6 days ago
Family of hit-and-run cyclist say killers not being convicted of murder denied them justice
The widow of a cyclist who was killed by a hit-and-run drunk driver and secretly buried in a shallow grave believe her family was denied justice – after the men responsible avoided a murder conviction.
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.
