Murder accused a well spoken gentleman, jury told

Malcolm Webster. Photo / Supplied

Murder accused Malcolm Webster was a "very nice, well-spoken gentleman", a Scottish court was told at his trial for murdering his first wife in Scotland and trying to murder his second wife in Auckland.

He was "well dressed. A delight to meet someone like that", said witness Simone Banarjee, the woman he planned to marry after telling her he was single after his first wife died.

Webster, 51, married Claire Morris but denied murdering her in Aberdeenshire in 1994 when he allegedly drugged her and crashed his car with her inside, unable to get out.

He later married Auckland woman Felicity Drumm but denied trying to murder her in a similar crash. After he hit a power pole in Takapuna in 1999 doctors found sedatives in her system. She survived the crash.

He also denied a third charge of planning to marry Ms Banarjee bigamously after buying her a platinum and diamond one carat solitaire ring worth $12,000 and convinced her to make a will leaving everything to him.

The jury at the trial at the High Court in Glasgow was told he lied when he told her he was having chemotherapy for chronic lymphatic leukaemia.

Ms Banarjee said at his trial Webster told her he had not considered remarrying after his wife's death.

The jury was told after his first wife died, Webster fraudulently obtained more than $400,000 in a series of insurance claims.

Ms Banarjee said she had never met anyone "who had been so unlucky in their life. To be bereaved and have a terminal illness."

She said he was a very nice gentleman and it was "a delight to meet someone like that.

"A fine, understanding person is how he came across."

The trial was expected to last about four months.

- NZPA