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A father accused of murdering his teenage stepdaughter after she claimed that he had sexually abused her 'over a number of years' has told a court her allegations were 'untrue' and suggested he had conflicting emotions about her disappearance.
Bernadette Walker was last seen alive on July 18 last year when Scott Walker, who she called her father but was not her biological father, collected her from her grandparents' house in Peterborough, Cambridge Crown Court heard.
The 17-year-old had claimed that 51-year-old Scott Walker had sexually abused her 'over a number of years', and prosecutors allege he killed her to 'prevent her pursuing her allegations of sexual abuse any further'. Her body has not been found despite police searches.
On Tuesday the court heard from Scott Walker, who is accused of forming an 'alliance' with Bernadette's 38-year-old mother Sarah Walker to mislead investigators, by claiming she ran away.
Under questioning by prosecutor Lisa Wilding QC, Scott Walker was tearful as he described being 'confused' when Bernadette went missing about 'what was going on'.
He told the court: 'I didn't know whether there was a plan behind all of this and why Bea would be missing and why these allegations were made. Was this all to get me out of the house?'
However, he told the court this was not discussed with Ms Walker because he did not want to 'rock the
