Monday, July 29, 2013

Wedding photo 'shows bruising' claims MSP Bill Walker's former wife

The former wife of an MSP has claimed a newly discovered wedding photograph shows the black eye he gave her two weeks before their marriage.

Bill Walker's first wife Maureen Traquair returned to Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday to give evidence for a second time after the photograph unexpectedly came to light.

She said it showed her face was bruised on the day of their wedding in January 1967.

Mrs Traquair, 66, previously told the court she had to buy concealer after Walker punched her in the eye during an argument a fortnight before they wed.

The 71-year-old is accused of a string of attacks on his three ex-wives and a step-daughter between 1967 and 1995.

His trial was adjourned on July 12 after five days of evidence and resumed on Monday.

The court heard that in the intervening period, Mrs Traquair's sister had been searching for family photographs to jog the memory of their mother, who was in a care home suffering from dementia.

Fiscal depute Les Brown said she had discovered the original black-and-white wedding picture by chance and had handed it to the police.

Sheriff Katherine Mackie granted a Crown motion to recall Mrs Traquair to give additional evidence about the image.

The witness said she had been surprised to see the picture as she had destroyed her own photographs after she divorced Walker in 1970.

Evidence of her injuries was clearly visible in the wedding photograph despite the concealer and foundation she had worn, she said.

"I can see the bruising that still remains from the wound that I got," Mrs Traquair said. "It's a dark colour."

She told the court that her mother had arranged her veil so that she could cover up the marks on her face during the wedding.

Walker's lawyer, solicitor advocate Gordon Martin, asked whether the marks could be "simply a shadow".

But Mrs Traquair, who the court heard is an award-winning photographer, said there had been nothing present to cause such a shadow.

She denied that the mark was a figment of her imagination.

"Other people have looked at this and have seen it as well," she said.

Walker, an Independent MSP for Dunfermline, denies 23 charges of assault and one breach of the peace.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

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Source: http://news.stv.tv/east-central/234405-maureen-traquair-ex-wife-of-msp-bill-walker-says-picture-shows-abuse/

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