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28th July 2023
02:32pm BST
A drink driver has admitted killing a cyclist and then burying his body to conceal the crime.
Alexander McKellar was speeding and had been drinking when he struck 63-year-old charity cyclist Tony Parsons in Argyll, Scotland, in September 2017.
The 31-year-old, with the help of his twin brother, Robert McKellar, then hid the body in a grave in the Auch Estate near Bridge of Orchy.
Parsons' remains were not found until January 2021.
The Sun reported that the case was cracked when McKellar made a Christmas confession to his fiancée who was so sickened she called police.
A source told the publication: "His fiancée asked if he had any secrets to reveal before they got married but obviously she wasn’t expecting that bombshell.
“He’d hidden it for more than three years. Only Alexander and his twin brother knew until then."
According to a report by the BBC, Parsons' family said it has been "heartbreaking" to live with so many unanswered questions over the six years since he went missing.
The High Court in Glasgow was told McKellar collided with Parsons on the A82 between Bridge of Orchy and Tyndrum on 29 September 2017, but did not seek medical assistance for him.
Instead the damaged vehicle and his phones were dumped at the nearby Auch Estate.
The brothers then returned to the roadside where Parsons was still lying and placed him, his bike, and belongings in the back of their truck.
The court was told the brothers returned to Auch Estate and hid Parsons' body in the woods. Later the body was moved to another location used for "the purposes of disposing dead animals."
The brothers had been due to stand trial accused of Parsons' murder.
But McKellar pled guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide. His brother had his not-guilty plea to murder accepted.
The pair both admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
Parsons' family said in a statement that he was "a much-loved husband, dad and grandad".
They said: "When he said goodbye and set off on his charity cycle from Fort William that Friday, none of us expected it to be the last time we would be able to see or speak to him.
"Throughout the six years since he went missing and then the subsequent criminal investigation, we had been left with many unanswered questions and it has been heartbreaking for each and every member of the family being unable to get these answers. "
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."
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