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Woman 'last seen hitching lift' Man 'joked while digging grave'
(about 3 hours later)
An 18-year-old woman whose body was found in a garden 16 years after she disappeared was last seen hitching a lift with a man on the M25 in Surrey. A man killed an 18-year-old girl and buried her body in his back garden, pretending her grave was a sandpit, a court has heard.
Peter Tobin, 62, from Renfrewshire, in Scotland, denies murdering Dinah McNicol, of Tillingham, Essex, who vanished in the summer of 1991. Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court heard Peter Tobin, 62, was "chest deep" in a hole he was digging for Dinah McNicol's body while a neighbour joked with him.
David Tremlett had spent a weekend with Miss McNicol at a music festival before they began hitching lifts home. Prosecutors say Miss McNicol's remains were later found buried in the garden.
He told jurors he last saw her alone in the car with the driver. Mr Tobin, of Renfrewshire, Scotland, denies murdering Miss McNicol, of Essex, who vanished in 1991.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard Miss McNicol was waiting for her A-level results and had visited a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire. Jurors were told her body was found 16 years after she was last seen hitching a lift with a man on the M25 in Surrey.
Mr Tremlett, 44, who lives in Wales, said on 6 August 1991 he and Miss McNicol hitched two lifts to a spot on the A3 near a pub called The Devil's Punchbowl. David Tremlett had spent a weekend with Miss McNicol at a music festival before they began hitching lifts home. He told jurors he last saw her alone in the car with the driver.
'Extra distance''Extra distance'
Miss McNicol was waiting for her A-level results and had visited a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire, the court heard.
Mr Tremlett, 44, who lives in Wales, said he and Miss McNicol hitched two lifts to a spot on the A3 near a pub called The Devil's Punchbowl, on 6 August 1991.
He told jurors they were picked up by a man driving a green four-door car and Miss McNicol got into the front seat.He told jurors they were picked up by a man driving a green four-door car and Miss McNicol got into the front seat.
He said the driver was a man in his late 30s or early 40s with straw-coloured, wavy hair.
Mr Tremlett told the court: "The best route from the location of the festival would have been along the A25 so I would have hoped we would have been dropped off near to Reigate or Redhill but the guy who was driving wanted to go along the motorway which was a lot of extra distance.
Miss McNicol went missing in 1991 after a trip to a music festivalMiss McNicol went missing in 1991 after a trip to a music festival
He said the driver was a man in his late 30s or early 40s with straw-coloured, wavy hair.
Mr Tremlett told the court the driver over the car seemed to want to cover "a lot of extra distance" by using the M25, rather than take the most direct route.
"The best route from the location of the festival would have been along the A25," he said.
"I couldn't understand why he wanted to go along that route and I was dropped off at junction eight of the M25.""I couldn't understand why he wanted to go along that route and I was dropped off at junction eight of the M25."
He said: "I found it very difficult to hear what the man was saying because the conversation was in the front and we were travelling at some speed." Sitting in the back, Mr Tremlett said there was a brief conversation he heard about music and the driver of the car, allegedly Peter Tobin, said the Cambridge Folk Festival would be "more my style".
Mr Tremlett said there was a brief conversation he heard about music and the driver of the car, allegedly Peter Tobin, said the Cambridge Folk Festival would be "more my style". Serving life
Mr Tremlett said that when he got out of the car he noted Miss McNicol's telephone number.Mr Tremlett said that when he got out of the car he noted Miss McNicol's telephone number.
He later tried her number several times but got no answer.He later tried her number several times but got no answer.
Jurors earlier heard the bodies of Miss McNicol and another teenager Vicky Hamilton, 15, were found buried in the garden at the back of Mr Tobin's former home in Irvine Drive in Margate, Kent, in 2007.Jurors earlier heard the bodies of Miss McNicol and another teenager Vicky Hamilton, 15, were found buried in the garden at the back of Mr Tobin's former home in Irvine Drive in Margate, Kent, in 2007.
The court was told Mr Tobin murdered Miss Hamilton within a year of his wife Cathy Wilson, leaving him in April 1990, taking their then two-year-old son.The court was told Mr Tobin murdered Miss Hamilton within a year of his wife Cathy Wilson, leaving him in April 1990, taking their then two-year-old son.
Ms Wilson said Mr Tobin continued to have access to their son and would travel to Portsmouth to collect him.Ms Wilson said Mr Tobin continued to have access to their son and would travel to Portsmouth to collect him.
Mr Tobin is serving life for the murder of Miss Hamilton. Mr Tobin is serving life in prison for the murder of Miss Hamilton.
The trial continues.The trial continues.