Murder victim collapsed in partner's arms after attack, court hears
The woman became emotional as she recalled the 33-year-old shouting that he had been 'stabbed' moments after he had dropped her off at home.
The 36-year-old was giving evidence at the High Court in Glasgow.
Raymond Platt, 56, Craig Colquhoun, 39, Robert Park, 69, Joseph McCulloch, 50, are on trial accused of killing the tiler in Crebar Street, Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, on April 18, 2019.
They deny the murder charge.
The woman told how she and Tony had been a couple for three years before he passed away.
Tony lived with his mum Phyllis, 67, in Thornliebank, but would sometimes stay with his partner at her home nearby.
She had been working at a local One-O-One shop on the night of the alleged attack, but at a different branch from usual.
The couple's 'routine' would be for Tony to pick her up in his Audi at the end of a shift.
CCTV footage played in court showed her being collected that evening.
The witness told how Tony then dropped her off at home after parking in his usual spot outside.
The mum then left the car to get her sister, who had been babysitting her children at her house. Tony was due to drive the sibling home.
The woman then spotted a man at her partner's car. She was not concerned, as 'Tony knew everybody' and believed it was likely a friend.
But then she heard the car suddenly 'screech' and the vehicle head towards Phyllis's home nearby where it stopped.
The witness said she got 'a fright'. She could not 'comprehend' what had happened.
She remembered shouting and Tony replying: 'I have been stabbed.'
The woman immediately ran up to a stricken Tony, who, by this time, was at his mum's door.
The sobbing woman told jurors: 'He collapsed in my arms. I just held him in my arms.'
An urgent 999 call was made. The witness said she later phoned again as emergency crews 'were taking so long'.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC asked her: 'Did Tony remain responsive?'
She replied: 'You could see that the life was draining from him.'
Tony did not recover.
The woman was asked by the police at the time if she could identify the male in Tony's car that night.
An e-fit photo was generated, and this was shown to jurors.
But, she said her 'focus' had been more on Tony than on this other individual.
Park's KC Tony Graham later questioned the witness.
He said: 'I am about to put something to you – I am not suggesting there is any truth – but if someone had believed that you had set Tony up that night, would that be ridiculous?'
'Yes', the witness replied.
The court heard previously how Tony apparently held a 'grudge' towards Park.
He was said to have believed Park – known as Rab – was in some way responsible for a car accident which left his disabled brother badly hurt.
The woman was asked about 'incidents' she was aware of involving the pair.
This included one where Tony had told her that he had punched Park, although she did not know the date.
She also said her partner had been 'paranoid' about a car that he had seen in his street driving 'very slowly'.
McCulloch was allegedly in it with the vehicle described by Tony as being 'full'.
Jurors later heard how Tony died from a 'stab wound of the heart'.
He would have been able to carry out 'some purposeful activity' – such as drive his car briefly – after being struck.
However, the court was told Tony would have 'rapidly succumbed' to internal bleeding as a result.
Pathologist Gemma Kemp had carried out a post-mortem on his body.
Prosecutor Mr Prentice asked her about the realistic chance of Tony having been able to survive after what happened adding: 'Despite the best efforts of others, this was really a lost cause?'
The witness agreed. The pathologist also told how Tony had suffered another stab wound on his abdomen.
Dr Kemp said the weapon used to inflict the fatal blow was 'most likely a knife' and required a 'severe' level of force.
The murder charge states Tony was repeatedly stabbed on the body with a knife or similar item.
The trial, before Judge Lord Fairley, continues.
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