to a fellow inmate while in prison on remand.
In November 1997, Brian Beattie, 33, of Stenhousemuir, appeared in court accused of murdering Lawrence by entering the Haggart house in Glenbervie Drive, Larbert, Stirlingshire, on 15 or 16 March 1996.
Lawrence Haggart was murdered at his home in March 1996
In April 1998, Lawrence's brother John told the High Court in Edinburgh how he dragged his brother from a flaming pyre in the living room of their home.
John, said he found Lawrence after being awakened in his smoke-filled bedroom.
John says his mother arrived home from a party within minutes.
John
Brian Beattie lodged a special defence of incrimination, naming a boy as the killer.
He also lodged a further defence of alibi claiming he was in Stenhousemuir, Edinburgh and later at his own caravan in Denny, Stirlingshire, on the night of the alleged murder.
Lawrence's funeral
On 18 April 1998, the jury heard that John, Lawrence's older brother, lied to the police to protect his younger brother Dennis.
John
John said detectives suspected his 12-year-old brother Dennis was involved in the killing and he kept back certain information.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
Dennis
John said he thought it was possible Dennis had committed the murder, and eventually decided to speak up even if it would implicate Dennis.
Dennis had come in about 10:30pm and John, had had a go at him for "taking the mickey" by staying out so late.
Lawrence got home at around 11pm.
Moira. 11-year-old Moira Anderson was last seen boarding a bus in Coatbridge, near Glasgow, Scotland. According to The Sunday Times (Pressure on police to release paedophile dossier), 23 April 2006, Strathclyde Police have a dossier listing members of a child-abuse ring. The dossier is said to implicate senior public figures, including senior police officers and members of the Crown Office and former Scottish Office.
John said he was slightly frightened of Dennis, a big boy who, although several years younger, would probably win in a fight.
John said of Dennis: "He told me to f*** off."
Lawrence sided with John and got the same message from Dennis.
John went up to his bedroom and Dennis to his room along the landing.
Dennis
Lawrence remained downstairs for a while but then came up to the room he shared with Dennis.
John said: "After a few seconds I heard Dennis telling him to f*** off and Lawrence left the room."
John said he had been dozing while watching television from his bed but thought he remembered Dennis going downstairs.
He heard Lawrence say: "You are supposed to be in your bed."
Later, around 1:30am, John woke and saw smoke in his room.
He went downstairs and found Lawrence on the living room floor.
John admitted he had lied when police interviewed him.
He eventually told the police that on discovering the fire and going to alert Dennis, his brother had wakened immediately, which was unusual.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
In court, Dennis said he had been proud, not envious, of Lawrence's success in football.
He denied "losing the place" and bludgeoning his brother but agreed that in the weeks after the attack, the police had thought he was the killer.
Dennis told the jury that he and Lawrence had shared a bedroom and got on well.
Dennis
Dennis said he was in bed listening to the radio when someone came into the room and took the duvet off Lawrence's bed.
He imagined it had been Lawrence but all he had seen was a hand dragging the cover out the room.
He remembered being wakened by John who said something had happened to Lawrence. He went downstairs and saw smoke coming from the living room. He saw Lawrence lying unconscious on the floor with an injury to his head.
Dennis agreed that a few weeks before his death, Lawrence had thrown a dart at Dennis and it pierced the skin of his leg.
He denied burning Lawrence's "footballing legs" to pay him back.
Dennis said his brother, John, had been wrong to say in evidence that he, Dennis, had told Lawrence to "f*** off" in their bedroom.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
The court heard that in statements to the police Dennis had said that Lawrence came into the room, switched on the light, took the cover and put off the light.
Asked why he had given the jury "this story about just seeing a hand", Dennis said: "I forgot."
Dennis denied that Lawrence had been sleeping downstairs because of a deep disagreement between them.
A fire officer told the court that two fires had been started deliberately in the room where Lawrence was found dying.
Two seats of fire were discovered. One of those was on the living room carpet and the other was on the settee. Both seats of the blaze had been started deliberately.
In court, pathologist Professor Busuttil was shown a piece of concrete slab - there had been a number lying outside the victim's house - and agreed that it could have been used by the killer.
Prof Busuttil said: "There were no defensive injuries and no evidence that he (the deceased) was involved in an altercation in which, for example, punches were exchanged. It is very likely he was taken completely unawares and that the incident was short-lived."
The court heard that Brian Beattie, 33, was involved in a homosexual encounter in a gay meeting place on the night Lawrence was murdered.
Brian Beattie, 33, was interviewed by police while Lawrence was still fighting for his life and told them he was positive he had not been near the victim's house in Larbert, Stirlingshire, that night.
The High Court in Edinburgh also heard how a detective had "stumbled across" a hammer in the kitchen of Lawrence's house four days after a specialist team had searched the house for a possible weapon but found no hammer.
G20 protest
Detective Constable Gordon McGown told the court that on March 16, 1996, he had gone to the Evergreen Trailer Park in Denny where Brian Beattie had a caravan.
Brian Beattie agreed to go to Falkirk police station and they tried to establish his movements for the night in question.
Beattie told them he had visited his brother in Stenhousemuir on March 15 and left about 9.30pm with the intention of going through to Edinburgh that night.
He went back to his caravan at first and checked that everything was all right then drove through to Edinburgh, parking in the Grassmarket, before walking to Royal Terrace which was a popular meeting place for people like himself.
He got there about 11pm and stayed for about an hour-and-a-half.
He met one man with whom he had oral sex and they were together for 15 minutes before they went their separate ways without exchanging names or saying where they came from.
Beattie told police he was back at his caravan by 2am.
He was asked if he had been anywhere near Lawrence Haggart's home and replied: "I'm positive I wasn't in that area last night at all."
The court heard that on March 18 a team of police search experts were called into the Haggart family home and during a three-and-a-half hour investigation found a triangular piece of concrete slab on grass outside the house.
However, scenes of crime pictures taken two days earlier showed no sign of a piece of concrete.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
PC Jeffrey Adams told the court that he had been part of the search team and had spent 26 minutes searching the kitchen of Lawrence's house on March 18. No hammer had been found and in his opinion they would have found a hammer had it been there.
Detective Sergeant Robert Beveridge said he had called at the house four days later and come across the hammer in the kitchen.
He could not recall who had instructed him to go to the house or what he was told to look for, but thought there might have been a problem with the electricity.
The house had been sealed and the inquiry team had taken possession of it.
He explained that he had "stumbled across" the hammer which was lying down the kitchen table.
He said he was "absolutely positive" the hammer, with a hair attached to it, was there when he went into the kitchen.
Stephen Downing spent 27 years in prison for the murder of Wendy Sewell before his conviction was quashed. Coerced false confessions North America 2.2.1 Norfolk Four 2.2.2 Brown v. Mississippi 2.2.3 Central Park jogger 2.2.4 Pizza Hut murder 2.2.5 Corethian Bell 2.2.6 Simon Marshall 2.2.7 Jeffrey Mark Deskovic 2.2.8 Michael Crowe 2.2.9 Gary Gauger 2.2.10 Kevin Fox 2.2.11 West Memphis Three 2.4 United Kingdom 2.4.1 Stephen Downing 2.4.2 Guildford Four 2.4.3 Birmingham Six
ALLEGEDLY, Brian Beattie confessed to murdering Lawrence and allegedly said that the Dunblane massacre might have "triggered something in me", the jury was told.
Allegedly, Brian beattie said: "I keep remembering the fear in his face. I want to go to the grave to say sorry to him."
Detective Sergeant Gordon Munro, 41, said that Beattie was interviewed over a weekend.
At the first batch of interviews, he said, Beattie denied any knowledge of the crime.
Later, Beattie allegedly described a party being held across the street and a taxi arriving to collect or drop off a fare. He had gone in the front door of the Haggart house and, through the glass-paned living room door, saw Lawrence on a couch covered with a blanket or a quilt.
"I opened the living room door and stepped in. He got up and said something . I hit him a I can remember his face, I will never forget it.
"He fell back on the couch and I hit him again. I keep remembering the fear in his face.
"I do not know how many times I hit him or what I hit him with. It's a blank. I know I never took nothing in with me but my hands were not sore after it so I must have used something. The next thing I remember is running back down the street."
He allegedly said in the statement he had gone back to the caravan and had managed to fall asleep. He got up early the next morning and burned his clothes at a lay-by.
Beattie continued: "I have heard that the boy's brothers were getting the blame for it. I felt guilty because I knew they never done it.
"You will maybe find it hard to believe, but I wanted to go and say to the brothers and to his mum and dad that I was sorry for it.
"I also wanted to go to the grave to say sorry to him as if he would hear me. I wanted to tell his mum and dad who done it so they would know he was at peace now.
"It was just after Dunblane and I do not know if it was that that triggered something in me. We [Beattie and some of his family] went up there and took flowers."
The UK police reportedly suffer from Third World levels of corruption. GANGSTERS RUN THE UK
Beattie had said he did not recall starting a fire.
Detective Sergeant Gordon Munro told the jury Beattie had refused to sign the statement and had also refused to be interviewed on tape.
Some of the earlier interviews had been taped.
Beattie had made allegations of evidence being planted against him.
In court, Detective Sergeant Gordon Munro denied that Beattie was beaten up in police custody, and maintained that he made a genuine confession to the killing.
Munro denied that a senior officer told Beattie that if he admitted the crime he could go to a psychiatric hospital.
He also denied that the suspect was told that if he went to a psychiatric hospital he could be out in a year or so.
Munro denied a further allegation that Beattie was informed that if he did not admit the killing he faced being imprisoned for 25 years.
Beattie denied making the alleged confession when he appeared before a sheriff at Falkirk for a judicial examination. He told the sheriff: "I didn't make any of these confessions at all."
Ian Tomlinson death
Detective Superintendent Joseph Holden denied he chose "foul means'' to solve the murder of Lawrence Haggart.
Holden denied that as the "new broom" appointed to clear up the mystery he had "invented" a murder confession.
Holden denied a defence allegation that police had battered Brian Beattie, 33, into making a false confession, at Stirling police station in August 1997.
Holden said Beattie's alleged confession to the murder was not tape-recorded.
Holden said he had not threatened Beattie that if he did not confess his family would be left unprotected while in fear of having their home firebombed because of local outrage.
The court heard that videos featuring the abduction and torture of youths for sexual pleasure were found by police during a search of Beattie's home.
Detective Constable Forrest Sloan, 39, told the High Court in Edinburgh the pornographic material was in a chest of drawers at the home of Brian Beattie, 33, in Ewing Drive, Falkirk.
The search of Beattie's home was carried out on August 23, 1997, when two pornographic videos were found in a front bedroom.
He told the court the videos appeared to have been recorded from a satellite German channel.
Beattie denied that he had sexual fantasies about abducting young men.
Beattie agreed that a pornographic video featuring kidnap scenes had been found in his home but said he had watched only the first few minutes and "did not like it".
Beattie told the court that detectives had assaulted him repeatedly in custody and had warned that his family would receive no protection if he refused to confess.
Beattie broke down in tears as he gave evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh and when asked why he was crying, replied: "Because I am accused of this murder ... I am not guilty."
The jury has heard that Beattie was first interviewed within hours of the attack, before Lawrence had died in hospital, and gave an account of going to Edinburgh from his home in Denny, Stirlingshire, and having oral sex with a man.
Beattie said he had gone voluntarily to a police station to give the first statement in March 1996.
At later interviews, he had wanted a tape recorder to be used but the police had said they would decide when the machine was switched on or left off.
"I asked for the tapes because it would stop them hitting me ... because they would not be able to go on saying the things they were saying," Beattie said.
Beattie said he was close to his brother, William, and had often looked after his four young nephews.
"The police said if I did not admit to this murder they were going to get the children taken into care and examined to say I was trying to molest them."
Mr Edgar Prais, QC, for Mr Beattie, said "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the defence calls the police liars."
Of an alleged confession made by Mr Beattie, Mr Edgar Prais, QC, said it was strange that when it was supposedly made the police did not tape record it.
Mr Edgar Prais, QC, said that forensic tests were carried out in Scotland and by the FBI Bureau in Washington on behalf of the defence.
In all tests, Beattie was eliminated from any connection with the murder scene.
In may 1998, Beattie was jailed for life.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
In 1984, Beattie had been sentenced to seven years for breaking into premises and for arson.
In 1992, Beattie had appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on a charge of abducting a 16-year-old boy from his bedroom.
The 16-year-old victim woke at 3am to find Beattie, who had been released from jail four days earlier, standing over his bed.
He covered the boy's face with a blanket and, after warning him that he had a knife, tied his wrists with a shirt and wire.
The half-dressed boy was forced from his home with a T-shirt over his head.
Beattie fled after his victim managed to pull the shirt off and saw his attacker.
Beattie was jailed but released 'on licence' in 1994.
Beattie was brought up in Airth, Stirlingshire.
He began his criminal life at the age of 11.
He spent his early years in a succession of schools and institutions for difficult children.
When his mother moved to Redcar, in Teesside, Brian Beattie broke into four homes belonging to elderly widows, stole valuables and set fire to their houses.
While in custody, Beattie set fire to his prison cell and attempted suicide by setting fire to himself.
After his release in 1988, Beattie moved back to Airth, in Stirlingshire, and in November that year carried out a series of attacks.
Beattie would sneak into houses in the middle of the night, after watching for signs that boys lived there.
His first victim was a 14-year-old Stenhousemuir boy, but he struggled free and Beattie ran off.
In August 1990, a 17-year-old boy sleeping in his home at Falkirk woke to find Beattie holding a pair of scissors at his stomach.
Beattie carried out a number of sexual assaults on the boy.
The victim remembers Beattie as being "calm, controlled and relaxed".
Three weeks later, Beattie carried out a similar attack on 21-year-old Lawrence Kane while his parents and older brother slept in other rooms in their Stenhousemuir home.
Lawrence said: "I can remember waking up and he had his hand over my privates and a knife in my belly. He said if I moved he would slash me.
"I managed to push him off me and chased him out of the room..."
Beattie struck again in October - with two attacks in five days.
He sneaked into a house in Larbert and threatened to kill an 18-year- old boy with a screwdriver before sexually assaulting him.
Then he struck at the home of a former Scotland football star and attacked his 14-year-old son.
The victim said: "Basically he had a strict routine with all the attacks and the last time he went a step further and ended up killing this boy. I was one of the lucky ones."
Beattie was eventually arrested in connection with some of these incidents but was released on bail at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
Six days later, he carried out an assault on a 20-year- old Falkirk man.
In February 1991, he was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh to 18 months for the assaults but served only eight months.
The Curious Case of the Clown Persecution Service, and the summary Quis Custodiet Custodes?, which sets out the bizarre and suspect behaviour of Strathclyde Police and their continuing refusal to act against a known serial rapist preying on children in the Glasgow area.
MURDER MYSTERY - LAWRENCE HAGGART - PART TWO
Police found no sign of a weapon or forced entry.
Dennis
His mother Janet was on a night out and brothers John, 17, and Denis, 12, were reportedly 'asleep' upstairs.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
Larry Haggart
Lawrence's father Larry lives nearby in Denny.
Lawrence had been returning from an evening out with friends at an under-18 nightclub knows as Ziggy's at Denny.
A friend had accompanied him in a taxi as far as Bonnybridge.
Lawrence left the taxi at 10.20pm that night and reportedly got home at 11pm.
Six months after Lawrence's death, Lawrence's father Larry Haggart said that he was planning a private investigation into the killing.
Larry Haggart was furious at the lack of progress by police.
Larry claimed the investigation into Lawrence's murder suffered because it came two days after the Dunblane massacre, also in the Central Scotland Police area.
A year after the killing, the police had still not found the murderers.
Thomas Hamilton - blamed for the Dunblane school shooting of 1996 - The Dunblane school massacre occurred in scotland on 13 March 1996. The official story is that, on 13 March 1996, a mad loner called Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children at a primary school in Dunblane in Scotland. The unofficial story is that Thomas Hamilton was supplying pornography, and young boys, to top people including policemen and politicians; and Thomas Hamilton may have been murdered, to shut him up.
In October 1997, it was reported that the police were holding a known child abuser suspected of murdering Lawrence Haggart.
Allegedly, he followed Lawrence home.
In 1991, the man had been jailed for five years for assaults on adolescent boys.
Reportedly he lived just a few miles from the scene of the murder.
Lockerbie. Thanks to the Lockerbie Bombing trial, many people believe that the Scottish Criminal Justice System cannot be trusted.Police chief- Lockerbie evidence was faked - The Scotsman / NEW REPORT OF 'FAKE' EVIDENCE IN LOCKERBIE/ Police officer said that he planted the Lockerbie bomb ...
Allegedly the man made incriminating comments to a fellow inmate while in prison on remand.
In November 1997, Brian Beattie, 33, of Stenhousemuir, appeared in court accused of murdering Lawrence by entering the Haggart house in Glenbervie Drive, Larbert, Stirlingshire, on 15 or 16 March 1996.
Lawrence Haggart was murdered at his home in March 1996
In April 1998, Lawrence's brother John told the High Court in Edinburgh how he dragged his brother from a flaming pyre in the living room of their home.
John, said he found Lawrence after being awakened in his smoke-filled bedroom.
John says his mother arrived home from a party within minutes.
John
Brian Beattie lodged a special defence of incrimination, naming a boy as the killer.
He also lodged a further defence of alibi claiming he was in Stenhousemuir, Edinburgh and later at his own caravan in Denny, Stirlingshire, on the night of the alleged murder.
Lawrence's funeral
On 18 April 1998, the jury heard that John, Lawrence's older brother, lied to the police to protect his younger brother Dennis.
John
John said detectives suspected his 12-year-old brother Dennis was involved in the killing and he kept back certain information.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
Dennis
John said he thought it was possible Dennis had committed the murder, and eventually decided to speak up even if it would implicate Dennis.
Dennis had come in about 10:30pm and John, had had a go at him for "taking the mickey" by staying out so late.
Lawrence got home at around 11pm.
Moira. 11-year-old Moira Anderson was last seen boarding a bus in Coatbridge, near Glasgow, Scotland. According to The Sunday Times (Pressure on police to release paedophile dossier), 23 April 2006, Strathclyde Police have a dossier listing members of a child-abuse ring. The dossier is said to implicate senior public figures, including senior police officers and members of the Crown Office and former Scottish Office.
John said he was slightly frightened of Dennis, a big boy who, although several years younger, would probably win in a fight.
John said of Dennis: "He told me to f*** off."
Lawrence sided with John and got the same message from Dennis.
John went up to his bedroom and Dennis to his room along the landing.
Dennis
Lawrence remained downstairs for a while but then came up to the room he shared with Dennis.
John said: "After a few seconds I heard Dennis telling him to f*** off and Lawrence left the room."
John said he had been dozing while watching television from his bed but thought he remembered Dennis going downstairs.
He heard Lawrence say: "You are supposed to be in your bed."
Later, around 1:30am, John woke and saw smoke in his room.
He went downstairs and found Lawrence on the living room floor.
John admitted he had lied when police interviewed him.
He eventually told the police that on discovering the fire and going to alert Dennis, his brother had wakened immediately, which was unusual.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
Celtic Boys Club, Scotland. In 1996 former Celtic Boys Club player Alan Brazil revealed that when he was 13 years old he was sexually abused by the club manager, Jim Torbett.[2]
In court, Dennis said he had been proud, not envious, of Lawrence's success in football.
He denied "losing the place" and bludgeoning his brother but agreed that in the weeks after the attack, the police had thought he was the killer.
Dennis told the jury that he and Lawrence had shared a bedroom and got on well.
Dennis
Dennis said he was in bed listening to the radio when someone came into the room and took the duvet off Lawrence's bed.
He imagined it had been Lawrence but all he had seen was a hand dragging the cover out the room.
He remembered being wakened by John who said something had happened to Lawrence. He went downstairs and saw smoke coming from the living room. He saw Lawrence lying unconscious on the floor with an injury to his head.
Dennis agreed that a few weeks before his death, Lawrence had thrown a dart at Dennis and it pierced the skin of his leg.
He denied burning Lawrence's "footballing legs" to pay him back.
Dennis said his brother, John, had been wrong to say in evidence that he, Dennis, had told Lawrence to "f*** off" in their bedroom.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
The court heard that in statements to the police Dennis had said that Lawrence came into the room, switched on the light, took the cover and put off the light.
Asked why he had given the jury "this story about just seeing a hand", Dennis said: "I forgot."
Dennis denied that Lawrence had been sleeping downstairs because of a deep disagreement between them.
A fire officer told the court that two fires had been started deliberately in the room where Lawrence was found dying.
Two seats of fire were discovered. One of those was on the living room carpet and the other was on the settee. Both seats of the blaze had been started deliberately.
In court, pathologist Professor Busuttil was shown a piece of concrete slab - there had been a number lying outside the victim's house - and agreed that it could have been used by the killer.
Prof Busuttil said: "There were no defensive injuries and no evidence that he (the deceased) was involved in an altercation in which, for example, punches were exchanged. It is very likely he was taken completely unawares and that the incident was short-lived."
The court heard that Brian Beattie, 33, was involved in a homosexual encounter in a gay meeting place on the night Lawrence was murdered.
Brian Beattie, 33, was interviewed by police while Lawrence was still fighting for his life and told them he was positive he had not been near the victim's house in Larbert, Stirlingshire, that night.
The High Court in Edinburgh also heard how a detective had "stumbled across" a hammer in the kitchen of Lawrence's house four days after a specialist team had searched the house for a possible weapon but found no hammer.
G20 protest
Detective Constable Gordon McGown told the court that on March 16, 1996, he had gone to the Evergreen Trailer Park in Denny where Brian Beattie had a caravan.
Brian Beattie agreed to go to Falkirk police station and they tried to establish his movements for the night in question.
Beattie told them he had visited his brother in Stenhousemuir on March 15 and left about 9.30pm with the intention of going through to Edinburgh that night.
He went back to his caravan at first and checked that everything was all right then drove through to Edinburgh, parking in the Grassmarket, before walking to Royal Terrace which was a popular meeting place for people like himself.
He got there about 11pm and stayed for about an hour-and-a-half.
He met one man with whom he had oral sex and they were together for 15 minutes before they went their separate ways without exchanging names or saying where they came from.
Beattie told police he was back at his caravan by 2am.
He was asked if he had been anywhere near Lawrence Haggart's home and replied: "I'm positive I wasn't in that area last night at all."
The court heard that on March 18 a team of police search experts were called into the Haggart family home and during a three-and-a-half hour investigation found a triangular piece of concrete slab on grass outside the house.
However, scenes of crime pictures taken two days earlier showed no sign of a piece of concrete.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
PC Jeffrey Adams told the court that he had been part of the search team and had spent 26 minutes searching the kitchen of Lawrence's house on March 18. No hammer had been found and in his opinion they would have found a hammer had it been there.
Detective Sergeant Robert Beveridge said he had called at the house four days later and come across the hammer in the kitchen.
He could not recall who had instructed him to go to the house or what he was told to look for, but thought there might have been a problem with the electricity.
The house had been sealed and the inquiry team had taken possession of it.
He explained that he had "stumbled across" the hammer which was lying down the kitchen table.
He said he was "absolutely positive" the hammer, with a hair attached to it, was there when he went into the kitchen.
Stephen Downing spent 27 years in prison for the murder of Wendy Sewell before his conviction was quashed. Coerced false confessions North America 2.2.1 Norfolk Four 2.2.2 Brown v. Mississippi 2.2.3 Central Park jogger 2.2.4 Pizza Hut murder 2.2.5 Corethian Bell 2.2.6 Simon Marshall 2.2.7 Jeffrey Mark Deskovic 2.2.8 Michael Crowe 2.2.9 Gary Gauger 2.2.10 Kevin Fox 2.2.11 West Memphis Three 2.4 United Kingdom 2.4.1 Stephen Downing 2.4.2 Guildford Four 2.4.3 Birmingham Six
ALLEGEDLY, Brian Beattie confessed to murdering Lawrence and allegedly said that the Dunblane massacre might have "triggered something in me", the jury was told.
Allegedly, Brian beattie said: "I keep remembering the fear in his face. I want to go to the grave to say sorry to him."
Detective Sergeant Gordon Munro, 41, said that Beattie was interviewed over a weekend.
At the first batch of interviews, he said, Beattie denied any knowledge of the crime.
Later, Beattie allegedly described a party being held across the street and a taxi arriving to collect or drop off a fare. He had gone in the front door of the Haggart house and, through the glass-paned living room door, saw Lawrence on a couch covered with a blanket or a quilt.
"I opened the living room door and stepped in. He got up and said something . I hit him a I can remember his face, I will never forget it.
"He fell back on the couch and I hit him again. I keep remembering the fear in his face.
"I do not know how many times I hit him or what I hit him with. It's a blank. I know I never took nothing in with me but my hands were not sore after it so I must have used something. The next thing I remember is running back down the street."
He allegedly said in the statement he had gone back to the caravan and had managed to fall asleep. He got up early the next morning and burned his clothes at a lay-by.
Beattie continued: "I have heard that the boy's brothers were getting the blame for it. I felt guilty because I knew they never done it.
"You will maybe find it hard to believe, but I wanted to go and say to the brothers and to his mum and dad that I was sorry for it.
"I also wanted to go to the grave to say sorry to him as if he would hear me. I wanted to tell his mum and dad who done it so they would know he was at peace now.
"It was just after Dunblane and I do not know if it was that that triggered something in me. We [Beattie and some of his family] went up there and took flowers."
The UK police reportedly suffer from Third World levels of corruption. GANGSTERS RUN THE UK
Detective Sergeant Gordon Munro told the jury Beattie had refused to sign the statement and had also refused to be interviewed on tape.
Some of the earlier interviews had been taped.
Beattie had made allegations of evidence being planted against him.
In court, Detective Sergeant Gordon Munro denied that Beattie was beaten up in police custody, and maintained that he made a genuine confession to the killing.
Munro denied that a senior officer told Beattie that if he admitted the crime he could go to a psychiatric hospital.
He also denied that the suspect was told that if he went to a psychiatric hospital he could be out in a year or so.
Munro denied a further allegation that Beattie was informed that if he did not admit the killing he faced being imprisoned for 25 years.
Beattie denied making the alleged confession when he appeared before a sheriff at Falkirk for a judicial examination. He told the sheriff: "I didn't make any of these confessions at all."
Ian Tomlinson death
Detective Superintendent Joseph Holden denied he chose "foul means'' to solve the murder of Lawrence Haggart.
Holden denied that as the "new broom" appointed to clear up the mystery he had "invented" a murder confession.
Holden denied a defence allegation that police had battered Brian Beattie, 33, into making a false confession, at Stirling police station in August 1997.
Holden said Beattie's alleged confession to the murder was not tape-recorded.
Holden said he had not threatened Beattie that if he did not confess his family would be left unprotected while in fear of having their home firebombed because of local outrage.
The court heard that videos featuring the abduction and torture of youths for sexual pleasure were found by police during a search of Beattie's home.
Detective Constable Forrest Sloan, 39, told the High Court in Edinburgh the pornographic material was in a chest of drawers at the home of Brian Beattie, 33, in Ewing Drive, Falkirk.
The search of Beattie's home was carried out on August 23, 1997, when two pornographic videos were found in a front bedroom.
He told the court the videos appeared to have been recorded from a satellite German channel.
Beattie denied that he had sexual fantasies about abducting young men.
Beattie agreed that a pornographic video featuring kidnap scenes had been found in his home but said he had watched only the first few minutes and "did not like it".
Beattie told the court that detectives had assaulted him repeatedly in custody and had warned that his family would receive no protection if he refused to confess.
Beattie broke down in tears as he gave evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh and when asked why he was crying, replied: "Because I am accused of this murder ... I am not guilty."
The jury has heard that Beattie was first interviewed within hours of the attack, before Lawrence had died in hospital, and gave an account of going to Edinburgh from his home in Denny, Stirlingshire, and having oral sex with a man.
Beattie said he had gone voluntarily to a police station to give the first statement in March 1996.
At later interviews, he had wanted a tape recorder to be used but the police had said they would decide when the machine was switched on or left off.
"I asked for the tapes because it would stop them hitting me ... because they would not be able to go on saying the things they were saying," Beattie said.
Beattie said he was close to his brother, William, and had often looked after his four young nephews.
"The police said if I did not admit to this murder they were going to get the children taken into care and examined to say I was trying to molest them."
Mr Edgar Prais, QC, for Mr Beattie, said "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the defence calls the police liars."
Of an alleged confession made by Mr Beattie, Mr Edgar Prais, QC, said it was strange that when it was supposedly made the police did not tape record it.
Mr Edgar Prais, QC, said that forensic tests were carried out in Scotland and by the FBI Bureau in Washington on behalf of the defence.
In all tests, Beattie was eliminated from any connection with the murder scene.
In may 1998, Beattie was jailed for life.
The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic
In 1984, Beattie had been sentenced to seven years for breaking into premises and for arson.
In 1992, Beattie had appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on a charge of abducting a 16-year-old boy from his bedroom.
The 16-year-old victim woke at 3am to find Beattie, who had been released from jail four days earlier, standing over his bed.
He covered the boy's face with a blanket and, after warning him that he had a knife, tied his wrists with a shirt and wire.
The half-dressed boy was forced from his home with a T-shirt over his head.
Beattie fled after his victim managed to pull the shirt off and saw his attacker.
Beattie was jailed but released 'on licence' in 1994.
He began his criminal life at the age of 11.
He spent his early years in a succession of schools and institutions for difficult children.
When his mother moved to Redcar, in Teesside, Brian Beattie broke into four homes belonging to elderly widows, stole valuables and set fire to their houses.
While in custody, Beattie set fire to his prison cell and attempted suicide by setting fire to himself.
Beattie would sneak into houses in the middle of the night, after watching for signs that boys lived there.
His first victim was a 14-year-old Stenhousemuir boy, but he struggled free and Beattie ran off.
In August 1990, a 17-year-old boy sleeping in his home at Falkirk woke to find Beattie holding a pair of scissors at his stomach.
Beattie carried out a number of sexual assaults on the boy.
The victim remembers Beattie as being "calm, controlled and relaxed".
Lawrence said: "I can remember waking up and he had his hand over my privates and a knife in my belly. He said if I moved he would slash me.
"I managed to push him off me and chased him out of the room..."
Beattie struck again in October - with two attacks in five days.
He sneaked into a house in Larbert and threatened to kill an 18-year- old boy with a screwdriver before sexually assaulting him.
Then he struck at the home of a former Scotland football star and attacked his 14-year-old son.
The victim said: "Basically he had a strict routine with all the attacks and the last time he went a step further and ended up killing this boy. I was one of the lucky ones."
Beattie was eventually arrested in connection with some of these incidents but was released on bail at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
Six days later, he carried out an assault on a 20-year- old Falkirk man.
In February 1991, he was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh to 18 months for the assaults but served only eight months.
The Curious Case of the Clown Persecution Service, and the summary Quis Custodiet Custodes?, which sets out the bizarre and suspect behaviour of Strathclyde Police and their continuing refusal to act against a known serial rapist preying on children in the Glasgow area.
MURDER MYSTERY - LAWRENCE HAGGART - PART TWO
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.