THE mother of Arlene Fraser described her out-going and loving daughter - watched by the man accused of murdering her 14 years ago.
Mrs Isabelle Thompson said Arlene cared about her clothes and appearance and never went anywhere without applying her make-up.
She also liked to wear rings and expensive watches.
Mrs Thompson (66), from Motherwell, told the High Court in Edinburgh that her daughter had been a good mum to her children - son Jamie who was ten years old in 1998 and daughter Natalie who was then five.
Arlene took them dancing, took them swimming and was always buying them new clothes.
Speaking quietly, wearing a lavender cardigan over a pattered blouse, bespectacled Mrs Thompson said: "I was quite surprised, she made a very good mother.
"I didn’t expect it of her but she turned out to be a very good mother, very loving."
Nat Fraser (53), denies murdering Arlene because she was planning to end their 11 year marriage and seek a cash pay-off.
Fruit and vegetable wholesaler Fraser claims in papers lodged in court that he was at work at the time.
He also claims that if wife, Arlene was murdered 14 years ago as prosecutors say, a possible suspect is Hector Dick of Wester Hillside Farm, Mosstowie, Elgin.
The so called "special defences" of alibi and incrimination were read to a jury of eight women and seven men at the start of a trial expected to last about six weeks.
The jury were also assured by judge Lord Bracadale that, although the trial was being filmed for the purposes of a TV documentary to be screened at a later date, the cameras would not focus on them at any stage.
Fraser denies murdering Arlene, between April 28 and May 7 1998.
It is alleged that the 33-year-old mum was attacked in the home they once shared in Smith Street, New Elgin, or elsewhere and either strangled or killed "by other means to the prosecutor unknown".
The indictment read to a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh claims that Fraser knew his wife wanted a divorce and had gone to a solicitor to see about getting a financial settlement.
Fraser, it is alleged, along with another or other unknown persons arranged the "surreptitious purchase" of a car with a boot and set fire to a car outside the Smith Street address before the attack on Arlene.
Mrs Thomson, first witness in the trial, told how she had two daughters, Arlene and her older sister, Carol before divorcing their dad in 1973 and moving away from Elgin.
"Carol was a quieter type. Arlene was more outgoing," she said.
The trial was shown photos of Arlene in blue denim jacket and views of the Smith Street house and garden.
Mrs Thompson also said her daughter suffered from the bowel complaint Crohn’s Disease and would not have been able to miss taking her medication for more than a day or so without suffering extreme pain and needing medical attention.
Arlene’s mum said: "She liked her hair done nice. She liked to wear make-up."
Arlene, who cared about her appearance, used her make-up to cover a mark on her forehead, the trial heard.
The trial continues.
