July 21, 2025 • 19 mins
This episode explores the 1970 murder of George Nixon Martin, a Dundee taxi driver. It recounts the events leading to his death, the swift capture of his teenage killers, and the shocking trial revelations. It uncovers potential occult motivations, diminished responsibility claims, and the impact on Martin's family. It also touches on the narrow escape of another taxi driver and the community's response to the tragedy. The detailed narrative by host, Dawn, paints a vivid picture of this seemingly motiveless crime, offering listeners a glimpse into a dark chapter of Scottish criminal history.
SOURCES:
Please see our website for all source material and photos at https://scottishmurders.com/episodes/georgemartin/
British Newspaper Archives Affiliate Link
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CREDITS:
Scottish Murders is a production of Cluarantonn
Hosted by Dawn Young
Researched, Written and Produced by Dawn Young
Production Company Name by Granny Robertson
MUSIC:
ES_Tudor - Bonnie Grace - epidemicsound
SOURCES:
Please see our website for all source material and photos at https://scottishmurders.com/episodes/georgemartin/
British Newspaper Archives Affiliate Link
SUPPORT US:
Patreon - patreon.com/scottishmurders
Ko-fi - ko-fi.com/scottishmurders
Merch - teepublic.com/user/scottishmurders
Website - scottishmurders.com
Twitter - @scottishmurders
Instagram - @scottishmurderspodcast
Facebook - facebook.com/scottishmurdurs
YouTube - @ScottishMurders
Linktree - linktr.ee/scottishmurders
CREDITS:
Scottish Murders is a production of Cluarantonn
Hosted by Dawn Young
Researched, Written and Produced by Dawn Young
Production Company Name by Granny Robertson
MUSIC:
ES_Tudor - Bonnie Grace - epidemicsound
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So this episode is an elaboration on the murder of
thirty year old George Nixon Martin in nineteen seventy that
I briefly mentioned in a previous Scotland Then episode, and
it was asked by one of our listeners shown a
smiley face at h one K one three on YouTube
music if there was more information on this case, and yes,
(00:20):
there absolutely is. So I'm really glad you asked about this,
as while it was a case that was quickly solved,
it definitely has a lot of layers to it, including
the suggestion that the apparently motiveless slaying of George Nixon
Martin could have been a sacrifice to the Master Satan.
So let's get started. Saturday, the fourteenth of February nineteen seventy,
(01:10):
Valentine's Day started like every other Saturday for thirty year
old George Martin. He and his twenty nine year old
wife Rose woke early in the morning to get their
four children, nine year old Derek, eight year old George,
six year old Ian and three year old Rosalind wash dressed, fed,
and played with before George had to leave Rose with
(01:30):
the children for the day while he carried out his
shift as a taxi driver for Star Cabs on that
particular Saturday morning, George had to leave earlier than planned
about ten am, as his taxi was off the road
having been in a road crash, and so he was
borrowing a friend's taxi for his shift and left early
to go and collect it. George kissed his children and
(01:51):
wife Rose goodbye, suggesting to Rose that as it was
a Valentine's Day, perhaps they could do something special when
he got back that evening before he then left the
family home on ern Crescent in the Mensy's Hill area
of Dundee for what would be the last time. As
George was leaving home to start his taxi shift about
the seventeen minute drive east of Mensi's Hell, eighteen year
(02:13):
old Robert Grunwell of Kingsway East and nineteen year old
Frederick Edison of Balachomile Drive also had plans for that
Valentine's Day Saturday, but they weren't romantic plans. They were murderous.
Robert Grunwell and Frederick Edison had booked a taxi to
pick them up from Robert's family's flat on Kingsway East
for about one forty five pm that Saturday afternoon, but
(02:36):
David Stephen, the taxi driver that had been booked to
pick the two youths up, had been held up with
another fare and he was running slightly late, but he
was hoping that his potential passengers would be patient and
wait for him to arrive. He was only running about
five minutes late, after all. Shortly before, at one forty
five pm, Frederick Edison arrived outside Robert's flat, having made
(02:59):
the thirteen minute walk from his own home, and Robert
and Frederick waited on the pavement for the imminent taxi
to arrive, chatting and laughing excitedly at what they had
planned for that very afternoon. However, as the minutes ticked by,
their booked taxi didn't show up, and so about one
fifty pm, when the pair saw a different taxi driving
towards them, they made the decision to flag it down,
(03:21):
thinking that their booked taxi driver, David Stephen, just wasn't
going to show up. George Martin had just dropped off
a fare and was driving along Kingsway East when he
saw two youths waving him down, and so we indicated
and pulled over, noticing that the youths had some sort
of long box, a whole doll and a labrador dog
with them. He got out, spoke to the youth's and
(03:44):
opened the boot of his borrowed Maroon Austin A sixty
taxi for the youths to be able to put their
luggage in. Two of Robert Grinwell's neighbors just happened to
be looking out of their windows at one fifty pm
on Saturday, the fourteenth of February, and they saw a
taxi pull outside the block of flats. They saw the
taxi driver get out speak to their neighbor Robert and
(04:05):
his friend Frederick, before Robert Grinwell, helped by the taxi driver,
put the longish box into the boot of the taxi
and a hold all into the back seat. Before Robert Grinwell,
Frederick Addison, Robert's labrador dog, Sebastian, and the taxi driver
all got into the taxi, with it being noted by
both neighbors that both Robert Grunwell and Frederick Adison were
(04:27):
laughing and seemed really cheerful, before the taxi driver then
indicated and the taxi pulled away from the curb. Once
in the taxi. Robert and Frederick excitedly asked George if
he could take them to the kirkton Wood area, which
was located along and just off the Tea Port Tost
Michael's Road in Fife, no more than about a fifteen
(04:47):
minute drive south of where Robert and Frederick were picked up,
telling George that they planned on going on a poaching
expedition there. George told Robert and Frederick that he would
be happy to take them there, but first he just
had a check how much this fare would be, and
so George radioed the Star CAB's base in Dundee to
ask this would be the last time anyone would hear
(05:08):
from George. Having determined the cost of the fair to
kirkton Wood, which Robert and Frederick were happy with, George
then sat back for the short journey and chatted amiably
to his passengers, asking them more about their poaching expedition.
At the same time George was making his way to
kirkton Wood with his two passengers, John Ferney and his
(05:29):
wife Isabelle were just getting out of their car to
go for a walk along the track beside kirkton Wood,
having driven the short distance from their home in guard Bridge.
A short while later, as the couple walked along the
single track, they had to make way for a maroon
colored car with three people inside to pass them. With
the car driving further along the track and out of sight,
(05:50):
mister and Missus Ferney thought that this most likely would
be poachers and so didn't give it much more thought,
but felt that their thoughts had been confirmed when only
a few minutes later they heard the sound of a
shot ring out, followed by silence. However, mister and Missus
Ferney's suspicions were roused when about fifteen minutes later, the
same maroon car came back along the track, driving at speed,
(06:14):
but this time there were only two men in the car.
While mister and Missus Ferney weren't able to get a
good look that either of the men in the car,
mister Ferney did make a mental note of the car's
registration number, and when the car was out of sight,
the couple walked in the direction of where the car
had come from and sadly found a man's body in
the trees beside the road, having been shot and stabbed.
(06:37):
Mister and Missus ferney immediately alerted the police, giving them
all the information they could, and an intensive murder hunt
in police search over a wide area of East Scotland,
which involved more than one hundred officers and a police
helicopter began, although it would soon be discovered that police
were focusing their search for George's car and his killers
(06:58):
in the wrong area. About five pm on Saturday, the
fourteenth of February, near a farm in the town of Breacon,
thirty miles or about a forty one minute drive northeast
of kirkton Wood, eighteen year old Charles accompanied by his father,
also called Charles, were driving down the road from their
farm when they saw a maroon Austin a six ninety
(07:18):
car stopped on the road with two men and their
labrador dog standing next to it with the bonnet up.
As Charles and his father got out of the car
and approached the two men, one of the men said
that the car wouldn't start and that it needed oil,
but the two farm workers told them that they didn't
have any to spare. The four men then decided to
(07:39):
try and push the car to see if that would
start it, but to no avail, and so Charles Senior
told the two men that they would be able to
catch a bust to Dundee from the bottom of the
road about five thirty pm, the men from the maroon
car thanked the two farm workers, gave them a packet
of cigarettes, shouted on their dog, Sebastian, and then began
walking towards the road to catch the bus, and the
(08:01):
two farm workers carried on their journey. However, about nine
forty pm that same evening, Charles Senior found himself walking
along the same road past the maroon colored car, and
he found a dog collar lying on the ground which
bore the name Grunwell Kingsway, East Dundee, not thinking anything
of it, being completely unaware that forty one minutes south
(08:24):
a massive hunt was on were two killers and a
maroon colored car. Charles Senior whistled to himself and carried
on walking home. It wouldn't be until the following morning
when the farm workers noticed that the maroon colored car
was still in the same place that they decided to
inform the police, which, according to an article in the
Daily Record, led to a dramatic helicopter flight following police
(08:49):
receiving the phone call about ten am on Sunday from
Charles Senior about the missing maroon Austin A sixty car
having been abandoned near their farm. The ARIF helicopter that
been flying over and searching the four thousand acres of
Tentsmere Forest, not far from kirkton Wood, swooped down into
a nearby field to pick up the waiting lead detective,
(09:11):
Superintendent Grave and other senior officers before whisking them over
the River Tay and to the location of the abandoned
missing car near Breakin. Throughout Sunday, top CID officers, forensic officers,
fingerprint experts, a police photographer and dog handlers arrived on
the scene and the car and surrounding area was thoroughly examined,
(09:34):
while other detectives concentrated their murder inquiry on the Kingsway
East area of Dundee, following Charles Senior providing them with
a dog collar he had found where the car had
been abandoned, which provided the name and address of the
labrador dog's owner, eighteen year old Robert Grunwell. And On
Sunday afternoon, Fife's Chief Constables said two men are now
(09:57):
in custody charged with murder. Both men made their first
appearance at Coopert Sheriff Court the following morning, with their
heads covered with blankets as they entered, and Robert Grinwell's mother,
accompanied by a neighbor, was heard to shout tearful words
of encouragement to her son. Both men were charged with shooting,
stabbing and murdering thirty year old taxi driver George Martin,
(10:21):
and it was at this point that the murderers were
named as eighteen year old Robert Charles Grunwell and nineteen
year old Frederick Charles Addison. Neither man made any plea
at this point and were committed to prison for further inquiries.
The murder trial began on the nineteenth of May at
the High Court in Dundee before Judge Lord Robertson and
(10:42):
a jury of nine men and six women. At the
outset of the trial, both men pleaded not guilty to
the charge of having, on the fourteenth of February in
Kirkwood Looker's assaulted thirty year old George Nixon Merton, of
having discharged a loaded shotgun into his back, and of
stabbing him repeatedly on the body with a knife or
similar instrument, and of having murdered him. The prosecution at
(11:06):
this time stated that they planned to call seventy three
witnesses to the stand, but due to another dramatic turn
of events, not all of these witnesses would be called.
First to take to the stand were mister and Missus Ferney,
who recounted having seen the maroon car with three men
inside past them at curtain Wood before they heard a
shot and saw the same car drive past them at
(11:29):
speed with then only having two men inside, before they
then found George Martin's body. Also taking to the stand
were the two separate neighbors of Robert Grunwell, who had
seen Robert and Frederick and Robert's labrador dog get into
a maroon colored car on Saturday the fourteenth of February
and put a long box in the boot of the car.
(11:50):
When they were shown a shotgun and asked if this
could have been what was in the long box they saw,
they confirmed that yes, the box they saw might just
have been long enough to have contained a shotgun. Other
exhibits taken from the taxi and the suspects homes and
shown to witnesses included four knives, a bayonet, a shotgun,
an air pistol and a garotte. Fife Police surgeon, Doctor
(12:13):
William Preston also took to the stand and said that
George had been shot in the back with a shotgun
and stabbed four times in the body. That after he
had been killed, he had then been dragged face down
about ten yards or meters off the Woodland track and dumped.
On day two, various experts, including a psychiatrist, told of
(12:33):
what had been established following a search of Robert Grunwell
and Frederick Edison's bedrooms, as well as following both men
having been assessed. It was stated that Robert Grunwell was
an expert in black magic, and that Frederick Edison lived
in a fantasy world and was a born follower, and
that he had been dominated by Robert Grunwell's personality. It
(12:54):
was also mentioned that both killers were mentally subnormal and
had sworn a loyalty to the devil, with it being
stated that a sacrificial dagger and a black death mask
had also been found in the taxi. It was also
put forward that one motive for George's murder could have
been a sacrifice to the Master Satan, as apparently to
(13:15):
become a full member of the cult, the Master demands
a human sacrifice. It was also disclosed, according to the
Daily Mail, that Frederick Addison had suffered severe brain damage
in a road accident when he was four years old,
and that Frederick and Robert Grunwell had attended the same
special school in Dundee. A detective also took to the
(13:36):
stand and said, according to the Daily Record on the
twenty first of May nineteen seventy, that Robert Grinwell had
kept a diary and had written in this diary in
the days before George was murdered. Robert Grinwell had written,
I call upon the forces of evil to help me
in my task, with it being a possibility that this
task could have been the killing of George Martin. The
(13:59):
detective went on to readoubt the statements made by both
Robert Grunwell and Frederick Addison at the time of their arrest,
where they both blamed each other for George's murder, hence
why they both were pleading not guilty. Frederick Addison said
that when the three of them had arrived in Kirtainwood,
Robert Grunwell had told the taxi driver George to get
(14:19):
out of the car, and that Robert then shot him
in the back and stabbed him repeatedly. He said that
they then drove the car across the River Tay and
onto Breacon, where the car broke down. Robert Grunwell, however,
said in his statement that the gun had accidentally gone
off and George had been shot when Frederick Addison had
put the gun on the ground, going on to say
(14:41):
that fred panicked when he saw the man half dead
and stuck his knife into him. While the experts and
detectives were in the witness box relaying this information, it
was said that Robert Grunwell had a smile on his
face and Frederick Addison wore a sullen expression on his
Taking to the stand on day two of the trial
were the two farm workers, father Charles Senior and his
(15:04):
eighteen year old son, also Charles. The two defendants didn't
bat an eye when eighteen year old Charles was on
the stand, but they and their council appeared to grow
more and more uneasy as Charles Senior gave his statement,
and just after Charles Senior had finished up his testimony
by saying that he had found a dog collar near
(15:25):
the maroon colored car bearing the name Sebastian, with the
name and address of Robert Grunwell displayed on it. The
defense teams called for an adjournment, after which both Robert
Grunwell and Frederick Addison were now pleading guilty to the
reduced charge of culpable homicide. What would you think about
this if you were the family of George Martin? And
(15:47):
do you think the prosecution accepted this offer bearing in
mind all the witness statements and evidence they had. Well,
following a discussion and due to the medical evidence that
showed both youths suffered from dominion responsibility, mister John McCluskey,
on behalf of the Crown, accepted this reduced plea. All
(16:07):
that was left to do then was for Judge Lord
Robertson to sentence the pair. Addressing the youths, he said
that they had admitted to a brutal and apparently motiveless
crime that led to the death of an innocent man
who was a complete stranger to you and who did
you no wrong. He then sentenced both youths to twelve
(16:27):
years in a youth offenders institution. It was said again
that as the two were led away, Robert Grinwell still
had a smile on his face and Frederick Edison maintained
a sullen, morose expression and the motive for George Martin's
murder went with them. But one motive it wasn't was robbery,
as George's taken for that day were also found fully
(16:49):
intact in his abandoned taxi. Robert's mother and brothers refused
to talk to reporters after the trial, but while it
was reported that Frederick's mum and dad were in bitter shock,
his father did say that he regretted not having tried
harder to break up his son's friendship with Robert Grunwell.
(17:09):
Following George's murder, Dundee taxi drivers started a fund for
George's widow, Rose and their four children, nine year old Derek,
eight year old George, six year old Ian, and three
year old Rosalin. After the trial, Rose spoke to a
Daily Record reporter at her home, surrounded by her four children.
She said, since George died, everyone has been very helpful.
(17:34):
The fund brought one thousand, five hundred pound and I'm grateful,
but it will never compensate for the loss of my husband.
She went on to say that I will never forget
that day. It was such a senseless way my husband
had to die. One taxi driver who also will never
forget the fourteenth of February nineteen seventy is David Stephen
(17:56):
as just five minutes stood between him living and being
the victim that day, and that was the senseless and
apparently motiveless murder of thirty year old George Nixon. Martin.
Thank you again showing at smiley face at h one
K one three on YouTube music for asking me to
research a bit more into this case. If you enjoyed
(18:20):
this episode, we would so appreciate it. If you would
rate or review Scottish Murders, it really does help others
to find our podcast and I'd love to share more
Scottish murders. I've been your host, don you for
So this episode is an elaboration on the murder of
thirty year old George Nixon Martin in nineteen seventy that
I briefly mentioned in a previous Scotland Then episode, and
it was asked by one of our listeners shown a
smiley face at h one K one three on YouTube
music if there was more information on this case, and yes,
(00:20):
there absolutely is. So I'm really glad you asked about this,
as while it was a case that was quickly solved,
it definitely has a lot of layers to it, including
the suggestion that the apparently motiveless slaying of George Nixon
Martin could have been a sacrifice to the Master Satan.
So let's get started. Saturday, the fourteenth of February nineteen seventy,
(01:10):
Valentine's Day started like every other Saturday for thirty year
old George Martin. He and his twenty nine year old
wife Rose woke early in the morning to get their
four children, nine year old Derek, eight year old George,
six year old Ian and three year old Rosalind wash dressed, fed,
and played with before George had to leave Rose with
(01:30):
the children for the day while he carried out his
shift as a taxi driver for Star Cabs on that
particular Saturday morning, George had to leave earlier than planned
about ten am, as his taxi was off the road
having been in a road crash, and so he was
borrowing a friend's taxi for his shift and left early
to go and collect it. George kissed his children and
(01:51):
wife Rose goodbye, suggesting to Rose that as it was
a Valentine's Day, perhaps they could do something special when
he got back that evening before he then left the
family home on ern Crescent in the Mensy's Hill area
of Dundee for what would be the last time. As
George was leaving home to start his taxi shift about
the seventeen minute drive east of Mensi's Hell, eighteen year
(02:13):
old Robert Grunwell of Kingsway East and nineteen year old
Frederick Edison of Balachomile Drive also had plans for that
Valentine's Day Saturday, but they weren't romantic plans. They were murderous.
Robert Grunwell and Frederick Edison had booked a taxi to
pick them up from Robert's family's flat on Kingsway East
for about one forty five pm that Saturday afternoon, but
(02:36):
David Stephen, the taxi driver that had been booked to
pick the two youths up, had been held up with
another fare and he was running slightly late, but he
was hoping that his potential passengers would be patient and
wait for him to arrive. He was only running about
five minutes late, after all. Shortly before, at one forty
five pm, Frederick Edison arrived outside Robert's flat, having made
(02:59):
the thirteen minute walk from his own home, and Robert
and Frederick waited on the pavement for the imminent taxi
to arrive, chatting and laughing excitedly at what they had
planned for that very afternoon. However, as the minutes ticked by,
their booked taxi didn't show up, and so about one
fifty pm, when the pair saw a different taxi driving
towards them, they made the decision to flag it down,
(03:21):
thinking that their booked taxi driver, David Stephen, just wasn't
going to show up. George Martin had just dropped off
a fare and was driving along Kingsway East when he
saw two youths waving him down, and so we indicated
and pulled over, noticing that the youths had some sort
of long box, a whole doll and a labrador dog
with them. He got out, spoke to the youth's and
(03:44):
opened the boot of his borrowed Maroon Austin A sixty
taxi for the youths to be able to put their
luggage in. Two of Robert Grinwell's neighbors just happened to
be looking out of their windows at one fifty pm
on Saturday, the fourteenth of February, and they saw a
taxi pull outside the block of flats. They saw the
taxi driver get out speak to their neighbor Robert and
(04:05):
his friend Frederick, before Robert Grinwell, helped by the taxi driver,
put the longish box into the boot of the taxi
and a hold all into the back seat. Before Robert Grinwell,
Frederick Addison, Robert's labrador dog, Sebastian, and the taxi driver
all got into the taxi, with it being noted by
both neighbors that both Robert Grunwell and Frederick Adison were
(04:27):
laughing and seemed really cheerful, before the taxi driver then
indicated and the taxi pulled away from the curb. Once
in the taxi. Robert and Frederick excitedly asked George if
he could take them to the kirkton Wood area, which
was located along and just off the Tea Port Tost
Michael's Road in Fife, no more than about a fifteen
(04:47):
minute drive south of where Robert and Frederick were picked up,
telling George that they planned on going on a poaching
expedition there. George told Robert and Frederick that he would
be happy to take them there, but first he just
had a check how much this fare would be, and
so George radioed the Star CAB's base in Dundee to
ask this would be the last time anyone would hear
(05:08):
from George. Having determined the cost of the fair to
kirkton Wood, which Robert and Frederick were happy with, George
then sat back for the short journey and chatted amiably
to his passengers, asking them more about their poaching expedition.
At the same time George was making his way to
kirkton Wood with his two passengers, John Ferney and his
(05:29):
wife Isabelle were just getting out of their car to
go for a walk along the track beside kirkton Wood,
having driven the short distance from their home in guard Bridge.
A short while later, as the couple walked along the
single track, they had to make way for a maroon
colored car with three people inside to pass them. With
the car driving further along the track and out of sight,
(05:50):
mister and Missus Ferney thought that this most likely would
be poachers and so didn't give it much more thought,
but felt that their thoughts had been confirmed when only
a few minutes later they heard the sound of a
shot ring out, followed by silence. However, mister and Missus
Ferney's suspicions were roused when about fifteen minutes later, the
same maroon car came back along the track, driving at speed,
(06:14):
but this time there were only two men in the car.
While mister and Missus Ferney weren't able to get a
good look that either of the men in the car,
mister Ferney did make a mental note of the car's
registration number, and when the car was out of sight,
the couple walked in the direction of where the car
had come from and sadly found a man's body in
the trees beside the road, having been shot and stabbed.
(06:37):
Mister and Missus ferney immediately alerted the police, giving them
all the information they could, and an intensive murder hunt
in police search over a wide area of East Scotland,
which involved more than one hundred officers and a police
helicopter began, although it would soon be discovered that police
were focusing their search for George's car and his killers
(06:58):
in the wrong area. About five pm on Saturday, the
fourteenth of February, near a farm in the town of Breacon,
thirty miles or about a forty one minute drive northeast
of kirkton Wood, eighteen year old Charles accompanied by his father,
also called Charles, were driving down the road from their
farm when they saw a maroon Austin a six ninety
(07:18):
car stopped on the road with two men and their
labrador dog standing next to it with the bonnet up.
As Charles and his father got out of the car
and approached the two men, one of the men said
that the car wouldn't start and that it needed oil,
but the two farm workers told them that they didn't
have any to spare. The four men then decided to
(07:39):
try and push the car to see if that would
start it, but to no avail, and so Charles Senior
told the two men that they would be able to
catch a bust to Dundee from the bottom of the
road about five thirty pm, the men from the maroon
car thanked the two farm workers, gave them a packet
of cigarettes, shouted on their dog, Sebastian, and then began
walking towards the road to catch the bus, and the
(08:01):
two farm workers carried on their journey. However, about nine
forty pm that same evening, Charles Senior found himself walking
along the same road past the maroon colored car, and
he found a dog collar lying on the ground which
bore the name Grunwell Kingsway, East Dundee, not thinking anything
of it, being completely unaware that forty one minutes south
(08:24):
a massive hunt was on were two killers and a
maroon colored car. Charles Senior whistled to himself and carried
on walking home. It wouldn't be until the following morning
when the farm workers noticed that the maroon colored car
was still in the same place that they decided to
inform the police, which, according to an article in the
Daily Record, led to a dramatic helicopter flight following police
(08:49):
receiving the phone call about ten am on Sunday from
Charles Senior about the missing maroon Austin A sixty car
having been abandoned near their farm. The ARIF helicopter that
been flying over and searching the four thousand acres of
Tentsmere Forest, not far from kirkton Wood, swooped down into
a nearby field to pick up the waiting lead detective,
(09:11):
Superintendent Grave and other senior officers before whisking them over
the River Tay and to the location of the abandoned
missing car near Breakin. Throughout Sunday, top CID officers, forensic officers,
fingerprint experts, a police photographer and dog handlers arrived on
the scene and the car and surrounding area was thoroughly examined,
(09:34):
while other detectives concentrated their murder inquiry on the Kingsway
East area of Dundee, following Charles Senior providing them with
a dog collar he had found where the car had
been abandoned, which provided the name and address of the
labrador dog's owner, eighteen year old Robert Grunwell. And On
Sunday afternoon, Fife's Chief Constables said two men are now
(09:57):
in custody charged with murder. Both men made their first
appearance at Coopert Sheriff Court the following morning, with their
heads covered with blankets as they entered, and Robert Grinwell's mother,
accompanied by a neighbor, was heard to shout tearful words
of encouragement to her son. Both men were charged with shooting,
stabbing and murdering thirty year old taxi driver George Martin,
(10:21):
and it was at this point that the murderers were
named as eighteen year old Robert Charles Grunwell and nineteen
year old Frederick Charles Addison. Neither man made any plea
at this point and were committed to prison for further inquiries.
The murder trial began on the nineteenth of May at
the High Court in Dundee before Judge Lord Robertson and
(10:42):
a jury of nine men and six women. At the
outset of the trial, both men pleaded not guilty to
the charge of having, on the fourteenth of February in
Kirkwood Looker's assaulted thirty year old George Nixon Merton, of
having discharged a loaded shotgun into his back, and of
stabbing him repeatedly on the body with a knife or
similar instrument, and of having murdered him. The prosecution at
(11:06):
this time stated that they planned to call seventy three
witnesses to the stand, but due to another dramatic turn
of events, not all of these witnesses would be called.
First to take to the stand were mister and Missus Ferney,
who recounted having seen the maroon car with three men
inside past them at curtain Wood before they heard a
shot and saw the same car drive past them at
(11:29):
speed with then only having two men inside, before they
then found George Martin's body. Also taking to the stand
were the two separate neighbors of Robert Grunwell, who had
seen Robert and Frederick and Robert's labrador dog get into
a maroon colored car on Saturday the fourteenth of February
and put a long box in the boot of the car.
(11:50):
When they were shown a shotgun and asked if this
could have been what was in the long box they saw,
they confirmed that yes, the box they saw might just
have been long enough to have contained a shotgun. Other
exhibits taken from the taxi and the suspects homes and
shown to witnesses included four knives, a bayonet, a shotgun,
an air pistol and a garotte. Fife Police surgeon, Doctor
(12:13):
William Preston also took to the stand and said that
George had been shot in the back with a shotgun
and stabbed four times in the body. That after he
had been killed, he had then been dragged face down
about ten yards or meters off the Woodland track and dumped.
On day two, various experts, including a psychiatrist, told of
(12:33):
what had been established following a search of Robert Grunwell
and Frederick Edison's bedrooms, as well as following both men
having been assessed. It was stated that Robert Grunwell was
an expert in black magic, and that Frederick Edison lived
in a fantasy world and was a born follower, and
that he had been dominated by Robert Grunwell's personality. It
(12:54):
was also mentioned that both killers were mentally subnormal and
had sworn a loyalty to the devil, with it being
stated that a sacrificial dagger and a black death mask
had also been found in the taxi. It was also
put forward that one motive for George's murder could have
been a sacrifice to the Master Satan, as apparently to
(13:15):
become a full member of the cult, the Master demands
a human sacrifice. It was also disclosed, according to the
Daily Mail, that Frederick Addison had suffered severe brain damage
in a road accident when he was four years old,
and that Frederick and Robert Grunwell had attended the same
special school in Dundee. A detective also took to the
(13:36):
stand and said, according to the Daily Record on the
twenty first of May nineteen seventy, that Robert Grinwell had
kept a diary and had written in this diary in
the days before George was murdered. Robert Grinwell had written,
I call upon the forces of evil to help me
in my task, with it being a possibility that this
task could have been the killing of George Martin. The
(13:59):
detective went on to readoubt the statements made by both
Robert Grunwell and Frederick Addison at the time of their arrest,
where they both blamed each other for George's murder, hence
why they both were pleading not guilty. Frederick Addison said
that when the three of them had arrived in Kirtainwood,
Robert Grunwell had told the taxi driver George to get
(14:19):
out of the car, and that Robert then shot him
in the back and stabbed him repeatedly. He said that
they then drove the car across the River Tay and
onto Breacon, where the car broke down. Robert Grunwell, however,
said in his statement that the gun had accidentally gone
off and George had been shot when Frederick Addison had
put the gun on the ground, going on to say
(14:41):
that fred panicked when he saw the man half dead
and stuck his knife into him. While the experts and
detectives were in the witness box relaying this information, it
was said that Robert Grunwell had a smile on his
face and Frederick Addison wore a sullen expression on his
Taking to the stand on day two of the trial
were the two farm workers, father Charles Senior and his
(15:04):
eighteen year old son, also Charles. The two defendants didn't
bat an eye when eighteen year old Charles was on
the stand, but they and their council appeared to grow
more and more uneasy as Charles Senior gave his statement,
and just after Charles Senior had finished up his testimony
by saying that he had found a dog collar near
(15:25):
the maroon colored car bearing the name Sebastian, with the
name and address of Robert Grunwell displayed on it. The
defense teams called for an adjournment, after which both Robert
Grunwell and Frederick Addison were now pleading guilty to the
reduced charge of culpable homicide. What would you think about
this if you were the family of George Martin? And
(15:47):
do you think the prosecution accepted this offer bearing in
mind all the witness statements and evidence they had. Well,
following a discussion and due to the medical evidence that
showed both youths suffered from dominion responsibility, mister John McCluskey,
on behalf of the Crown, accepted this reduced plea. All
(16:07):
that was left to do then was for Judge Lord
Robertson to sentence the pair. Addressing the youths, he said
that they had admitted to a brutal and apparently motiveless
crime that led to the death of an innocent man
who was a complete stranger to you and who did
you no wrong. He then sentenced both youths to twelve
(16:27):
years in a youth offenders institution. It was said again
that as the two were led away, Robert Grinwell still
had a smile on his face and Frederick Edison maintained
a sullen, morose expression and the motive for George Martin's
murder went with them. But one motive it wasn't was robbery,
as George's taken for that day were also found fully
(16:49):
intact in his abandoned taxi. Robert's mother and brothers refused
to talk to reporters after the trial, but while it
was reported that Frederick's mum and dad were in bitter shock,
his father did say that he regretted not having tried
harder to break up his son's friendship with Robert Grunwell.
(17:09):
Following George's murder, Dundee taxi drivers started a fund for
George's widow, Rose and their four children, nine year old Derek,
eight year old George, six year old Ian, and three
year old Rosalin. After the trial, Rose spoke to a
Daily Record reporter at her home, surrounded by her four children.
She said, since George died, everyone has been very helpful.
(17:34):
The fund brought one thousand, five hundred pound and I'm grateful,
but it will never compensate for the loss of my husband.
She went on to say that I will never forget
that day. It was such a senseless way my husband
had to die. One taxi driver who also will never
forget the fourteenth of February nineteen seventy is David Stephen
(17:56):
as just five minutes stood between him living and being
the victim that day, and that was the senseless and
apparently motiveless murder of thirty year old George Nixon. Martin.
Thank you again showing at smiley face at h one
K one three on YouTube music for asking me to
research a bit more into this case. If you enjoyed
(18:20):
this episode, we would so appreciate it. If you would
rate or review Scottish Murders, it really does help others
to find our podcast and I'd love to share more
Scottish murders. I've been your host, don you for
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