Trial end close for Kiwi

The man accused of repeatedly trying to kill his Kiwi wife will go down as one of the "most notorious murderers of our modern times," a jury in Britain has been told.

Malcolm Webster denies murdering first wife Claire Morris in a deliberate car crash, then attempting to murder second wife Felicity Drumm in the same way in New Zealand.

Scotland's longest-ever criminal trial is expected to wind up tomorrow, after the prosecutor invited jurors to convict 52-year-old Webster of attempting to kill Drumm by drugging her, driving off the road, and setting fire to her parents' Auckland home.

Queen's Counsel Derek Ogg told the High Court in Glasgow that the accused was a "cruel, practised deceiver", the Daily Record reported - but now his reign of destruction has ended.

"Malcolm Webster is a brilliant criminal genius with one flaw - he couldn't stop himself," Ogg said. "I invite you to convict him of every charge, every single line."

Morris died in May 1994 when the car driven by her husband crashed and caught fire in Aberdeenshire.

Webster denies orchestrating the crash so he could claim £200,000 ($412,000) in life insurance policies.

The former nurse also denies trying to murder his New Zealand wife Drumm by repeatedly spiking her food with Clonazepam, an acrid-tasting sedative that endangered her life and the wellbeing of her unborn child.

Ogg alleged Webster had fleeced Drumm's bank accounts.

According to an STV court report, he was deeply in debt - including £4078 on a Harrods store card, money owed to London department stores John Lewis and Frasers, and on his three American Express cards.

In February 1999 a mystery fire broke out at Drumm's parents' Takapuna home when the couple was staying there.

The murder attempts culminated, the prosecution alleges, with him placing newspaper and a container of petrol in their car before driving it off the road in a crash similar to that in which Morris died - all in a bid to claim £750,000 of insurance money.

"There was a fluency and cruelty to it," said Ogg. "It betrays a man with a sadistic mentality."

Drumm, now aged 50, flew to Glasgow to give evidence. She told the court she had wondered if her food was being spiked - but by the time of the alleged arson, she was "totally bewildered".

If not for the murder attempts, she said, "I think I would still have my money and be living a different life back in New Zealand."

Webster is finally alleged to have attempted to bigamously marry a third woman, Simone Banarjee, in 2006, and pretending to her that he had leukaemia - in a bid to gain access to her fortune.

Webster, giving evidence, had admitted cheating on women and injecting himself so it looked like he was undergoing chemotherapy - but he had never tried to kill his two wives.

Ogg said this was a "form of psychological sadism which beggars belief," the Daily Record reported.

"The cruelty tells you about his nature. It's time for him to face justice."