Brothers jailed for charity cyclist's death and hiding the body

A drink-driver who admitted killing a charity cyclist in Argyll by hitting him and abandoning him by the side of the main road to the West Highlands has been sentenced to 12 years in prison

Alexander McKellar, 31, caused the death of 63-year-old Tony Parsons by hitting him with his car on the A82 near Bridge of Orchy, on September 29, 2017.

Originally charged with murdering Mr Parsons, McKellar pleaded guilty to an amended charge of culpable homicide.

McKellar and his twin brother Robert also admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice at the High Court in Glasgow last month.

Robert McKellar was sentenced to five years and three months in jail.

READ MORE: How Tony's body was discovered after 3 years

Drunk driver

McKellar admitted driving on the A82 at "excess speed and when unfit through alcohol".

With "reckless disregard" for the consequences of his actions, he left Mr Parsons by the side of the road "in a remote location during the hours of darkness and in inclement weather", causing his death.

The court heard in a narrative last month how some time between September 29, 2017 and January 3, 2021, the McKellar brothers returned to the A82 and moved Mr Parsons's body to the Auch Estate and buried him with an excavator in a peat bog where animal carcasses were disposed of.

Police launched a major investigation following a tip-off from a woman McKellar had begun a relationship with in 2020, the court heard.

She had asked him if there was anything from his past that may affect their relationship, and he told her he had hit Mr Parsons with an Isuzu D-Max pick-up while speeding.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice KC told the court that McKellar had said to the woman that he had been "distracted" by headlights and struck something on the side of the A82, which turned out to be Mr Parsons.

Red Bull can clue left for police

The woman left a can of Red Bull in the area where Mr Parsons's body had been hidden and detectives later found the scene.

The brothers also hid Mr Parsons's bicycle behind a waterfall on the Auch Estate but this has never been recovered, the court heard.

The two men were arrested on December 20, 2020 and Mr Parsons's body was recovered for forensic investigation in January 2021.

Mr Parsons was killed while on a 100-mile charity cycle from his home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, to Fort William.

A missing persons inquiry was launched on October 2, 2017 when he failed to return home.

The cyclist's family released a statement after the guilty pleas, saying he loved "nothing more" than spending time with his grandchildren.

The statement said: "As you can imagine, not knowing what has happened to someone and then the devastating news that we were provided has taken its toll on all of us as a family.

"At last justice has been done and we would like to thank not only the court officials and officers from Police Scotland's major investigation team, Forth Valley Division; and other Police Scotland departments who worked on this case, but all the volunteers and mountain rescue teams who tirelessly searched for him in the earlier stages of the inquiry."

Ruth McQuaid, Procurator Fiscal for High Court, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said:

“These brothers failed in their attempts to obstruct and evade justice.

“These were heinous and calculating crimes which brought untold distress to Mr Parsons’ wife, children, and grandchildren. 

“They were left in the intolerable situation of not knowing where he was or what had happened to him.

“The fact that Anthony’s disappearance was subject to a major missing persons enquiry for several years meant his family were left in the dark over his whereabouts.

“But all the time, Alexander and Robert McKellar were going about their everyday lives knowing that, in fact, he was dead and that they had buried him amongst animal carcasses.

“They kept this secret with wilful disregard for Mr Parson’s family. 

“Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by the unconscionable and brutal actions of these two men.”

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