Man guilty of brutal killing of Ayr woman Susan Turner

One man has been convicted of the brutal murder of Ayr woman Susan Turner.

Today, a jury returned a verdict of guilty to Ryan Hill for his part in the March 2023 death of Ms Turner at a flat in the Nursery Hall area of the town.

However, co-accused Jason Bell was acquitted of the charge, with the jury returning a ‘Not Proven’ verdict.

During the three-week trial at the High Court of Glasgow, a third accused, Michelle Ramage, changed her plea to guilty, finally admitting to the horrific killing after almost two years.

Susan Turner was found in the flat of Jason Bell with over 130 injuries on March 27th, 2023.

These included stab wounds, with a forensic pathologist telling the court she most likely died through a compression of her neck.

Early in the the trial, the jury heard Mr Bell left his flat on the night of March 25th.

This was corroborated by statements from witnesses, including from Mr Bell's brother.

It took the jury more than a day to convict Hill, dismissing his continued denial of his involvement.

As the verdict was read out, 27-year-old Hill shook his head from the dock.

Lord Mulholland then called Ramage to the court, while at the same time telling Mr Bell he was free to go.

He said: “You have been convicted of the brutal murder of a defenceless woman.

“The injuries suffered by this woman were catastrophic during a sustained attack.

“This was kin to torture and was clearly designed to demean her as a woman.

“She must have been in agony.

“The sentence for murder is life imprisonment, and that’s a sentence that will be handed down to you.”

After the guilty verdict, the court heard Ramage had 37 previous convictions, including one for abduction in 2010.

Hill had 11 previous convictions, including being on bail for serious injury and disfigurement at the time of the murder.

The jury was also told Susan Turner is survived by three children, aged 23, 14 and nine-years-old.

The charge against the three accused included detaining Ms Turner against her will, punching and kicking her to the head, pulling her along the floor by the hair before cutting her hair, removing her clothing and stabbing her with scissors and a knife.

The jury also agreed the evidence showed they had hit Ms Turner on the head and body with mugs, a bat, a golf club, a chain and a radio.

After the guilty verdict, the court heard Ramage had 37 previous convictions, including one for abduction in 2010.

Hill had 11 previous convictions, including being on bail for serious injury and disfigurement at the time of the murder.

Ramage, and Hill will be sentenced on March 13th, following background checks.