A MAN standing trial on two murder charges travelled from Scotland to Australia just days after allegedly shooting a man dead in Drumchapel more than 15 years ago, a court has heard.

John Kennedy, 41, is said to have killed Jamie Campbell by repeatedly shooting him on the body in Essenside Avenue on March 4, 2006.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Thursday how Mr Campbell lost his life as he sat in the driver’s seat of a Mitsubishi Pajero car.

A total of six shots were fired from a pistol. Three of them struck Mr Campbell, who was later pronounced dead after being taken for treatment to Glasgow’s Western Infirmary.

Jurors also heard how Mr Kennedy booked two return tickets for him and a family member on January 6, 2006.

A jury heard that Mr Kennedy then flew out to Australia six days later before returning to the UK on February 9 that year.

Jurors also heard that Mr Kennedy then obtained a one year working visa for Australia, and returned there the following month, before coming back to the UK on January 29, 2007.

The evidence emerged on the first day of proceedings against Mr Kennedy, who is also accused, along with 55-year-old Morton Eadie, 30-year-old Darren Eadie, and Ross Fisher, who is also 30, of murdering Kenneth Reilly in Maryhill, Glasgow in April 2018.

The four men, who all come from the Glasgow area and are also accused of other alleged offences, deny any wrongdoing.

The jury heard on Thursday that the prosecution and defence had agreed a series of facts in relation to the cases.

These include details of Mr Kennedy's trips to Australia, along with the recovery of four bullets from Mr Campbell's car by a police officer the day after the Essenside Avenue shooting.

A post mortem examination of Mr Campbell's remains on the day of the shooting found his body had three gunshot wounds. Medics also established that the cause of death was a “fatal gunshot wound” to Mr Campbell’s abdomen.

Prosecutors claim that on March 4 2006, Mr Kennedy murdered Jamie Campbell at Essenside Avenue, Drumchapel, by repeatedly shooting him on his body.

The second charge alleges that Mr Kennedy attempted to defeat the ends of justice on the same date as the alleged murder by wilfully setting fire to a Fiat Ducatto van which it's claimed was displaying false registration plates.

The Crown claims that Mr Kennedy did this because he was “conscious of his guilt” in relation to the death of Mr Campbell and that he was attempting “to destroy evidence” and trying to avoid detection, arrest and prosecution.

Prosecutors claim that on April 16 2018, on Bilsland Drive, at the junction of Maryhill Road, Glasgow, the four accused men shot and killed Mr Reilly in the head by repeatedly discharging a firearm.

Lawyers for Mr Kennedy have lodged a special defence saying three other men could be responsible for killing Mr Campbell, and that one of them, a man named Kevin Carroll, is now deceased.

They have also lodged a special defence in relation to Mr Kennedy's alleged involvement in the death of Mr Reilly, stating he was elsewhere at the time.

Lawyers for Morton Eadie and Darren Eadie have also entered similar special defences in relation to their alleged involvement in Mr Reilly's death.

The Crown also claims that the four men's alleged involvement in the death of Mr Reilly is aggravated by a connection to serious organised crime.

The jury was told the trial, before judge Lord Beckett, could last until the middle of December.