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Murder Case The Vanishing Cycl Episode 2 Engsub
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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...
00:22At 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.
01:05There's a lot of detail in that initial call that starts to make you think this could actually be genuine.
01:10I have a recent partner who's a friend.
01:14What's his name please?
01:16Oh, Robert McKellar.
01:18I have his true brother.
01:20Robert McKellar.
01:22What's your name please ma'am?
01:24That's a terrible idea to her head.
01:25Her ex-partner had told her, the biggest secret I have is that I've killed somebody.
01:31I can't believe you've been trapped in a body.
01:33All the information tends to tie up.
01:36They need to be arrested.
01:37What can you tell me about your involvement in the disappearance of Anthony Parsons?
01:42There's no common sense.
01:43But what's her crime going to be at this point?
01:45We don't have a body.
01:46We don't have a cause of 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.
01:56We need to act on this and we need to move it now.
01:59We need to go and find this body.
02:16Well, the three years, not having my dad, not knowing where he is or what's happened,
02:25that literally eats you up from inside.
02:28Having to wait three years, three years of thinking,
02:31well, 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.
03:04Carolina had dropped a can of Red Bull marking that spot where Tony Parsons was buried.
03:13The Red Bull can was our starting point, but she had been given further specific information from Sandy
03:21that standing at that point looking in a particular direction looking at a landmark
03:28in that direction and a number of meters from that point that is where he indicated it's where
03:36the body was it was three years since this body had been buried there so to the untrained eye
03:43all the ground looked the same
03:46the plan moving forward was a case of who do we need to help us here external specialists
03:54because we need people who can provide their expertise with ground conditions who can assist
03:59us with digging and filtering through earth and that's where professor lorna dawson came in
04:07all cases that you work on are special and distinctive and unique but there is something
04:14about this particular investigation that will stay with me forever
04:21i got a phone call from the si o they asked me if i could go along to the site
04:28and see if there
04:29were any clues with the soil or the vegetation and whether there might be an area where someone might
04:36have been buried a few years ago
04:40the location was remote there was snow covering the mountains and there were no sounds but the wild
04:49animals the birds and i think that's quite important because if someone was trying to dispose of a body
04:56you could be there and 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 meters by one meter it had obviously been disturbed fairly recently
05:24because the soil was mixed up so that the dark deep peat was exposed
05:30and it had left an impervious surface the water sat on that peat and because it was so cold
05:38ice had formed that was unusual because it was the only bit that had ice and moss only all the
05:47other
05:47areas had shrubs it was hard professional opinion that's like a deposition site there where tony has
05:55potentially been put you could see that something going on there i thought it supported what the
06:00witness had told the police that's the area that the the excavation has to focus on
06:07you know you're looking for somebody's loved one and they are relying on you for answers it's a very
06:16heavy burden to carry
06:19so there's quite a large team of experts acquired forensic archaeologists they were able to very
06:27carefully skim off using tiny brushes and tiny spatulas layers centimeters deep
06:36and each of those layers could be carefully looked through just to make sure that we didn't lose
06:42any potential evidence it 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 color 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 my back again here talking about it immediately everything was
07:14stopped and a phone call went in back to senior management we've got the sleeve of a red jacket here
07:21carefully the two anthropologists removed the peat from around mr parsons and it is an image that will
07:31stay with me mr parsons was about 50 centimeters 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
07:55like the images of 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 and it's not a case of that you're thinking
08:27about yourself you suddenly become how am i going to look after everybody else
08:31when you're having to stand there and watch your mum absolutely break down it's tough it's really it's 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
08:53and they said yes
09:03the injuries that tony had
09:09were horrific my mum was an absolute wreck because at that moment all her hopes of ever
09:19having that possibility of seeing my dad again we're 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
09:38cloud cover
09:41we got everybody into position everyone had to be done right and there was suddenly a shout and it was
09:48the the diggerman guys stop look now all morning you couldn't see the hills surrounding you and at that
09:59point of time the cloud 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
10:17watching us we all just took a breath looked at each other and then that was it we lifted tony
10:24up and out
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
10:39it could have gone unsolved he could have still been in that cold dark place alone once you've put a
10:46loved one to rest they are at rest and that the family have somewhere to go and grieve
10:56so i didn't personally feel that bad about it because i'd expected it i had been waiting three
11:05and a half years for that news so it wasn't as big a shock being told that he was found
11:14buried
11:16that made me feel physically sick how why
11:24where tony was recovered was an area where there was kill pits it's where the farmer or the gamekeeper
11:33will dig a pit basically and dispose of fallen livestock anything that had been shot by sporting
11:41tourists basically on the state that wasn't required for meat was disposed of by the state in this
11:48kill pit worst can't describe what would go through somebody's head to put another human being
11:57into that position they're horrible
12:08the family of a granddad whose remains were found in argyle more than three years after he went missing
12:14say they've been left devastated by his death we 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 but for us it's it's literally
12:35just the start the end goal for us is to find the evidence to convict sandy and robert for whatever's
12:52happened to you
12:53there are two different perspectives on this story you've got the inner one the people at the center
12:59of this criminal investigation know what happened the police are figuring it out
13:05and then outside that you've got the rest of us and as a reporter our job is to try to
13:15get the inside
13:16story and bring it out why haven't these two men been charged why are they back out into their communities
13:25what's going on the boys went to school here they had a huge group of friends here everybody knew
13:36them people knew their parents no one could quite believe the calculated way in which this appeared to
13:44be unfolding at that time that not only had this poor man been killed but he'd also been killed in
13:52a
13:52way where his body was hidden
13:58if you were to tell this story to anybody who doesn't work in our field of work
14:02you would probably think well he's told his girlfriend that this is where the body is
14:06she'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
14:16brother who were responsible for this then that must be true other people could be involved here
14:21at that point it becomes a whole new dynamic of investigation don't bury yourself in a peat bog so
14:26we know we're dealing with criminality it's just exactly what crimes do we have what we're looking
14:30to 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
14:44the people
14:44responsible we've got a story that we don't have a case we've got to find evidence that links them to
14:50this crime
14:53the car sandy had been driving that night had been seized but then we were able to do quite a
14:58lot of
14:59inquiry around about it and we were able to actually believe it or not track back and we were able
15:06to
15:06show that that car did have damage on the night that Anthony Parsons went missing other people who
15:15worked in the Orca estate were able to see the significant damage to the car before it was taken away
15:19to be repaired
15:21Sandy and Robert had given the explanation that they struck a deer that night and that was really significant
15:28because we were able to establish that every time that car had been damaged previously through the
15:36insurance it had went to a specific garage to be repaired on this occasion the vehicle didn't go to
15:44that place there was no report to the insurance that was really really interesting because if you had just
15:49struck a deer why would you not claim your insurance not only that the place the vehicle had been taken
15:54to
15:55for repair was in miles away actually the garage owner still had images that car did have near side
16:04damage to it which would be consistent of where they would have struck a cyclist it just adds another
16:10wee 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 it was potentially a road accident
16:24and that my dad had been struck one of the hardest things going through all of this was the fact
16:30that
16:31we didn't know the details because of our profession my brother and I being in the police we also knew
16:40don't ask questions
16:50when the inquiry seized their mobile phones we could see the conversations that were going on between the
17:01brothers and other people we 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 we're looking at the phones we're like
17:26he couldn't believe what we're seeing in front of us this is a joke to them
17:29quite sickening to be honest with you
17:31there was also text messages and social media comments that tended to suggest other people knew
17:38more about the circumstances than they were telling us one person said i think about this all the time
17:45i'm relatively local and we've known who did it for ages they were drunk driving hit tony and buried his
17:52body 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 robert definitely told her that when they got out of the car
18:38there was a moon 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 in pathology results because there probably could have been a period
18:56of up to half an hour for 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
19:08and he would have known there wasn't help coming and that's really sad
19:12at the point in time when they have realized that he is at the side of the road and is
19:18still alive
19:19a reasonable person would be making a decision to get somebody help
19:22see if he'd have just phone 999 and held his hand and told him it was going to be okay
19:26in that last
19:27half hour well you know that's what most people would do tony may have died anyway but they had
19:34decided he was definitely going to die and 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 now when human
19:58remains are found in a remote area buried in a peat bog that obviously gives rise to the likelihood
20:05that a criminal act has been committed the next challenge was to decide what the nature of that
20:11crime was murder in scotland can be committed in one of two ways one with a wicked intention to kill
20:19the person that shoots someone else dead without any justification would be guilty of murder and
20:25there's no difficulty with that equally if the attacker demonstrates such wicked recklessness as to
20:31demonstrate that he does not care whether the victim lives or dies and that can amount to murder too
20:39robert and sandy did not set out to kill tony parsons but when they've struck him with the vehicle if
20:47the
20:47evidence suggests he was still alive at that point they can look at the state of tony at that point
20:52in
20:52time and maybe reach the conclusion in their mind it's unlikely he'll survive but if you're not medically
20:58qualified how can you make that decision this was not straightforward if mr parsons was killed instantly
21:06then the charge would probably have simply been causing death by dangerous driving because there's no
21:12suggestion that the accused set out to kill mr parsons the difference with this case was that knowing he
21:21was alive after the collision they decided not to recruit help for him they have formed a plan in their
21:28mind to put him into the ground and conceal this fact forever it's a sliding doors moment
21:35and that's where the murderous intent comes on it seemed to me that an argument could be made out for
22:11murder
22:42case built against them so it was to bring them in and put all the evidence that we had to
22:47them to
22:47see if they would provide us with what had happened in their own words or if they would tell us
22:51how they
22:52could live so long without telling anyone what tony words we're now going to be asked questions
22:55about involvement in the murder of anthony parsons and 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
23:05may be used in evidence do you understand i do yes okay they've probably both spent those 11 months
23:10wondering when we're coming back and i think there maybe was a little bit of thinking they'll maybe
23:15never charge us with us or they'll never prove it happened i think by the time they come to these
23:20interviews 11 months later they're probably a lot more worried about what's going to be presented to
23:25them and sandy certainly doesn't look as polished he looks like a man that's had a really tough 11 months
23:32doesn't have the same confidence he's got the crossed arms hands right and close to a torso on his
23:40chest 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
23:56you can see the photo can 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
24:10person that had that life of course but your actions albeit if he had been knocked off a bike
24:17your actions could have kept that man alive and you chose not to because your need was
24:25greater than his
24:28and that family behind that picture have waited three years to get an answer over three years they're
24:34now near on four years to get an answer to what happened to your dad i understand that do you
24:44what's your understanding of that
24:51do you genuinely have no remorse that you killed a man in bed and leaving his family without any
24:56idea really was for three years i don't think at any point you have an understanding of that
25:06i think you just see a picture on there and you don't see anything behind it there's nothing
25:10else inside the person you are
25:14you're looking at it one of the things from robert's interview is the work we're going to round about
25:23the truck i think there's almost like that belief where people don't think you're going to quite dig
25:28as much as you do dig did robert speak no he didn't he never gave us anything significant
25:36and and neither did sandy to be honest with you the only real reaction from sandy during
25:42interview was when the recordings were played the recordings that we'd retrieved from caroline
25:47your head we seized the laptop which was later examined one of the laptop or several recordings
25:53including a corner situation between you and helping the morning of the 24th of february 2021
26:00so that's going to be one of the voting clips up here
26:15in all conversations more ones do you deny being responsible why not if you don't listen
26:20no point you state it was either my wife or his what did you mean by that
26:27it's a cylinder to me to be honest it sounds like it's been messed with him
26:32he's enhanced he wasn't happy to accept that it was him certainly on me he's had that conversation
26:38the enhancement went to a forensic while it's all been checked i thought no i can i can't explain it
26:44sorry to 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 you continue
26:55talking stupid cunt shouldn't have been there zero remorse for mr parsons or his family have
27:02you no regrets about what you've done no comment when you've been immersed in an inquiry like that
27:08for 11 months when you reach the stage whereby you know you're going to get it over the line and
27:13you're going to get a conclusion to your investigation there's a sense of satisfaction
27:18terminating the interview with alexander mckellar within wandering one police station
27:23from the living months between first interview and second interview robert and sandy were very
27:28much out in the community still living lives but from this date we're pretty confident that they've
27:33been demanded okay time is now 18.55 well it's now for including the interview with robert mckellar
27:40ultimately that's what you've spent a year working on that's what the long nights or the time away
27:44for your family is all about just trying to get to that point so it's a really really satisfying
27:48moment it's probably one of the best parts of the job when you're able to charge somebody with a serious
27:55crime
27:59both were charged with murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice in terms of
28:05disposal of the body afterwards in the manner in which they did
28:21once mckellar twins had been charged with murder the family of tony parsons have to be advised
28:27that 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
28:49you're thinking if it's murder it must be deliberate they must have deliberately killed him
28:54so have they deliberately run him off the road has there been a fight or disturbance beforehand
29:01we were asking all the questions and still getting told no it's an ongoing investigation
29:08which i totally understand totally get but again it fills your head with even more scenarios
29:25i was asked to represent the interests of alexander sandy mckellar i saw him in prison where he had been
29:34remanded at that stage i thought it would resolve by way perhaps of a plea causing death by dangerous
29:43driving and also a very serious attempt to prevent the course of justice because the body had been effectively hidden
29:52for 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 the crown case was that their actings
30:21were wickedly reckless and therefore they were guilty of murder on that occasion the first accused
30:29offered to plead guilty to causing death by dangerous driving there was no dispute about
30:34the fact that sandy was the driver and so that was submitted the crown did not indicate they were going
30:41to accept that i rejected that plea i did not think that that was adequate in the whole circumstances of
30:49the case
30:57the trial was actually set at the high court in glasgow it's obviously the highest court in the land it's
31:04a
31:04very significant high profile case there's a lot of media interest that was obviously increasing as
31:11the trial was approaching when all the intricacies of the story would have come out
31:24it's difficult to imagine the agony that the family went through in not knowing where mr parsons was and
31:31what happened what happened to him that just compounded as time went on my task is to present the evidence
31:40openly and fairly but the jury will be told that sympathy plays no part in this and neither does morals
31:55when the michael brothers first came up into the dock and they took their seat i watched their
32:03every move i wanted to know whether or not they were going to look at us they didn't stern kept
32:10looking
32:11straight ahead and all i wanted to do was to say to them why as a family we've had nothing
32:25from them
32:27when you've done that the impact that that has had the ripple effect of that night has impacted
32:35me my sister my mum my children you know my dad's friends there was a group of us went through
32:44to the
32:45trial and we sat not far two or three rows behind them and we were watching them they came in
32:50all clean
32:51shaven wearing suits trying to look respectable and everything else but you could tell it was pure arrogance
32:59i knew i couldn't approach them but i just wanted to see them react i wanted to know what was
33:07going
33:07through their mind the evidence was that mr parsons was alive after the collision and that the accused
33:18knew that but it was not a straightforward case by any means and it would be difficult to present to
33:24the
33:24jury call the diet his majesty's advocate against alexander mckellar and robert mckellar please be
33:31seated thank you thank you my lord i regret that i move that the case be adjourned until tomorrow
33:38morning very well thank you
33:45the crown were having difficulties in citing caroline to appear for the trial caroline was the key to this
33:52in terms of the evidence in terms of the evidence that she had gathered through the course of her
33:55relationship with sandy and the manners in which she had been assisting the police investigation so
34:01there was a bit of anxiety as to how things would go at the trial in relation to caroline providing
34:07her
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
34:50here she's on the estate i said what do you mean she's on the estate i knew that that was
34:56the day
34:56that she had to go to court to give evidence to pin your murder charge on that particular witness
35:05what was a wee bit of a surprise to me i think they last saw her heading up into the
35:11valley towards
35:13loch lion i let my supervisors know immediately you'd better phone the crown caroline is
35:20nowhere near classical high court she was effectively missing and clearly everybody was concerned about
35:28what had happened to her where she was it just so happened that one of the gamekeepers and an officer
35:33would get up this side of the law and caroline was found
35:38i'd be doing good in 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
35:51morning and we will assess the situation at that point she was clearly struggling to deal with the
36:02circumstances in that particular day this case has been different every single hour of every single day
36:09i've worked on it right to the end and during the trial it was a pretty unique set of circumstances
36:32we thought the two of them were going to be charged with murder but i think it was day three
36:38i just felt that something weren't right you know i just i just had that feeling
36:47and good deputies thank you my lord lord i'm grateful for the extra time afforded today and i can advise
36:56that there has been a development in the case and i would propose to amend the indictment
37:03the indictment in the case recognizing that approving the murder charge was not going to be
37:07straightforward it did seem to me that a charge of culpable homicide would be sufficient in the
37:12circumstances of this case but in relation to charge number one in line 11 to delete the word murder
37:22murder and substitute the word kill
37:33mr mcconaughey yes ma'am i have instructions to tender a plea of guilty to charge one
37:41which is as your lordship is aware now a charge of culpable homicide
37:45and that was then accepted with the result that the case did not go
37:50to a jury as a trial but was a guilty plea okay my lord those pleas are acceptable to the
37:57crown
38:02the difference between a conviction for murder and a conviction for culpable homicide
38:09is huge and also the fact that sandy's brother would no longer be on the homicide charge
38:16they were two very important factors it probably wasn't a particularly difficult decision for sandy
38:24to make even although he knew the outcome would be he would get a significant custodial sentence
38:30a change of plea by the accused is not an unusual thing we do strive to try and avoid that
38:36happening
38:36at the trial it's unfortunate that it happens at that late stage but it does happen well i can see
38:42why it happened because if you went for murder and you couldn't prove it then there's a chance that
38:47we'll get enough don't make it right when we found out that the mckellars had made a plea that didn't
38:59sit
38:59well with me my initial thought was they're gonna go down and they're taking the truth with them
39:09so by playing not only have they robbed me of my father but they've robbed me of knowing the truth
39:17when i move for sentence his lordship will see that the previous convictions
39:24for alexander mckellar are dangerous driving driving with an excess of alcohol and in 2012 he was
39:35convicted of careless driving my lord i would propose that the crown and defense prepare an agreed
39:45narrative because the case is fairly complex and there's quite a bit to say there would be
39:52insufficient time to conclude that today thank you very much
39:58lord
40:01when they get out of jail they're gonna go back to life as if nothing's happened
40:06they're gonna get on with it they're gonna enjoy themselves i can't do that i can't do that
40:13because tony's not here they're not the one
40:20that i live with a life sentence i am because 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 anthony parsons decided to engage in a cycle from fort william to his home address
40:57in telecootry his wife margaret parsons received text messages from his mobile asking how she was and
41:05confirming that he had arrived in fort william this was the last contact she had with her husband
41:13around 2300 hours mr parsons attended at the bridge of orkey hotel he was wet due to the adverse weather
41:21it was suggested to him that he should stay the night in the hotel however after having a coffee
41:27he left the hotel to continue his cycle and traveled south on his intended route you could see him shaking
41:35the heads with what was being said i know man it was it was really really difficult it was not
41:40my lord so
41:41far as the accused are concerned the accused alexander mckellar after consuming alcohol drove with robert
41:50mckellar as a passenger on a journey from the bridge of orkey hotel to their home on the och estate
41:57a few miles away
42:00during the journey in adverse weather conditions at night and at speed the vehicle collided with
42:09anthony 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
42:35medical treatment he will have been in massive amounts of pain so then to not seek any form of
42:43medical treatment from that is just 100 inhumane it was horrible to hear what they had done and i'm
42:52not talking about the fact they knocked him off his bike with the car it's what they did after
43:03without immediate medical assistance he would have been unlikely to survive longer than 20 to 30 minutes
43:11police inquiry confirmed that the quickest emergency medical response would have taken approximately one
43:17hour if any assistance had been sought the outcome of what would have happened how long it would have
43:24taken an ambulance to get there is irrelevant if you know that you've hit somebody you can see that
43:29they are still alive any basic human instinct says you need to try and get help they just wanted to
43:36protect
43:37themselves they could have phoned for somebody they could have phoned an ambulance they could have phoned
43:43the police they could have even done it anonymously but they didn't the two accused left the scene in the
43:50vehicle and returned in a different vehicle collected mr parsons body and bicycle and transported him
43:57to the auk estate whereby they left him overnight after attending with a shooting party the next day
44:05the body was taken to a pity area on the estate a grave was dug and the body placed in
44:13it and covered
44:14i do remember the full story being read out in court line by line and it really was it was
44:20a a real shock
44:21what they did was callous that's not actions of a drunken man not the day after this is the actions
44:28of
44:29somebody who's trying to cover up a crime to willingly go down a course of action whereby you are letting
44:35somebody die that to me is is murder and our opinion will always be the same they have murdered
44:42my dad and they've taken him away from us such was the location that if alexander mckellar had not
44:50disclosed where the grave was the remains are unlikely to have ever been found and my lord there is a
44:58drive
44:58through on the estate i'm not going to play all of it but i will demonstrate the deposition area so
45:06his
45:06lordship will get an idea of how remote this area is they took tony they buried him they left me
45:17for
45:17three and a half years and my kids and grown kids not knowing where tony was and this is the
45:27deposition
45:28site just to the right of the roadway the peat bog area is utilized by state employees including the
45:35accused robert and alexander mckellar to routinely dispose of animal carcasses this was evident on
45:44initial observation by police officers due to openly visible animal bones between the 13th and 14th of
45:52january 2021 the body of mr parsons was exposed and with great care recovered from within the grave
46:01how on earth can anybody with any iota of goodness in them how could they do that how on earth
46:07could
46:07they live without knowing a poor tony was buried so probably not very far from the front door anthony
46:14parsons was 63 at the time of his death he was a much loved husband father brother grandfather and
46:23friend he had very close community ties my lord those are the submissions for the crown
46:31robert mckellar and alexander mckellar please stand you will next appear before me for the matter
46:37of sentence you'll continue to be detained that's all there's been no remorse absolutely nothing from them
46:49at all to be honest i hate the both of them i really do i'm still angry it won't go
47:01away
47:08so
47:29oh
47:39Call the diet adjourned out for sentence.
47:42His Majesty's advocate against Alexander McKellar and Robert Keller.
47:45Please be seated. Thank you.
47:48Mr McCorkey.
47:49On board.
47:51Mr McKellar is well aware of the family's views
47:57and knows and understands that there is no apology
48:01which he can tender
48:03which 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.
48:20On 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
48:59and panic for the situation he found himself in.
49:04His conduct thereafter became
49:06something 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
49:18and much more significant abuse of cocaine.
49:23Mr McKellar found what he had done
49:26more and more difficult to live with.
49:29And on two separate occasions,
49:32he came close to ending his own life.
49:36On 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.
49:49in 2020 when he met Caroline
49:54and she went to the police,
49:58he fully accepts that ultimately
50:01she made the right decision in doing so.
50:04The finding of Mr Parsons' body
50:10and the fact that these proceedings
50:13are now coming to an end
50:16to some extent
50:17has meant
50:18that there is a very significant weight
50:22being lifted from him.
50:27He would do anything he could
50:29to have the chance to alter the decision
50:31he took on the 29th of September
50:33but he can't rewind the clock.
50:38If you have done something
50:40and you're not a psychopath
50:42which I've got no reason to believe
50:44that 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
50:50that you have to face up
50:52to the terrible things
50:54that you may or may not have done in life.
50:56There must have been a sense of relief
50:58that right, okay, this is happening.
51:01We are 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
51:12that he was remorseful
51:13then fair enough
51:14but it's not anything I've ever witnessed.
51:17During police interactions with Robert
51:19I didn't really get any real sense
51:21of remorse from him either.
51:24Robert McKellar became involved
51:26out of a misplaced sense of loyalty
51:29to his brother.
51:30He made a very significant error of judgement
51:33to support his brother
51:35at a point in his life
51:37where he already feared
51:39that his family was breaking up.
51:42However, that decision having been made
51:45he 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
51:57he undoubtedly caused
51:59Mr. Parsons' family and friends
52:01immeasurable pain and suffering.
52:04It really just seemed
52:06that they didn't treat
52:08Tony Parsons any differently
52:10to how they dealt
52:12with the carcasses
52:13of the animals they killed
52:15when they were in their hunting parties.
52:17In my submission
52:18it is fair to say
52:19that Robert McKellar
52:21bitterly regrets
52:22his callous
52:24and cowardly actions.
52:26He would like
52:27the opportunity
52:28to communicate
52:30directly with
52:32Mr. Parsons' family
52:33in order to apologise
52:35for his actions
52:37but he too is aware of
52:39and respects
52:40the views
52:41of Mr. Parsons' family.
52:45These two individuals
52:47have sat in a courtroom
52:48listening to all this
52:50listening to all this evidence
52:51and
52:53are you only sorry
52:54because you've been caught?
52:55I don't know.
52:58I really don't know.
53:01Mr. McKellar appreciates
53:03the awfulness
53:04of prison.
53:05He is witness to it
53:07every day
53:08and is kept awake
53:09most nights
53:10by prisoners
53:11in distress
53:12screaming
53:13and banging
53:14on the walls
53:15but he understands
53:17and accepts
53:18why he is in prison.
53:20That's not comfort
53:21for the family
53:22of the victim
53:22or his friends
53:23or his either.
53:24It's not comfort
53:24for any of us.
53:25Very well.
53:26Alexander McKellar
53:27and Robert McKellar
53:28please stand.
53:33You have pleaded guilty
53:34to grave and serious crimes.
53:37I have no doubt
53:39that Mr. Parsons' family
53:40have been deeply affected
53:42by this.
53:43I have read
53:44and noted
53:45the terms of three
53:46victim impact statements
53:47made by members
53:48of his family.
53:49Their terms
53:50clearly indicate
53:52the profound
53:53devastating
53:54and continuing impact
53:56the lasting effect
53:57of which
53:57may be incalculable.
53:59nothing I can say
54:01nothing I can say
54:01or do
54:01can compensate
54:02for their loss
54:03and I suspect
54:04that no sentence
54:05would ever be regarded
54:06as sufficient
54:07in their eyes.
54:09Alexander McKellar
54:10I will impose on you
54:11a single sentence
54:12of imprisonment
54:13of 12 years.
54:15Robert McKellar
54:16the sentence
54:17which I now impose
54:18on you
54:19is one of a period
54:20of imprisonment
54:21of five years
54:22and three months.
54:23That is all.
54:31I guess on reflection
54:32for me
54:33that as a fair result
54:35they've still been convicted
54:36of serious
54:37and significant crimes.
54:39We've provided answers
54:40to the family of Tony
54:41and we've managed
54:42to bring justice.
54:45A drink driver
54:47who hit and killed
54:48a cyclist
54:48has been sentenced
54:49to 12 years
54:50in prison.
54:51So have we achieved
54:52our objective
54:53in relation to this
54:54investigation?
54:55Absolutely.
54:56This is an extraordinary
54:59heartbreaking tale.
55:00Twin brothers
55:00Alexander and Robert McKellar
55:03sobbed as they were
55:04sentenced at Glasgow
55:05High Court
55:06this morning.
55:07For me it had to be murder.
55:09I absolutely felt
55:09that the whole story
55:10should have been told
55:11in court
55:11in front of the jury
55:12because if they heard
55:14the whole thing
55:15then there's no way
55:16those guys
55:17would have got away with it.
55:18Which I believe they did.
55:20With the sentences
55:21they got
55:22they definitely
55:22got away with it.
55:23Pain and grief
55:25seemed to show
55:25on the faces
55:26of Tony Parson's
55:28family
55:28as they left court.
55:38You never thought
55:39for one moment
55:40that it would be
55:41six years
55:42until we got justice.
55:44Nobody can
55:46try and fathom out
55:47how long
55:49that six years
55:51was.
55:53How hard
55:54how
55:56traumatising
55:57it is.
55:59I don't have
56:00any hatred
56:02towards
56:03these individuals.
56:05Because of my
56:06work experience
56:07I've seen
56:08these things happen
56:10in other scenarios
56:12and I'm fully aware
56:13they have family
56:14as well
56:14that will be
56:15going through
56:15stresses
56:16and things like that.
56:19I just wish
56:20it never happened.
56:26I love Tony
56:27because he
56:29he was kind
56:33he made me happy
56:35he's looked after me
56:36all these years
56:39and I'm lost
56:41without Tony
56:48I am making
56:49new memories
56:50with my grandkids
56:51my son
56:52and my daughter
56:54but it still
56:55hurts
56:58that Tony's
56:59not here
56:59to see it.
57:03It's
57:03getting to the stage
57:04where
57:04I can see things
57:06finally coming
57:07to a close
57:08I can see us
57:10finally starting
57:11to move on
57:13can't wait
57:13for the day
57:15where we do
57:16actually
57:16get together
57:17as a family
57:18and go
57:19we've done him
57:20proud
57:21we brought him
57:22home
57:24and that's
57:24where he should be.
57:54and that's
57:56what he should be
57:56what he should be
57:56and that's
58:05what he should be
58:11You
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