Family of hit-and-run cyclist say killers not being convicted of murder denied them justice
Tony Parsons, 63, was on a charity cycle in the Highlands when he was knocked off his bike near Bridge of Orchy and lay dying by the roadside of horrific injuries.
But instead of calling emergency services, driver Alexander McKellar and his twin brother Robert hid Mr Parsons' body in a peaty bog on the estate where they worked.
The remains went undiscovered for three years until farm worker McKellar confided in his pathologist girlfriend Caroline Muirhead about the killing and took her to the burial site. She deliberately dropped a soft drink can on the ground and was later able to pinpoint the remote location to the police.
In August 2023, Alexander McKellar was jailed for 12 years after he pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and attempting to pervert the course of justice by hiding the body.
His twin also admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice and was jailed for five years at the High Court in Glasgow.
The Crown had originally indicted both brothers for murder but this was reduced during the court case and the McKellars admitted to the lesser charges.
In a BBC documentary that airs on Tuesday, Mr Parsons' wife, Margaret, said: 'They took Tony, they buried him and left me, my kids and grandkids for three and a half years not knowing where he was.
'When they get out of jail they will get back to life as if nothing has happened. They are going to enjoy themselves. I can't do that because Tony is not here.
'They are not the ones left with the life sentence, I am. There's no remorse, nothing from them at all. I hate them both, I'm still angry. It won't go away.'
Mr Parsons went missing in September 2017 during a charity cycle, having battled prostate cancer. He had planned to ride through the night to complete his trip from Fort William to his home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire.
The court was told his body would likely never have been found if Ms Muirhead had not come forward, and that Mr Parsons would have been alive for around 30 minutes after he was hit.
In Murder Case: The Vanishing Cyclist, Mr Parsons' son, Mike, a former police officer, said: 'He would have been in massive amounts of pain and for them not to seek any form of treatment is just 100 per cent inhumane.
Dr Caroline Muirhead, former girlfriend of convicted killer Alexander McKellar, proved pivotal in leading police to the spot where the brothers had buried Mr Parsons' body
'If you know you have hit someone and know they are still alive, any basic human instinct says you need to try and get help.
'To willingly let someone die, that to me is murder and our opinion will always be the same. They murdered my dad and they have taken him away from us.'
Mr Parsons' daughter Vicky said: 'When we found out the McKellars had made a plea, that didn't sit well with me.
'My initial thought was they are going down and they are taking the truth with them.
'By pleading, they have robbed me of knowing the truth.' She added: 'Being told he was found buried, that made me feel physically sick.'
The documentary makers interviewed the investigating offices on what began as a missing persons case and ended in a murder probe and court case.
DC Gavin McKellar said: 'You know you are looking for someone's loved one and they are looking for answers. It's a very heavy burden to carry.'
He described how shocked the police were when the body was found on the remote Auch Estate in January 2021.
He said: 'Where Tony was recovered was an area where there were kill pits, where a farmer or a gamekeeper will dispose of fallen livestock.
'Words can't describe what would go through someone's head to put another human being into that position. They are horrible.'
Also interviewed was Professor Lorna Dawson, head of Soil Forensics Group at The James Hutton Institute.
She helped police find the exact spot where the body was buried by identifying an icy, mossy patch of ground where the peat had been dug up.
Forensic archaeologists soon found the remains, which had been well preserved in the peat.
Professor Dawson said: 'He still looked like the images of him on the day he disappeared.'
Murder Case: The Vanishing Cyclist, Episode 1, is available on iPlayer from August 12 and Episode 2 from August 19.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
More than 140 people have reported crimes to Al Fayed investigation
The Metropolitan Police have said 146 people have come forward to report a crime as part of their investigation into former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed. The number of reports was revealed as part of a video update sent to alleged victims earlier this week. It comes a month after Scotland Yard apologised to alleged victims for the distress they have suffered. In a letter leaked to the BBC, the officer leading the investigation said she was 'acutely aware the case is especially distressing to all those who have suffered'. 'Not least due to the fact that the main suspect will now never directly face justice for his crimes and, for this, I am truly sorry,' Detective Chief Superintendent Angela Craggs wrote. Al Fayed died in 2023 aged 94. The Met is currently conducting an investigation into how it handled historical allegations of offending by the tycoon. It will also look into any potential facilitators and enablers, and whether any misconduct or corruption occurred. A spokesperson for the force said: 'The live investigation into those who could have facilitated or enabled Mohamed Al Fayed's offending continues. 'The way the Met works has moved on immeasurably, and our teams have transformed the way we investigate rape and sexual offences. 'We're working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure that victim-survivors are at the heart of our response, with a greater focus on suspects and their offending. 'We continue to support all victims and we urge anyone with information, whether they were directly affected by Mohamed Al Fayed's actions, or aware of others who may have been involved or committed offences, to come forward. 'We cannot comment further at this time, but will provide an update as soon as we are able to and where this won't jeopardise criminal or other proceedings.' The force is expected to provide more written or video updates to victims over the coming months. In November, it said detectives were investigating more than five people who may have facilitated the former Harrods boss in his alleged sexual abuse of dozens of women and girls. They are looking at individuals surrounding the businessman who could have enabled him to commit crimes which are claimed to have spanned decades between 1977 and 2014. The force is also facing allegations of police corruption, with The Guardian newspaper reporting that officers were accused of taking bribes to help him persecute staff and avoid accusations of abuse. The Met said it has transformed the way it investigates rape and serious sexual offences and is doing more to put victim-survivors at the heart of its response to these crimes. More than 100 survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Al Fayed have entered Harrods' redress scheme, the department store said last month.
Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Awarded £12,000, man who had his finger broken by Police Scotland officer
The Chief Constable of Police Scotland has been ordered to pay £12,000 to a man who had a finger broken by one of her officers. Sheriff Robert Fife ordered Jo Farrell to pay the sum to Ross Lamont following an incident in December 2018 in Glasgow City Centre. He said the evidence of the officer involved had at times been 'arrogant and dismissive'. The All Scotland Personal Injury Court heard how Mr Lamont had been on a Christmas night out with colleagues before coming into contact with PCs Nathan Donnelly and Dominic Horn. The court heard that the officers believed Mr Lamont was involved in an argument with another group of persons outside the Blue Dog bar in the city's West Regent Street. Sheriff Fife heard how the two police officers tried to de-escalate the situation. They took Mr Lamont over to a group of railings and asked him for his personal details as they concluded he had committed a breach of the peace. Mr Lamont disagreed - he believed he had done nothing wrong and refused to provide the information they asked him for.. The court heard that Mr Lamont was then told he was being placed under arrest. He then started to resist with the cops who struggled to restrain him. They described his resistance as like a man who was displaying 'superhuman' strength. The court heard that Mr Lamont grabbed hold of the railings behind him with his right hand. This prompted PC Donnelly to grab and pull the Mr Lamont's right little finger - causing it to break. Lawyers for Mr Lamont believed their client had subjected to unlawful action. They launched a compensation claim at the court earlier this year against the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The court heard evidence that the move used by PC Donnelly on Mr Lamont's finger was not a recognised tactic used by Police in how they restrain people. Sheriff Fife agreed and awarded Mr Lamont £12,000 compensation. In a written judgment published by the court, Sheriff Fife wrote about how he was unimpressed by some of PC Donnelly's evidence to the court. He wrote: 'I had some difficulty with the evidence of PC Donnelly. At times, I formed an unfavourable impression of his answers to questions. PC Donnelly was an inexperienced officer in December 2018 but purported to be more experienced. 'At times, he came across as being arrogant and dismissive. PC Donnelly demonstrated, by use of a court microphone, how he had grabbed the fingers of the right hand of the pursuer to remove the pursuer's hand from the railings. 'This all seemed to be theatrical and unnecessary. 'In my view PC Donnelly deliberately targeted the pursuer's right little finger, pulling the little finger all the way back and in so doing breaking the little finger. 'PC Donnelly made no attempt at all to grab any of the pursuer's other fingers on the right hand in order to remove the right hand from the railings.' Sheriff Fife added: 'PC Donnelly failed to use a recognised Operational Safety Training technique to remove the pursuer's right hand from the railings. 'The use of force by PC Donnelly by pulling back the pursuer's right little finger causing a fracture was not reasonable. 'PC Donnelly assaulted the pursuer. 'I will grant decree against the defender for payment to the pursuer in the sum of £12,000.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Daughter ‘disappointed' as court refuses to increase sentence of Bhim Kohli's killer
The daughter of an 80-year-old man who was killed last September has said she is 'disappointed' after the court of appeal refused to increase the sentence of a teenage boy convicted of his death. Susan Kohli, whose father, Bhim Kohli, died after being assaulted by two teenagers while walking his dog near his home in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, has called for sentencing guidelines to be changed, feeling that the duo who killed him should have faced harsher sentences than they received in June. 'We need to go to parliament to get these guidelines changed, to hold these youths responsible for what they do,' she said. 'We should not have to lose somebody else to these youngsters.' The boy, aged 15 at the time of sentencing, was found guilty of manslaughter in April. He received a seven-year custodial sentence, while his accomplice, a girl aged 13, was given a three-year rehabilitation order with a six-month curfew and community service. Neither can be named for legal reasons. The solicitor general, Lucy Rigby, who referred the boy's sentence to the court of appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, said she believed the case's seriousness qualified the sentence for reconsideration but respected the court's decision, and that her thoughts were with Kohli's 'friends and family, and everyone impacted by this horrendous crime'. The boy's defence team attempted to have the sentence reduced. At a hearing on Wednesday, Lady Justice Macur, who assessed the case alongside Mrs Justice Cutts and Mr Justice Murray, said the current sentence was neither unduly lenient nor excessive, calling it a 'very significant sentence and necessarily so'. She said the sentence was 'entirely warranted by the seriousness of the offence. It is unarguable that the sentence was manifestly excessive.' Speaking after the pair were first sentenced in June, Susan Kohli claimed her father had been repeatedly targeted by youths in the area, with the abuse being racially motivated, something that both teenagers denied while standing trial. She also claimed that the police were aware of the problem and should have had a greater presence in the area. Kohli, who was found by his family after the beating, told a paramedic that he had been called slurs during the assault, which resulted in a broken neck and three broken ribs. He was taken to hospital but died the next day. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion During the trial the court was shown footage recorded by the girl that showed the boy, wearing a balaclava, assaulting Kohli while the girl laughed. A separate video showed Kohli lying motionless on the ground. Other footage recovered by police from the girl's phones included a video of an unknown man being accosted by a group of children, one of them calling him a 'paki bastard' and hitting him while the girl could be heard laughing.
