14:57
'Continued to argue' with Darren Bonner
Spottiswood tells the jury that, after accusing Mr Bonner of spying for a rival drug dealer, they continued to argue.
He says he asked Mr Bonner if he had planned to “set him up” with the rival and accused him of “double-crossing” him.
Spottiswood says: “Darren asked me what I was going to do about it. I said I wanted him out. I wanted him out the garage and to pick his stuff up and that’s the end of it.”
Mr Hall asks: “What was his reaction?”
Spottiswood replies: “He got angry.”
15:01
Struggled over bag with guns in
Spottiswood says, at this point, he is carrying the bag with the guns in and Mr Bonner is holding the spade.
Asked what happened next, Spottiswood says: “He [Mr Bonner] reacted quite angrily, he tried to take the bag off me.
“I was at the entrance to where the hole is. I was facing it and Darren was in front of me and Darren had the spade in his hand and I had the bag in my left hand.
“He took hold of the bag with his right hand. He was struggling with it and I got hit in the mouth by the spade. I don’t think that was intentional.”
15:08
'I put him in a headlock'
Mr Hall asks: “What did you do?”
Spottiswood says: “I put him in a headlock straight away.”
Mr Hall asks: “With which arm?”
Spottiswood replies: “My right.”
Mr Hall asks: “How was Darren reacting?”
Spottiswood says: “He kicked right off. He tried to pull my arm off and tried to back-heel us. I tried to tell him to calm down and he just wouldn’t.”
15:13
Claims Darren Bonner 'went heavy'
When asked why he didn’t let go of Mr Bonner, Spottiswood says: “It would have been some protection when the bag was in front of him. The reason I didn’t want him having the bag was because of what was in it and the state he was in.”
Mr Hall asks: “Did you let go?”
Spottiswood replies: “I went backwards into the bushes and he just went heavy.”
He continues: “I tried to step back away from him but I still had him in a headlock and I stepped back into the bush about 10 or five yards away and he just went heavy.”
15:22
'He went like a dead weight'
Spottiswood tells the jury that he only had Mr Bonner in a headlock for about “20 seconds” and thought he was only “faking it” when he went limp.
Mr Hall asks: “Were you trying to cut off his air supply?”
Spottiswood replies: “No, I just wanted him to calm down. If I wanted to hurt him, there was a number of things I could have done.”
Mr Hall asks: “Darren then ‘went heavy’, what did you mean by that?”
Spottiswood says: “He went like a dead weight.”
15:33
'I left him face down'
Spottiswood is asked what happened next.
He says: “I lowered him down and he was face down on the floor and I told him to get up because I thought he was faking it.”
Mr Hall asks: “Did you leave him face down?”
Spottiswood says: “I left him face down as I thought he was going to get up.”
15:37
Darren 'looked dead' when he turned him over
Spottiswood is asked if he tried to look at Mr Bonner’s face.
With his voice breaking as he wipes away tears, Spottiswood says: “I turned him over and he was next to the hole at that time.
“One of his legs fell into the back of it [the hole]. I slapped his face a little bit when I thought he was faking it.
“I got my phone out. We were in the bushes, it was pitch black, and his face was just a weird colour.
“It was like blue and white and his tongue was swelling up.
“He looked dead.”
15:46
'I thought I had broken his neck'
Spottiswood is asked how he reacted. He tells jurors: “I started panicking. I didn’t know what to do.”
Mr Hall says: “What did you think you had done?”
Spottiswood replies: “To be perfectly honest, I thought I had broken his neck.”
Mr Hall says: “Did you try to break his neck?”
Spottiswood responds: “No. I just had hold of him. It was mad how it happened.”
15:51
Claims Mr Bonner 'slipped into the hole'
Spottiswood tells jurors that Mr Bonner was not breathing and, during the course of pulling his body, his shoe fell off and he “slipped into the hole”.
He adds: “He [Mr Bonner] just slipped and he was lying in the hole and one of his legs was sticking up. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
15:55
Stooped to pick up guns and spade
Spottiswood tells the court that he hid the spade and bag of guns in a bush and took Mr Bonner’s clothes back to the caravan site, where he put them in a bin.
He says he then went to bed for a few hours before packing up his belongings and driving back to South Shields.
Spottiswood tells the jury he stopped en route to pick up the bag of guns and spade.
When asked what happened to the guns, Spottiswood claims they were placed in a car in his garage, which was subsequently stolen during a burglary.
Mr Hall asks: “Have you been able to find that bag or car?”
Spottiswood replies: “No, na.”
15:59
Arrested while Mr Bonner was still alive
Spottiswood was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder two days after Mr Bonner was found as, at that point, he was still alive.
Asked how he felt when he discovered Mr Bonner was still alive, Spottiswood says:
“I banked on him coming around - he had to.
“I was sitting thinking how I got things so wrong, thinking he was dead. Finding out he was alive, I knew for a fact he would have me released straight away.
“There’s no way he would have spoken to the police. For him to do that, he would have to explain all the stuff with [the rival drug dealer], why he dug a hole and the firearms.
“He would have been looking at double figures in prison, alongside me.”
16:05
Asked why he initially lied to police
Asked why he initially lied to the police by telling them he had no idea how Mr Bonner became injured, Spottiswood says: “Telling the truth would have got me a big jail sentence and I would have got Darren a big jail sentence.”
16:12
'I just wanted him to calm down'
Mr Hall asks Spottiswood: “Did you intend him to die?”
Spottiswood says: “I didn’t intend any of it. I just wanted him to calm down.”
Mr Hall asks: “Did you intend him serious harm?”
Spottiswood says: “No.”
Darren Bonner murder trial - man denies shallow grave killing
'Continued to argue' with Darren Bonner
Spottiswood tells the jury that, after accusing Mr Bonner of spying for a rival drug dealer, they continued to argue.
He says he asked Mr Bonner if he had planned to “set him up” with the rival and accused him of “double-crossing” him.
Spottiswood says: “Darren asked me what I was going to do about it. I said I wanted him out. I wanted him out the garage and to pick his stuff up and that’s the end of it.”
Mr Hall asks: “What was his reaction?”
Spottiswood replies: “He got angry.”
15:01
Struggled over bag with guns in
Spottiswood says, at this point, he is carrying the bag with the guns in and Mr Bonner is holding the spade.
Asked what happened next, Spottiswood says: “He [Mr Bonner] reacted quite angrily, he tried to take the bag off me.
“I was at the entrance to where the hole is. I was facing it and Darren was in front of me and Darren had the spade in his hand and I had the bag in my left hand.
“He took hold of the bag with his right hand. He was struggling with it and I got hit in the mouth by the spade. I don’t think that was intentional.”
15:08
'I put him in a headlock'
Mr Hall asks: “What did you do?”
Spottiswood says: “I put him in a headlock straight away.”
Mr Hall asks: “With which arm?”
Spottiswood replies: “My right.”
Mr Hall asks: “How was Darren reacting?”
Spottiswood says: “He kicked right off. He tried to pull my arm off and tried to back-heel us. I tried to tell him to calm down and he just wouldn’t.”
15:13
Claims Darren Bonner 'went heavy'
When asked why he didn’t let go of Mr Bonner, Spottiswood says: “It would have been some protection when the bag was in front of him. The reason I didn’t want him having the bag was because of what was in it and the state he was in.”
Mr Hall asks: “Did you let go?”
Spottiswood replies: “I went backwards into the bushes and he just went heavy.”
He continues: “I tried to step back away from him but I still had him in a headlock and I stepped back into the bush about 10 or five yards away and he just went heavy.”
15:22
'He went like a dead weight'
Spottiswood tells the jury that he only had Mr Bonner in a headlock for about “20 seconds” and thought he was only “faking it” when he went limp.
Mr Hall asks: “Were you trying to cut off his air supply?”
Spottiswood replies: “No, I just wanted him to calm down. If I wanted to hurt him, there was a number of things I could have done.”
Mr Hall asks: “Darren then ‘went heavy’, what did you mean by that?”
Spottiswood says: “He went like a dead weight.”
15:33
'I left him face down'
Spottiswood is asked what happened next.
He says: “I lowered him down and he was face down on the floor and I told him to get up because I thought he was faking it.”
Mr Hall asks: “Did you leave him face down?”
Spottiswood says: “I left him face down as I thought he was going to get up.”
15:37
Darren 'looked dead' when he turned him over
Spottiswood is asked if he tried to look at Mr Bonner’s face.
With his voice breaking as he wipes away tears, Spottiswood says: “I turned him over and he was next to the hole at that time.
“One of his legs fell into the back of it [the hole]. I slapped his face a little bit when I thought he was faking it.
“I got my phone out. We were in the bushes, it was pitch black, and his face was just a weird colour.
“It was like blue and white and his tongue was swelling up.
“He looked dead.”
15:46
'I thought I had broken his neck'
Spottiswood is asked how he reacted. He tells jurors: “I started panicking. I didn’t know what to do.”
Mr Hall says: “What did you think you had done?”
Spottiswood replies: “To be perfectly honest, I thought I had broken his neck.”
Mr Hall says: “Did you try to break his neck?”
Spottiswood responds: “No. I just had hold of him. It was mad how it happened.”
15:51
Claims Mr Bonner 'slipped into the hole'
Spottiswood tells jurors that Mr Bonner was not breathing and, during the course of pulling his body, his shoe fell off and he “slipped into the hole”.
He adds: “He [Mr Bonner] just slipped and he was lying in the hole and one of his legs was sticking up. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
15:55
Stooped to pick up guns and spade
Spottiswood tells the court that he hid the spade and bag of guns in a bush and took Mr Bonner’s clothes back to the caravan site, where he put them in a bin.
He says he then went to bed for a few hours before packing up his belongings and driving back to South Shields.
Spottiswood tells the jury he stopped en route to pick up the bag of guns and spade.
When asked what happened to the guns, Spottiswood claims they were placed in a car in his garage, which was subsequently stolen during a burglary.
Mr Hall asks: “Have you been able to find that bag or car?”
Spottiswood replies: “No, na.”
15:59
Arrested while Mr Bonner was still alive
Spottiswood was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder two days after Mr Bonner was found as, at that point, he was still alive.
Asked how he felt when he discovered Mr Bonner was still alive, Spottiswood says:
“I banked on him coming around - he had to.
“I was sitting thinking how I got things so wrong, thinking he was dead. Finding out he was alive, I knew for a fact he would have me released straight away.
“There’s no way he would have spoken to the police. For him to do that, he would have to explain all the stuff with [the rival drug dealer], why he dug a hole and the firearms.
“He would have been looking at double figures in prison, alongside me.”
16:05
Asked why he initially lied to police
Asked why he initially lied to the police by telling them he had no idea how Mr Bonner became injured, Spottiswood says: “Telling the truth would have got me a big jail sentence and I would have got Darren a big jail sentence.”
16:12
'I just wanted him to calm down'
Mr Hall asks Spottiswood: “Did you intend him to die?”
Spottiswood says: “I didn’t intend any of it. I just wanted him to calm down.”
Mr Hall asks: “Did you intend him serious harm?”
Spottiswood says: “No.”
Darren Bonner murder trial - man denies shallow grave killing
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Reading through this thread I was sceptical of his story to begin with, but ok, there was maybe some possibility, but this detail made my mind up. And then I saw his previous record... it's a pity the jury are unlikely to hear about that until after the verdict is reached; sadly I can see that they might have some trouble with the "reasonable doubt" side of this, it's human nature to want to believe the best of people and a "accidental death" story can be convincing (I've fallen for a few myself until more details come out... and this one's a bit lacking in extra detail).
