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#video #Murder Case The Vanishing Cycl Episode 2 Engsub #drama2026 #movie2026 #hotmovie
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00:05People go missing in the Highlands a lot for many different reasons.
00:10Usually they're found pretty soon.
00:13What was unusual was that he was not found.
00:18Mountain rescue teams are searching for a man...
00:20Tony Parsons was last seen late on the night...
00:23At the Bridge of Orkey Hotel.
00:24He was taking part in a charity cycle ride.
00:26No trace was ever found of him or his bike.
00:29I kept thinking he would just walk in.
00:33I didn't want to think about it being bad.
00:36Where the hell are you? What has happened?
00:39Loads of questions, unanswered.
00:42Somewhere on that stretch of road...
00:44Tony Parsons vanished off the face of the earth.
00:46We spent three years coming to terms with the fact that my dad wasn't coming home.
00:52And then all of a sudden one phone call flipped everything upside down.
01:04There's a lot of detail in that initial call that starts to make you think this could actually be genuine.
01:26Our ex-partner had told her the biggest secret I have is that I've killed somebody.
01:33All the information tends to tie up. They need to be arrested.
01:37What can you tell me about your involvement in the disappearance of Anthony Parsons?
01:43But what's our crime going to be at this point? We don't have a body. We don't have a cause
01:47of death.
01:47We've only got the story that Caroline's told us.
01:50Robert, I'm bringing this interview to a conclusion but the investigation is far from over.
01:57We need to act on this and we need to move it now.
01:59We need to go and find this body.
02:16The three years, not having my dad, not knowing where he is or what's happened, that literally eats you up
02:26from inside.
02:28Having to wait three years, three years of thinking well we're never going to find him again.
02:33We're never going to be able to grieve.
02:35I just got a phone call from a detective inspector asking to speak to me.
02:39We were told that credible intelligence had come in.
02:42We got informed that the police were going to be excavating a piece of land.
03:04Caroline had dropped a can of Red Bull marking that spot where Tony Parsons was buried.
03:13The Red Bull can was our starting point.
03:16But she had been given further specific information from Sandy that standing at that point, looking in a particular direction,
03:25looking at a landmark in that direction and a number of metres from that point.
03:34That is where he indicated where the body was.
03:37It was three years since this body had been buried there so to the untrained eye, all the ground looked
03:44the same.
03:46The plan moving forward was a case of who do we need to help us here?
03:52External specialists because we need people who can provide their expertise with ground conditions, who can assist us with digging
04:00and filtering through earth.
04:02And that's where Professor Lorna Dawson came in.
04:07All cases that you work on are special and distinctive and unique.
04:12But there is something about this particular investigation that will stay with me forever.
04:21I got a phone call from the SIO.
04:24They asked me if I could go along to the site and see if there were any clues with the
04:30soil or the vegetation and whether there might be an area where someone might have been buried a few years
04:37ago.
04:39The location was remote.
04:43There was snow covering the mountains and there were no sounds but the wild animals, the birds.
04:51And I think that's quite important because if someone was trying to dispose of a body, you could be there
04:57and no one would see you digging a grave.
05:04When you got there and you saw the red bull can, it was moorland, it was heath, heather.
05:11There was a track and either side of the track there were clumps of vegetation.
05:17But there was an area of about two metres by one metre.
05:21It had obviously been disturbed fairly recently because the soil was mixed up so that the dark, deep peat was
05:28exposed.
05:30And it had left an impervious surface. The water sat on that peat. And because it was so cold, ice
05:38had formed.
05:41That was unusual because it was the only bit that had ice and moss only. All the other areas had
05:48shrubs.
05:50It was her professional opinion. That's a deposition site there where Tony has potentially been put. You could see that
05:56something had gone on there.
05:57I thought it supported what the witness had told the police. That's the area that the excavation has to focus
06:05on.
06:08You know you're looking for somebody's loved one and they are relying on you for answers. It's a very heavy
06:16burden to carry.
06:19So there was quite a large team of experts required. Forensic archaeologists, they were able to very carefully skim off
06:29using tiny brushes and tiny spatulas.
06:33Layers, centimetres deep. And each of those layers could be carefully looked through just to make sure that we didn't
06:41lose any potential evidence.
06:43It was a very methodical, very structured event.
06:48But as we went down, I'll always remember the moment where we saw this little piece of red fabric.
06:56That was the colour of the fabric that Mr Parsons was wearing when he was last seen cycling home that
07:03day.
07:08I'm getting goosebumps down my back again talking about it. Immediately everything was stopped and a phone call went in
07:15back to senior management.
07:16It's different. We've got the sleeve of a red jacket here.
07:22Carefully, the two anthropologists removed the peat from around Mr Parsons.
07:29And it is an image that will stay with me.
07:33Mr Parsons was about 50 centimetres down. It's quite a cold, constant temperature at that depth.
07:43The preservation of the cold, wet peat had kept Mr Parsons so well that he still looked like the images
07:56of him on the day that he disappeared.
08:01That was Tony. When I saw him face to face, that was Tony.
08:17You want to know the answers. But realistically, you don't.
08:24And it's not a case that you're thinking about yourself. You suddenly become, how am I going to look after
08:29everybody else?
08:31When you're having to stand there and watch your mum absolutely break down, it's tough. It really is tough.
08:44They came out and they told me that they'd found Tony. Obviously my words were, are you sure? Are you
08:53sure? And they said yes.
09:02The injuries that Tony had were horrific.
09:10My mum was an absolute wreck. Because at that moment, all her hopes of ever having that possibility of seeing
09:21my dad again were just gone. There was nothing left.
09:28We had Mountain Rescue in with us to lift Tony's body. The weather was atrocious that day. It was very
09:38low cloud cover.
09:41We got everybody into position. Everyone had to be done right. And there was suddenly a shout. And it was
09:48the diggerman.
09:50Guys, stop. Look. Now, all morning, you couldn't see the hills surrounding you. And at that point in time, the
10:01cloud had lifted. And we must have been surrounded by about 40 red deer.
10:11We're standing there, ready to lift Tony out of there. And these wild animals, they're just standing watching us.
10:19We all just took a breath, looked at each other, and then that was it. We lifted Tony up and
10:24out.
10:27It was quite a moment.
10:32We're all made up of molecules. These elements that make us our body. But there is the soul. It could
10:40have gone unsolved. It could have still been in that cold, dark place alone.
10:45Once you've put a loved one to rest, they are at rest and the family have somewhere to go and
10:51grieve.
10:56I didn't personally feel that bad about it. Because I'd expected it. I had been waiting three and a half
11:05years for that news.
11:08So it wasn't as big a shock. Being told that he was found buried.
11:16That made me feel physically sick.
11:19How?
11:21Why?
11:24Where Tony was recovered was an area where there was kill pits. It's where the farmer or the gamekeeper will
11:33dig a pit, basically, and dispose of fallen livestock.
11:38Anything that had been shot by sporting tourists, basically, on the estate that wasn't required for meat, was disposed of
11:47by the estate in this kill pit.
11:50The worst can't describe what would go through somebody's head to put another human being into that position.
12:00They're horrible.
12:08The family of a grandad, whose remains were found in Argyle more than three years after he went missing, say
12:15they've been left devastated by his death.
12:17We didn't know the details.
12:21A lot of it was kept from us, obviously, because it was an ongoing investigation.
12:27Recovery of the remains is a massive, massive moment in the investigation.
12:32But for us, it's literally just the start. The end goal for us is to find the evidence to convict
12:40Sandy and Robert for whatever's happened here.
12:53There are two different perspectives on this story.
12:56You've got the inner one. The people at the centre of this criminal investigation know what happened.
13:02The police are figuring it out.
13:05And then outside that, you've got the rest of us.
13:11And as a reporter, our job is to try to get the inside story and bring it out.
13:18Why haven't these two men been charged?
13:22Why are they back out into their communities?
13:25What's going on?
13:30The boys went to school here. They had a huge group of friends here. Everybody knew them. People knew their
13:37parents.
13:38No one could quite believe the calculated way in which this appeared to be unfolding at that time.
13:45That not only had this poor man been killed, but he had also been killed in a way where his
13:53body was hidden.
13:58If you were to tell this story to anybody who doesn't work in our field of work, you would probably
14:03think, well, he's told his girlfriend that this is where the body is.
14:07She's told the police and lo and behold, the police have dug in that location and found the body.
14:12But we can't just jump to the conclusion that because he told Caroline that it was him and his brother
14:17who were responsible for this, then that must be true.
14:19Other people could be involved here.
14:21At that point, it becomes a whole new dynamic of investigation.
14:24Don't bury yourself in a peat bog, so we know we're dealing with criminality. It's just exactly what crimes do
14:29we have, what we're looking to prove, what we're looking to show.
14:38There wasn't any DNA found on any of the clothing or on the body itself to link it back to
14:43the people responsible.
14:45We've got a story, but we don't have a case. We've got to find evidence that links them to this
14:50crime.
14:53The car that Sandy had been driving that night had been seized, but then we were able to do quite
14:58a lot of enquiry round about it.
15:01And we were able to actually, believe it or not, track back and we were able to show that that
15:07car did have damage on the night that Anthony Parsons went missing.
15:13Other people who worked in Rioca Estate were able to see the significant damage to the car before it was
15:19taken away to be repaired.
15:21Sandy and Robert had given the explanation that they struck a deer that night.
15:25And that was really significant because we were able to establish that every time that car had been damaged previously,
15:35through the insurance, it had went to a specific garage to be repaired.
15:40On this occasion, the vehicle didn't go to that place. There was no report to the insurance.
15:46That was really, really interesting because if you had just struck a deer, why would you not claim your insurance?
15:52Not only that, the place the vehicle had been taken to for repair was miles away.
15:57Actually, the garage owner still had images.
16:02That car did have near-side damage to it, which would be consistent of where they would have struck a
16:08cyclist.
16:09It just adds another wee piece to the puzzle and another wee piece of evidence required to convict these individuals.
16:19When my dad was found, we found out at that point that there was potentially a road accident and that
16:25my dad had been struck.
16:26One of the hardest things going through all of this was the fact that we didn't know the details.
16:33Because of our profession, my brother and I being in the police, we also knew, don't ask questions.
16:50When the inquiry seized their mobile phones, we could see the conversations that were going on between the brothers and
17:02other people.
17:04We then found a video. You could see the dashboard, the cockpit of a 4x4 truck.
17:11And it was on that stretch of road, heading between the bridge of Orkey to Tyndrum.
17:18And you saw a hand lifting up a can of tenants, shouting cheers and laughing.
17:23I remember myself and my colleague that were looking at the phones and we couldn't believe what we were seeing
17:27in front of us.
17:28This is a joke to them. Quite sickening to be honest with you.
17:31There was also text messages and social media comments that tended to suggest other people knew more about the circumstances
17:39than they were telling us.
17:40One person said, I think about this all the time. I'm relatively local and we've known who did it for
17:48ages.
17:49They were drunk driving, hit Tony and buried his body on their property.
17:54Someone tipped off the police, hence them searching and finding the body.
17:59So it suggests that there was a lot of local knowledge.
18:05Whilst all of this was ongoing, the relationship between Caroline and Sandy continued.
18:11I think Caroline thought that she had to try and get more evidence for us.
18:15As part of that, she would re-engage with Sandy.
18:18She was so involved with wanting to help.
18:21Obviously, first and foremost, we were just really concerned about her and her safety.
18:25But she supplied us with her phone and supplied us with recordings which were entered as part of the evidence.
18:32She talks at one point and Robert definitely told her that when they got out of the car, there was
18:38a moan coming from the body and he was obviously still alive.
18:43That then tied in with the information we received from the expert pathologists.
18:51It was quite upsetting pathology results because there probably could have been a period of up to half an hour
18:57for which he would have been alive after the point of impact.
19:01The last thing you want to think is that that was somebody's last half hour.
19:05He would have known he was dying and he would have known he was in the middle of nowhere.
19:09And he would have known there wasn't help coming. And that's really sad.
19:12At the point in time when they have realised that he is at the side of the road and is
19:18still alive, a reasonable person would be making a decision to get somebody help.
19:23To see if he'd have just phoned 999 and held his hand and told him it was going to be
19:26okay in that last half hour, well, you know, that's what most people would do.
19:32Tony may have died anyway, but they had decided he was definitely going to die.
19:36And this was crucial in determining what charges would be relevant.
19:51The first question for the prosecution service is whether a crime has been committed.
19:57Now, when human remains are found in a remote area, buried in a peat bog,
20:02that obviously gives rise to the likelihood that a criminal act has been committed.
20:08The next challenge was to decide what the nature of that crime was.
20:13Murder in Scotland can be committed in one of two ways.
20:17One, with a wicked intention to kill.
20:19The person that shoots someone else dead without any justification would be guilty of murder and there's no difficulty with
20:26that.
20:26Equally, if the attacker demonstrates such wicked recklessness as to demonstrate that he does not care whether the victim lives
20:36or dies,
20:36then that can amount to murder too.
20:39Robert and Sandy did not set out to kill Tony Parsons.
20:44But when they've struck him with a vehicle, if the evidence suggests he was still alive at that point,
20:50they can look at the state of Tony at that point in time and maybe reach the conclusion in their
20:54mind that it's unlikely he'll survive.
20:57But if you're not medically qualified, how can you make that decision?
21:01This was not straightforward. If Mr. Parsons was killed instantly, then the charge would probably have simply been causing death
21:10by dangerous driving.
21:11Because there's no suggestion that the accused set out to kill Mr. Parsons.
21:17The difference with this case was that knowing he was alive after the collision, they decided not to recruit help
21:25for him.
21:25They have formed a plan in their mind to put him into the ground and conceal this fact forever.
21:33It's a sliding doors moment and that's where the murderous intent comes in.
21:39It seemed to me that an argument could be made out for murder.
21:57You're not bound to answer, but if you do, your answers will be recorded and may be noted and may
22:02be used in evidence. Do you understand?
22:03I do, yes.
22:04The time is 15.08 hours on Tuesday 1st December 2021.
22:10At this time, we can interview room number 4 at London Road Police Office.
22:15Can you confirm your name?
22:17It's Alexander Gardner McKaylor.
22:19Your age?
22:20It's 29.
22:21Can I ask you your name, please?
22:23Oh, McKaylor.
22:26This is 11 months down the line from the first arrest.
22:29On this occasion, the two twins were arrested that morning for murder.
22:36When we first spoke to them, we had a lot more limited information.
22:39But much further down the line, we obviously had a full case built against them.
22:44So it was to bring them in and put all the evidence that we had to them to see if
22:48they would provide us with what had happened in their own words
22:50or if they would tell us how they could live so long without telling anyone what Tony was.
22:54You're now going to be asked questions about your involvement in the murder of Anthony Parsons
22:58and attempting to defeat the course of justice.
23:00You're not bound to answer, but if you do, your answers will be recorded and may be noted and may
23:05be used in evidence.
23:06Do you understand?
23:07I do, yes.
23:07Okay.
23:08They probably both spent those 11 months wondering when we're coming back.
23:12And I think there maybe was a little bit of thinking they'll maybe never charge us with us or they'll
23:17never prove it happened.
23:19I think by the time they come to these interviews, 11 months later, they're probably a lot more worried about
23:23what's going to be presented to them.
23:25And Sandy certainly doesn't look as polished. He looks like a man that's had a really tough 11 months.
23:32He doesn't have the same confidence. He's got the crossed arms, hands right in close to his, a torso on
23:40his chest and you can tell he's really, really uncomfortable here, which is different from how he was before.
23:46You know who that is? Just look at that picture and think what you did to him. He's family.
23:56Can you see the photo? Mm-hmm.
23:59Can you see the man?
24:04The man that's got a family, that's got a wife, that's got kids. It's not just a photo, it was
24:10a person that had a life.
24:12Of course.
24:13But your actions, albeit if he had been knocked off a bike, your actions could have kept that man alive
24:20and you chose not to.
24:23Because your need was greater than his.
24:28In that family, behind that picture, they've waited three years to get an answer.
24:33Over three years, they're now nearly all four years to get an answer to what happened to their dad.
24:40I understand that.
24:42Do you?
24:43Mm.
24:44What's your understanding of that?
24:47I don't know.
24:51Do you genuinely have no remorse that you've killed a man and buried him, leaving his family without any idea
24:56who he was for three years?
24:57No comment.
24:59I don't think at any point you have no understanding of that.
25:06I think you just see a picture on there and you don't see anything behind it. There's nothing else in
25:10front of the person you are.
25:14Am I correct?
25:16No comment.
25:19One of the things from Robert's interview is the work we go into round about the truck.
25:24I think there's almost like that belief where people don't think you're going to quite dig as much as you
25:29do dig.
25:30Did Robert speak?
25:32No, he didn't.
25:33He never gave us anything significant and neither did Sandy, to be honest with you.
25:40The only real reaction from Sandy during the interview was when the recordings were played.
25:44The recordings that we had retrieved from Caroline Muirhead.
25:48We seized our laptop, which was later examined on the laptop.
25:52There were several recordings including a conversation between you and helping the morning of the 23rd of February 2021.
26:00So that's going to be one of the voting clips up here.
26:21No point.
26:22You state it was either in my life or his. What did you mean by that?
26:27It doesn't sound like me to be honest. It sounds like he's been messed with it.
26:32It's enhanced.
26:33He wasn't happy to accept that it was him.
26:36It's silly how me he's had that conversation.
26:39The enhancement's went to forensic law. It's all been checked.
26:42I thought, no, I can, but I can't explain it, sorry.
26:45To actually hear a recorded conversation, that's probably why he's reacted to that at that point,
26:51when it's actually been put in front of him and he knows it's real.
26:54We continue, fucking stupid cunt, shouldn't have been there.
26:59Zero remorse for Mr Parsons or his family. Have you no regrets about opening his body?
27:04No comment.
27:06When you've been immersed in an inquiry like that for 11 months,
27:10when you reach the stage whereby you know you're going to get it over the line
27:12and you're going to get a conclusion to your investigation, there's a sense of satisfaction.
27:18Terminating the interview with Alexander McKellar within Wondermont East Station.
27:23From the 11 months between first interview and second interview,
27:26Robert and Sandy were very much out in the community, still living lives,
27:30but from this date we're pretty confident that they've been remanded.
27:33Okay, the time is now 18.55. Well, it's now concluding the interview with Robert McKellar.
27:40Ultimately that's what you've spent a year working on.
27:43That's what the long nights of the time away for your family is all about,
27:46just trying to get to that point, so it's a really, really satisfying moment.
27:49It's probably one of the best parts of the job when you're able to charge somebody with a serious crime.
27:59Both were charged with murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice
28:05in terms of disposing of the body afterwards in the manner in which they did.
28:20Once McKellar twins had been charged with murder, the family of Tony Parsons have to be advised.
28:28That opens a lot of questions and thoughts.
28:35It's strange to think murder and being told that someone's being charged with murder of my dad
28:44because we don't know how, what happened.
28:49They're thinking if it's murder it must be deliberate.
28:53They must have deliberately killed him.
28:54So have they deliberately ran him off the road?
28:57Has there been a fight or disturbance beforehand?
29:01We were asking all the questions and still getting told,
29:05no, it's an ongoing investigation.
29:08Which I totally understand, totally get.
29:11But again, it fills your head with even more scenarios.
29:25I was asked to represent the interests of Alexander Sandy McKellar.
29:30I saw him in prison where he had been remanded at that stage.
29:37I thought it would resolve by way perhaps of a plea causing death by dangerous driving
29:43and also a very serious attempt to prove out the course of justice
29:48because the body had been effectively hidden for a period of around about three years.
30:07The Crown had made a decision that they were going to indict both brothers for murder.
30:16It wasn't an obvious murder to me.
30:19The Crown case was that their actings were wickedly reckless and therefore they were guilty of murder.
30:26On that occasion, the first accused offered to plead guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
30:33There was no dispute about the fact that Sandy was the driver and so that was submitted.
30:39The Crown did not indicate they were going to accept that.
30:42I rejected that plea.
30:44I did not think that that was adequate in the whole circumstances of the case.
30:57The trial was actually set at the High Court in Glasgow.
31:02It's obviously the highest court in the land.
31:04It's a very significant high-profile case.
31:07There's a lot of media interest.
31:08And that was obviously increasing as the trial was approaching
31:12when all the intricacies of the story would have come out.
31:24It's difficult to imagine the agony that the family went through
31:28in not knowing where Mr. Parsons was and what happened to him.
31:33That just compounded as time went on.
31:37My task is to present the evidence openly and fairly but the jury will be told that sympathy plays no
31:44part in this
31:45and neither does morals because it's a court of law and not a court of morals.
31:55When the McKellar brothers first came up into the dock and they took their seat, I watched their every move.
32:04I wanted to know whether or not they were going to look at us.
32:07They didn't.
32:09Stern kept looking straight at the head.
32:13And all I wanted to do was to say to them, why?
32:22As a family, we've had nothing from them.
32:27When you've done that, the impact that that has had, the ripple effect of that night has impacted me, my
32:36sister, my mum, my children, you know, my dad's friends.
32:42There was a group of us went through to the trial and we sat not far, two or three rows
32:47behind them and we were watching them.
32:50They came in all clean shaven, wearing suits, trying to look respectable and everything else.
32:55But you could tell it was pure arrogance.
32:59I knew I couldn't approach them.
33:02But I just wanted to see them react.
33:05I wanted to know what was going through their mind.
33:13The evidence was that Mr. Parsons was alive after the collision and that the accused knew that.
33:19But it was not a straightforward case by any means and it would be difficult to present to the jury.
33:25Call the Diet.
33:26His Majesty's advocate against Alexander McKaylor and Robert McKaylor.
33:31Please be seated.
33:33Deputy.
33:34Thank you, my Lord.
33:35I regret that I move that the case be adjourned until tomorrow morning.
33:39Very well. Thank you.
33:45The Crown were having difficulties in sighting Caroline to appear for the trial.
33:50Caroline was the key to this in terms of the evidence that she had gathered through the course of her
33:55relationship with Sandy
33:56and the manners in which she had been assisting the police investigation.
34:01So there was quite a bit of anxiety as to how things would go at the trial in relation to
34:07Caroline providing her evidence.
34:21The second day is the day when the jury turns up and actually are put into the jury box and
34:26so on.
34:28Caroline had been cited to attend and she hadn't turned up.
34:40The trial was underway and I actually got a phone call from the brother's father to say, Caroline's here, she's
34:51on the estate.
34:53I said, what do you mean she's on the estate? I knew that that was the day that she had
34:57to go to court to give evidence.
34:59To pin your murder charge on that particular witness was a wee bit of a surprise to me, I think.
35:09They last saw her heading up into the valley towards Loch Lyon.
35:14I let my supervisors know immediately. You'd better phone the Crown. Caroline is nowhere near Glasgow High Court.
35:22She was effectively missing and clearly everybody was concerned about what had happened to her, where she was.
35:30It just so happened that one of the gamekeepers and an officer were going up to the side of the
35:34law and Caroline was found.
35:39In these circumstances, I invite his Lordship to adjourn until tomorrow morning.
35:44Well, in the whole circumstances, I'm inclined to grant the motion. We'll adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning and
35:52we will assess the situation at that point.
35:55Court!
36:00She was clearly struggling to deal with her circumstances on that particular day.
36:05This case has been different. Every single hour of every single day I've worked on it.
36:10Right to the end and during the trial. It was a pretty unique set of circumstances.
36:31season we thought the two of them were going to be charged with murder but it's I think it was
36:36day
36:38free I just felt that something weren't right you know I just just had that feeling I've got
36:48deputed thank you my Lord Lord I'm grateful for the extra time afforded today and I can advise
36:55that there has been a development in the case and I would propose to amend the indictment
37:03recognizing that proving the murder charge was not going to be straightforward it did seem to me
37:09that a charge of culpable homicide would be sufficient in the circumstances of this case
37:14but in relation to charge number one in line 11 to delete the word murder and substitute the word kill
37:33mr. McConaughey yes ma'am I have instructions to tender a plea of guilty to charge one which is as
37:42your lordship is aware now a charge of culpable homicide and that was then accepted with the
37:47result that the case did not go to a jury as a trial but was a guilty plea okay my
37:54lord those
37:54please are acceptable to the crown the difference between a conviction for murder and a conviction
38:07for culpable homicide is huge and also the fact that Sandy's brother would no longer be on the homicide
38:16charge they were two very important factors it probably wasn't a particularly difficult decision
38:23for Sandy to make even although he knew the outcome would be he would get a significant custodial
38:29sentence a change of plea by the accused is not an unusual thing we do strive to try and avoid
38:35that
38:36happening at the trial it's unfortunate that it happens at that late stage but it does happen well I can
38:42see why it happened because if you went for murder and you couldn't prove it then there's a chance that
38:47you would get enough don't make it right when we found out that the McKellar's had made a plea that
38:58didn't sit well with me my initial thought was
39:04they're going to go down and they're taking the truth with them so by playing not only have they robbed
39:13me of my father but they've robbed me of knowing the truth
39:17when I move for sentence
39:20his lordship will see that the previous convictions for Alexander McKillar
39:26are dangerous driving driving with an excess of alcohol and in 2012 he was convicted of careless driving
39:38my lord I would propose that the crown and defense prepare an agreed narrative because the case
39:47is fairly complex and there's quite a bit to say there would be insufficient time to conclude that today
40:01when they get out of jail they're going to go back to life as if nothing's happened
40:06they're going to get on with it they're going to enjoy themselves
40:10I can't do that I can't do that because Tony's not here
40:16they're not the one
40:20that I left with a life sentence
40:22I am
40:24because that's what they've done
40:37my lord this case commenced as a missing person inquiry before evolving into an investigation
40:48around July 2017
40:51Anthony Parsons decided to engage in a cycle from Fort William to his home address in Tilly Coutry
40:58his wife Margaret Parsons received text messages from his mobile asking how she was and confirming that he had arrived
41:06in Fort William
41:08this was the last contact she had with her husband
41:13around 2300 hours Mr Parsons attended at the Bridge of Orkey Hotel
41:17he was wet due to the adverse weather
41:20it was suggested to him that he should stay the night in the hotel
41:25however after having a coffee he left the hotel to continue his cycle and travelled south on his intended route
41:33he could see him shaking his head with what was being said
41:36I know man it was it was really really difficult to watch that
41:40my lord so far as the accused are concerned the accused Alexander McKellar after consuming alcohol
41:48drove with Robert McKellar as a passenger on a journey from the Bridge of Orkey Hotel
41:54to their home on the Ork Estate a few miles away
42:00during the journey in adverse weather conditions
42:03at night and at speed the vehicle collided with Anthony Parsons who was at the time riding his bicycle
42:14after seriously injuring Anthony Parsons Alexander McKellar ascertained that Mr Parsons was still alive
42:26he did not call the emergency services thereby preventing any prospect of Mr Parsons receiving medical treatment
42:36he will have been in massive amounts of pain
42:40so then to not seek any form of medical treatment from that is just 100% inhumane
42:48it was horrible to hear what they had done
42:51and I'm not talking about the fact they knocked him off his bike with the car
42:55it's what they did after
43:03without immediate medical assistance he would have been unlikely to survive longer than 20 to 30 minutes
43:10police inquiry confirmed that the quickest emergency medical response would have taken approximately one hour
43:17if any assistance had been sought
43:21the outcome of what would have happened, how long it would have taken an ambulance to get there is irrelevant
43:26if you know that you've hit somebody you can see that they are still alive
43:30any basic human instinct says you need to try and get help
43:35they just wanted to protect themselves
43:39they could have phoned for somebody
43:41they could have phoned an ambulance, they could have phoned the police
43:43they could have even done it anonymously
43:46but they didn't
43:47the two accused left the scene in the vehicle and returned in a different vehicle
43:52collected Mr Parsons body and bicycle
43:55and transported him to the Auch Estate
43:58whereby they left him overnight
44:01after attending with a shooting party the next day
44:04the body was taken to a pity area on the estate
44:09a grave was dug and the body placed in it and covered
44:14I do remember the full story being read out in court line by line
44:18and it really was, it was a real shock
44:21what they did was callous
44:24that's not actions of a drunken man, not the day after
44:27this is the actions of somebody who is trying to cover up a crime
44:30to willingly go down a course of action
44:33whereby you are letting somebody die
44:36that to me is murder
44:38and our opinion will always be the same
44:41they have murdered my dad
44:43and they have taken him away from us
44:45such was the location
44:47that if Alexander McKellar had not disclosed where the grave was
44:51the remains are unlikely to have ever been found
44:57and my lord, there is a drive-through on the estate
44:59I'm not going to play all of it
45:01but I will demonstrate the deposition area
45:05so his lordship will get an idea of how remote this area is
45:12they took Tony, they buried him
45:16they left me for three and a half years
45:20and my kids, and grandkids
45:24not knowing where Tony was
45:26and this is the deposition site
45:28just to the right of the roadway
45:30the peat bog area is utilized by state employees
45:34including the accused Robert and Alexander McKellar
45:38to routinely dispose of animal carcasses
45:41this was evident on initial observation by police officers
45:46due to openly visible animal bones
45:49between the 13th and 14th of January 2021
45:53the body of Mr Parsons was exposed
45:56and with great care recovered from within the grave
46:01how on earth can anybody with any iota of goodness in them
46:05how could they do that?
46:07how on earth could they live with it
46:09knowing that poor Tony was buried
46:10sort of probably not very far from the front door
46:13Anthony Parsons was 63 at the time of his death
46:18he was a much loved husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend
46:23he had very close community ties
46:27my lord, those are the submissions for the crown
46:31Robert McKellar and Alexander McKellar, please stand
46:34you will next appear before me for the matter of sentence
46:37you will continue to be detained
46:40that's all
46:44there's been no remorse
46:48absolutely nothing from them at all
46:51to be honest i hate the both of them
46:55i really do
46:57i'm still angry
47:00it won't go away
47:02it won't go away
47:30it will
47:31talk to me
47:31it won't go away
47:32at all
47:39Call the Diet, adjourned out for sentence.
47:41His Majesty's advocate against Alexander McKellar and Robert Keller.
47:45Please be seated, thank you.
47:47Mr McCorkey.
47:49On the board.
47:52Mr McKellar is well aware of the family's views
47:57and knows and understands that there is no apology
48:01which he can tender which will ever be acceptable to them.
48:08But nonetheless, he wishes me on his behalf
48:12to indicate that he deeply regrets the trauma
48:17that he put the family through.
48:19On the night of the 29th of September 2017,
48:25it is fully accepted by him
48:28he ought not to have been driving.
48:31By his plea, he accepts that whilst catastrophically injured,
48:36Mr Parsons was alive at the time.
48:40Mr McKellar accepts he did not call for assistance.
48:45The only explanation which he offers
48:50and the only explanation which perhaps makes sense
48:53is simply fear and panic.
48:57Fear for himself and panic for the situation he found himself in.
49:04His conduct thereafter became something of a runaway train.
49:10Using his words,
49:11he says he was too much of a coward to come clean.
49:14He sought solace in alcohol and much more significant abuse of cocaine.
49:22Mr McKellar found what he had done
49:26more and more and more difficult to live with.
49:29And on two separate occasions,
49:32he came close to ending his own life.
49:37On one occasion, he drove to a remote part of the estate
49:41and had a loaded rifle in his mouth
49:44but didn't pull the trigger.
49:48In 2020, when he met Caroline and she went to the police,
49:58he fully accepts that ultimately she made the right decision in doing so.
50:04So the finding of Mr Parsons' body
50:10and the fact that these proceedings are now coming to an end
50:16to some extent has meant
50:18that there is a very significant weight
50:22being lifted from him.
50:27He would do anything he could to have the chance
50:30to alter the decision he took on the 29th of September
50:34but he can't rewind the clock.
50:38If you have done something and you're not a psychopath,
50:42which I've got no reason to believe that they're psychopaths,
50:45then it is always going to play in your mind.
50:47And I think the older you get,
50:49the more you realise that you have to face up
50:52to the terrible things that you may or may not have done in life.
50:56There must have been a sense of relief
50:58that, right, OK, this is happening.
51:01They were going to have to face the consequences
51:04of what happened that night.
51:07I've never seen any remorse from Sandy.
51:10If other people have got a sense that he was remorseful,
51:13then fair enough, but it's not anything I've ever witnessed.
51:17During police interactions with Robert,
51:19I didn't really get any real sense of remorse from him either.
51:23Robert McKellar became involved out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to his brother.
51:30He made a very significant error of judgement to support his brother
51:35at a point in his life where he already feared that his family was breaking up.
51:42However, that decision having been made,
51:46he accepts that he then participated fully
51:49in what was clearly a sustained and determined effort
51:53to conceal the truth of his brother's crime.
51:56And in so doing, he undoubtedly caused
51:59Mr. Parsons' family and friends
52:01immeasurable pain and suffering.
52:04It really just seemed that they didn't treat
52:07Tony Parsons any differently
52:10to how they dealt with the carcasses
52:13of the animals they killed
52:15when they were in their hunting parties.
52:17In my submission, it is fair to say
52:19that Robert McKellar bitterly regrets
52:22his callous and cowardly actions.
52:26He would like the opportunity
52:28to communicate directly with Mr. Parsons' family
52:33in order to apologise for his actions.
52:37But he too is aware of and respects
52:39the views of Mr. Parsons' family.
52:45These two individuals have sat in a courtroom
52:48listening to all this, listening to all this evidence.
52:51And are you only sorry because you've been caught?
52:55I don't know.
52:58I really don't know.
53:01Mr. McKellar appreciates the awfulness of prison.
53:05He is witness to it every day
53:07and is kept awake most nights
53:10by prisoners in distress,
53:12screaming and banging on the walls.
53:15But he understands and accepts
53:18why he is in prison.
53:20That's not comfort for the family of the victim
53:22or his friends, it's either.
53:24It's not comfort for any of us.
53:25Very well.
53:26Alexander McKellar and Robert McKellar, please stand.
53:33You have pleaded guilty to grave and serious crimes.
53:37I have no doubt that Mr. Parsons' family
53:40have been deeply affected by this.
53:43I have read and noted the terms of three victim impact statements
53:47made by members of his family.
53:49Their terms clearly indicate the profound, devastating and continuing impact,
53:56the lasting effect of which may be incalculable.
53:59Nothing I can say or do can compensate for their loss
54:03and I suspect that no sentence would ever be regarded as sufficient in their eyes.
54:09Alexander McKellar, I will impose on you a single sentence of imprisonment of 12 years.
54:15Robert McKellar, the sentence which I now impose on you is one of a period of imprisonment of five years
54:22and three months.
54:23That is all.
54:31I guess on reflection for me that as a fair result,
54:35they've still been convicted of serious and significant crimes.
54:38We've provided answers to the family of Torrey and we've managed to bring justice.
54:45A drink driver who hit and killed a cyclist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
54:51So have we achieved our objective in relation to this investigation?
54:55Absolutely.
54:56This is an extraordinary, heartbreaking tale.
55:00Twin brothers Alexander and Robert McKellar sobbed
55:03as they were sentenced at Glasgow High Court this morning.
55:07For me it had to be murder.
55:08I absolutely felt that the whole story should have been told in court in front of the jury
55:12because if they heard the whole thing,
55:15then there's no way those guys would have got away with it.
55:18Which I believe they did.
55:20With the sentences they got, they definitely got away with it.
55:23Pain and grief seemed to show on the faces of Tony Parsons' family as they left court.
55:38You never thought for one moment that it would be six years until we got justice.
55:44Nobody can try and fathom out how long that six years was.
55:53How hard, how traumatising it is.
55:59I don't have any hatred towards these individuals.
56:05Because of my work experience, I've seen these things happen in other scenarios.
56:12And I'm fully aware they have family as well that will be going through stresses and things like that.
56:19I just wish it had never happened.
56:26I love Tony because he, he was kind.
56:33He made me happy.
56:36He's looked after me all these years.
56:39And I'm lost without Tony.
56:48I am making new memories with my grandkids, my son and my daughter.
56:54But it still hurts
56:58that Tony's not here to see it.
57:03It's getting to the stage where I can see things finally coming to a close.
57:08I can see us finally starting to move on.
57:13Can't wait for the day
57:15where we do actually get together as a family and go,
57:19we've done him proud.
57:21We brought him home.
57:24And that's where he should be.
57:30We brought him home.
57:57We brought him home.
57:58We brought him home.
58:00We brought him home.
58:06We brought him home.
58:07We brought him home.
58:08We brought him home.
58:10We brought him home.
58:10We brought him home.
58:10We brought him home.
58:10We brought him home.
58:14We brought him home.
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