Twin brothers accused of murdering a charity cyclist are set to go on trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Alexander and Robert McKellar allegedly killed Tony Parsons and then disposed of his body in a country estate almost six years ago.
Prosecutors allege that a car driven by Alexander McKellar collided with Mr Parsons, 63, leaving him seriously injured as he was cycling on the A82 in the Bridge of Orchy area on September 29, 2017.
Alexander and Robert McKellar, who was a passenger in the vehicle, are accused of assaulting Mr Parsons and failing to seek medical attention for him following the collision with “wicked and reckless disregard” for the consequences of their actions.
It is alleged they abandoned him at the side of the road during the hours of darkness while they went to Auch Estate, then returned in another vehicle and transported him and his bicycle to the estate.
The murder charge claims Mr Parsons, of Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, was then hidden under tarpaulin there in a wooded area and that he died.
Alexander and Robert, both aged 30, are also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice between September 29, 2017 and January 3, 2021, by digging a grave on the estate, depositing his body there, covering it with animal remains and bleach and
burying him.
Mr Parsons, a former naval petty officer, was reported missing in 2017, aged 63, while on a charity cycle from his home in Tillicoultry to Fort William in the Highlands.
His remains were discovered in January 2021 in a remote area of ground close to a farm near the A82 at Bridge of Orchy.
Prosecutors allege that the brothers pretended that damage caused to the vehicle that struck Mr Parsons had been caused by a collision with a deer.
Alexander McKellar is also charged with causing the death of Mr Parsons by dangerous driving by driving at excessive speed during the hours of darkness when his ability to drive was impaired by alcohol, or an alternative charge of causing death by
driving without due care or attention while unfit through drink or drugs.
During a virtual hearing last November, his lawyer, Brian McConnachie KC, said that his client offered to plead guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and to a much reduced version of the attempting to defeat the ends of justice charge, but not
guilty to the murder charge, however, the Crown did not accept the plea.
Robert McKellar’s lawyer, John Scullion KC, entered not guilty pleas to the charges on his behalf during the hearing.
https://news.stv.tv/west-central/twin-brothers-to-stand-trial-accused-of-murdering-charity-cyclist-tony-parsons
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