A man who killed a cyclist and then buried his body with the help of his twin brother was caught after confessing to his girlfriend and taking her to the remote grave.
The woman left a can of Red Bull at the peat bog as a marker and then reported the crime to police.
A court heard the missing cyclist’s body was hidden in such a remote spot that his remains would “unlikely to ever have been found” without the revelation.
Alexander McKellar, 31, earlier this week admitted causing the death of Tony Parsons, 63, after striking him with a vehicle on the A82 near Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute, on 29 September 2017.
Twin brother Robert McKellar, along with Alexander, pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice for trying to cover up the crime.
McKellar’s twin brother Robert pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Pic: Police Scotland
Mr Parsons’ remains were eventually recovered on the remote Auch Estate in January 2021.
On Friday, the High Court in Glasgow heard the McKellar brothers were self-employed farm workers.
Deer stalker Alexander would often organise shoots on the estate, and on the night of the incident the siblings were having dinner with a hunting group at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC told the court the brothers were witnessed drinking alcohol.
Read more:
Man who murdered disabled victim with hammer handed life sentence
Man jailed for ‘vicious, feral and wholly murderous’ knife attack
The Bridge of Orchy Hotel
Cancer survivor Mr Parsons, who had embarked on a 100-mile solo charity bike ride from Fort William to his home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, stopped by the hotel for a cup of coffee.
Tony Parsons was a ‘much-loved husband, dad and grandad’. Pic: Police Scotland
Mr Prentice said the hotel’s manager had urged Mr Parsons to stay for the night, but he left to continue his bike journey at around 11pm.
It was then that Alexander, also known as Sandy, struck Mr Parsons with an Isuzu D-Max pick-up as the twins made their way home during the dark and in heavy rain.
During the confession to his girlfriend, Alexander claimed he had “panicked”.
The car that struck Mr Parsons. Pic: Crown Office
Instead of alerting emergency services to get help for the “much-loved husband, dad and grandad”, Alexander and Robert left the scene of the incident before returning in another vehicle to collect Mr Parsons’ body, bike and belongings.
The siblings initially hid the body within the grounds of Auch Estate, near the A82, and then returned later to bury the former navy petty officer in a remote peat bog used to dispose of dead animals.
Alexander later told his girlfriend – who had sparked the confession after asking if there was anything in his past which could affect their relationship going forward – that they had destroyed Mr Parsons’ mobile phone and SIM card and burned his backpack, wallet and helmet.
The bike was reportedly hidden behind a waterfall and has never been recovered.
The pair then arranged for repairs to be carried out on the vehicle that struck Mr Parsons and pretended the damage had been caused by a collision with a deer.
The court heard Mr Parsons suffered severe blunt force trauma. An expert ruled his rib fractures were the most likely cause of death as they would have restricted his breathing.
The pathologist concluded Mr Parsons would have died within 20-30 minutes, if not sooner.
Mr Parsons’ disappearance sparked a major search involving Police Scotland, mountain rescue teams, volunteers and repeated media appeals.
His son also appeared on Crimewatch and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
The Bridge of Orchy area
An aerial view of the Auch Estate. Pic: Crown Office
Mr Prentice said police received an anonymous letter in August 2018 that said to “pay attention” to the twins.
Officers interviewed the siblings over Mr Parsons’ disappearance, but it was not until Alexander’s girlfriend came forward with details of the grave site that the brothers were eventually arrested and charged.
The pair were initially charged with murder and were due to stand trial this week.
On Wednesday, the Crown amended the charges and accepted Alexander’s guilty plea to culpable homicide. Robert, a dad of two, was acquitted after pleading not guilty to killing Mr Parsons.
Lord Armstrong adjourned the case until 25 August for reports.
The image issued by Police Scotland during the search for Mr Parsons
Following their pleas, Mr Parsons’ family said “justice has been done” but described the investigation as “heartbreaking”.
Roger Jones, 75, who served alongside Mr Parsons in the Navy, described his friend as a “great person” and a “nice guy”.
Man who raped woman and burned her alive given lighter sentence
Mr Jones told Sky News that Mr Parsons’ disappearance “took a big toll on his family”.
Speaking about the twins, Mr Jones said: “My personal opinion is, I’m disgusted with the whole thing. The fact that these two guys just basically let him die and then tried to cover it up, [I’m] disgusted.”