Teenager 'had no memory of attack'

Jan 27 2012

A teenager accused of murdering a school friend in woodland has said he has no memory of carrying out the attack.

Craig Roy said he was "terrified" when he realised 16-year-old Jack Frew was lying on the ground with his throat cut because he thought he could have been the one who knifed him.

Roy, 19, was giving evidence for the second day in the trial at the High Court in Glasgow. He is accused of murdering Jack in East Kilbride on May 6, 2010. He denies the offence.

It is alleged that Roy repeatedly struck and stabbed Jack in the neck and body with a knife. The trial has previously been told Jack was left with 20 separate stab wounds and a slash across his throat.

The jury was told on Friday that at an earlier hearing Roy had entered a guilty plea to culpable homicide, but it was rejected by the Crown. Roy said he had taken a knife out after Jack had exposed himself during a walk.

The trial has previously heard that Jack was "blackmailing" Roy by threatening to tell Roy's boyfriend about an earlier sexual encounter. Roy said the next thing he remembered was Jack lying bleeding on the ground.

His lawyer, David Burns QC, asked him: "Do you accept that it was you who delivered these many blows?" He replied: "I came to that conclusion. Even now, logically, I accept it, but part of me just won't accept it."

Roy also spoke of the impact Jack's death had had on his family: "Obviously I can't imagine what they think. They lost a son. He wasn't just a son - he was a friend, a best friend, a nephew, a cousin. He was a lot of things to a lot of people.

"If I could make things right again, I would. But I can't."

Members of Jack's family wept during Roy's evidence. The trial, before Lord Doherty, continues.