Graham Fraser faces trial over comedian Hugh Ferris murder
A man is to stand trial charged with murdering a Scottish comedian who was found dead at his Glasgow home 17 years ago.
Graham Fraser, 52, is alleged to have broken into 58-year-old Hugh Ferris's flat in Pollokshields in December 1997.
It is claimed that Mr Fraser and Donald Murray, who is now dead, attacked the entertainer, robbed him and left him tied up without seeking medical help.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Bannatyne set a trial for June.
Mr Fraser made his first public appearance in the dock on Wednesday.
The indictment claims a chisel was held against Mr Ferris's neck before he was repeatedly punched, his hands and feet bound with electrical cable and his pockets rifled through.
It is further alleged a telephone cable was pulled from a socket and that no attempt was made to get medical help.
The murder charge also claims Mr Ferris was then abandoned while he was tied up and unable to get assistance.
Mr Fraser, from the Govanhill area, was charged after a report was sent to the procurator fiscal in 2012 following a cold case review into Mr Ferris's death.
Mr Ferris had once been a popular entertainer in Glasgow's pubs and clubs where he was known for telling jokes and his singing.
Scots actor and close friend Peter Mullan once put up a £5,000 reward for information on his death.
Mullan had given Mr Ferris a role in his film Orphans, but he died before it was released.