Farmer accuses co-defendant in murder trial
09 September 1998
Farmer accuses co-defendant in murder trial
FARMER Iain Meikleham switched his submission and accused his co-defendant John Parker of murdering Roddy and Anne Marie Aitken.
Mr Meikleham, of Little Blairlusk Farm, Gartocharm, had claimed at the start of the trial that his brother Neil had killed them.
But he told the court yesterday that the accusation against his brother had been a defence which had been suggested to him by his solicitor.
Mr Meikleham said the Aitkens were friends and that he and Roddy were involved in smuggling cannabis from Spain to Scotland.
Mr Meikleham and Mr Parker deny murdering the Aitkens by shooting them. They also deny attempting to pervert justice by transporting the bodies to Mr Parkers family farm, Crosbie Main, West Kilbride, to burn and bury them in a bid to conceal their identities and whereabouts and avoid detection.