Victim 'thrown from window twice'

Mr Raymond Henfry, 28, said he looked into a bedroom during a New Year

party and saw two men pushing Mr Kenneth Syme, 48, from the window. He

claimed the men were Mr Kenneth McGuire, 35, and Mr Michael Fay, 28.

Mr McGuire and Mr Fay deny repeatedly throwing Mr Syme, of Fullers

Gate, Faifley, Clydebank, out of the window of their fourth-floor flat

at Watchmeal Crescent nearby, and murdering him on January 1 this year.

Mr McGuire also denies punching and kicking Mr John Slevin, c/o the

police, to his permananent disfigurement in the flat that night, and

threatening to throw Mr Ian Reid from the window on a previous occasion.

He further denies tying Mr Syme up in plastic bags, hiding him in a

wheelie-bin, and moving him to nearby lock-up garages.

Earlier, Mr Henfry had his plea of not guilty to murder accepted by

the Crown. He admitted helping to move Mr Syme in the wheelie-bin, and

that he attempted to defeat the ends of justice. He will be sentenced at

the end of the trial.

Mr Henfry told the court that when he looked into the bedroom the man

was hanging out head first and trying to hold on to the sides. He said

he ran forward and tried to pull him back by his legs.

He said he was pushed back by Mr McGuire, and Mr Syme disappeared over

the edge. When he looked out, he could see him lying on his back on the

ground.

The former barman said they all rejoined the party for a few drinks in

the living-room before he and Mr Fay went outside. Mr Syme was lying on

his back but was still breathing, and he used his knowledge of first aid

to check for broken bones. Then they carried him back to the bedroom

''to keep him warm''. He was still breathing and they put him on a bed.

Questioned by Mr Ian Duguid, prosecuting, he alleged Mr McGuire came

into the bedroom and shouted: ''What's that bastard still doing here.''

Mr Henfry said: ''He shoved past me and opened the window, grabbed Mr

Syme by the back of his neck and waist and papped him back out of the

window.''

Later, he claimed, Mr McGuire went outside, tied bin bags around Mr

Syme's head and legs, and put him head first into a wheelie-bin and took

him away somewhere.

Mr Henfry told the court that when Mr McGuire came in and threw Mr

Syme back out again he was ''shocked, stunned''.

Asked if anything was said in the bedroom the second time, Mr Henfry

said: ''No, not a word. McGuire just walked back to the living-room as

if nothing had happened.

''I went back to the living-room. I should have bolted. I sat down. I

was shaking.''

He claimed he then saw Mr McGuire kicking and punching Mr Slevin till

he was unconscious.

Asked why he did not get up and leave the party to get help, he said:

''I was in a state of shock. I was frightened of McGuire.''

When he asked Mr McGuire about Mr Syme, he said the accused told him:

''He owed me money.''

Mr Henfry agreed that he then went to another party, but told no-one

about what had happened until interviewed by police the following day

and was jointly charged with the murder.

Cross-examined by Mr Donald Findlay, QC, defending, Mr Henfry said he

had recently passed a first aid course with the Territorial Army and

examined Mr Syme the first time he was pushed out the window, and found

no bleeding or fractures.

Mr Findlay: ''So you just carried him back to the same house where he

had been chucked out of a fourth floor window?''

Mr Henfry: ''Yes.''

Mr Findlay: ''Was that your idea of first aid?''

Mr Henfry: ''My idea was to get him to bed to keep him warm. He was

still breathing.''

He denied helping Mr McGuire to put the victim in the wheelie-bin, and

said he only helped to move the bin up a few stairs.

The trial before Lord Osborne continues.