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A man sought by New Zealand police for allegedly drugging his second wife in Auckland has appeared in court in Scotland accused of murdering his first wife to claim life insurance.
Malcolm Webster, 49, appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court overnight (NZ time) charged with "forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain life assurance moneys" by murdering Claire Webster.
She died in a road crash near the couple's Aberdeenshire home in 1994.
He was remanded in custody to reappear in court next week.
In an unusual move, Scottish police have said he will also face chargesn charges connected to the attempted murder of his second wife, Felicity Drumm, also a nurse, who was injured in a car crash in Auckland in 1999.
Webster fled New Zealand while Ms Drumm was being treated for injuries sustained during the crash.
The decision to charge Webster for crimes committed in both countries follows a year-long investigation which started after Scottish police discovered Ms Webster and Ms Drumm both had drugs in their system at the time of the car crashes. Webster was driving in both cases.
Legal systems can commonly only charge someone with a crime committed in the country over which they have jurisdiction.
Auckland Crown Solicitor Simon Moore told the Herald there were certain crimes for which a person could be tried in New Zealand for offences committed overseas, such as having sex with children, but murder was not one of them.
However, he said Scottish law was different to New Zealand and English law and therefore meant Webster could be charged for crimes committed in both countries.
While Mr Moore said the move was "not a common practice", it was "by no means unheard of".
Defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb said Scottish police had probably decided to lay charges relating to the Auckland crash because of the similarities between the circumstances of the two cases.
North Shore police, who were aware of the Scottish investigation and subsequent arrest, have ruled out extraditing Webster - despite him being wanted here on outstanding warrants.
The New Zealand warrants relate to him failing to appear in the North Shore District Court in July 2000 on charges of stupefying Ms Drumm, the arson of of Ms Drumm's parents' home and administering a drug to Ms Drumm.
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said New Zealand charges would remain in place, meaning Webster would be arrested if he ever re-entered the country - regardless of what happened with the Scottish court proceedings.
Ms Drumm could not be reached for comment yesterday.
It is not yet clear if she will have to travel to Scotland to give evidence.
- With NZPA
