THE man accused of murdering Claire Turnbull at a flat in Blairhall last year said there was “blood everywhere” after he repeatedly bludgeoned her on the head with a claw hammer.

Aaron Donald, 28, admitted at the High Court in Livingston today that he was responsible for killing the young mum and leaving her lying in a pool of blood.

He told a jury: “I’ve got that image in my mind and that’ll be it there for the rest of my life.”

Donald and his partner Laura McMurdo, 30, deny murdering Claire at their flat in Blairhall on October 5 last year and trying to defeat the ends of justice by hiding the murder weapon and lying to police.

Donald has lodged two special defences claiming he was suffering from a mental disorder and diminished responsibility at the time.

Jurors saw a video of police interviewing Donald the day after 36-year-old Claire’s body was found at the accuseds’ home in Rintoul Avenue. 

He claimed he’d “lost it” after Claire made sexual approaches to both him and his girlfriend following an all-day booze session.

He told officers his medication had not been working but admitted drinking a huge amount of Jack Daniels, liqueur shots, alcopops and cider before he snapped.

Donald said: “I seen my girlfriend being sexually assaulted (by Claire) and she’s (Laura’s) asked for my help and I lost it. I’ve obviously went too far, but I didn’t mean to kill her.

“I cannae change what’s happened. I should have kindly asked her to leave. The way it happened and the build-up to it, it happened and I’m sorry.”

He went on: “I’ve been to psychiatrists and doctors and everything about the way I’ve been feeling. It’s just a shame. I couldn’t change it.

“I’ve been talking to God, ultimately saying 'If you’re there and you’re listening please help me.’ That’s how desperate I am.”

Describing the attack, he said: “I just knew that she was seriously injured and she’s making that horrible noise and I was panicking. It was just freaking me out.

“I just phoned my boss and I says: 'Look, I think I’ve killed somebody and it’s a lassie.'"

Police detained Donald and McMurdo at a bus stop round the corner from their flat with a bag full of their clothing and belongings – along with a supermarket ‘bag for life’ containing the bloodstained hammer.

Donald admitted he had taken photographs of Claire’s dead body on McMurdo’s mobile phone but claimed there had been no malice in the act.

He said: “I didn’t take them to look at for any other reason than to show my father proof of what I had done and then he could really help me hand myself in basically. I was gonnae hand myself in.”

Donald said: “(There was) a lot, lot of blood after it. There would have been blood everywhere. I didn’t say I hit her once. I told you there was a mess.”

He said he knew that she was dead but claimed he hadn’t meant to kill her.

He explained: “Look, this is why I’m on a lot of medication. When I’m good I’m good, but when I do lose the plot I lose the plot.

“I don't accept I could have stopped. I accept somebody else might have been able to stop but I couldn’t have. It’s just a shame that it’s turned out the way it has.

“I just want everybody to know that, no matter what happens to me, I’m really sorry for what’s happened. It could have been avoided if they weren’t invited back to the house.”

The trial, before judge Lady Scott, continues.