Former Royal Navy officer Tony Parsons’ killer, Alexander McKellar, pleads guilty six years after he hit and killed charity cyclist in Scotland

The can of Red Bull left at the site where Alexander McKellar had buried the body of charity cyclist Tony Parsons. Photo / Crown Office

A killer’s girlfriend used a Red Bull can to help police find a remote shallow grave where he had buried a charity cyclist three years earlier, a court has heard.

Alexander McKellar, known as Sandy, led his partner to the grave after she asked in November 2020 if there was anything in his past which may affect their future together.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that McKellar admitted to her he had hit a cyclist in September 2017 while driving at excessive speed and under the influence.

He told her he had panicked and returned to the scene in a different vehicle with his twin brother, Robert, to recover the body of Tony Parsons, a 63-year-old former Royal Navy officer.

The killer drove his girlfriend to a desolate peat bog area in the 3640ha Auch Estate in Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute, and showed her the site of the shallow grave where they had buried him.

Alexander McKellar (left) and his twin brother Robert McKellar (right). Photo / Police Scotland

She left the Red Bull can at the site as a marker and contacted the police. The court heard that Parsons’ body would probably never have been found if McKellar had not confessed.

Police discovered the body in January 2021, more than three years after Parsons was killed. His initial disappearance had triggered a huge missing person investigation, which included a TV appeal by his son on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

Both the McKellar brothers, aged 31, had been due to stand trial accused of Parsons’ murder but Alexander pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.

His brother had his not-guilty plea to murder accepted. Along with Alexander, Robert admitted to a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Parsons’ family and friends returned to court on Friday to hear prosecutor Alex Prentice KC read out a one-hour narrative detailing their crimes and how they were eventually caught.

Roger Jones, 75, who served alongside Parsons in the Royal Navy, described his friend as a “great person” and a “nice guy” and said that his disappearance had taken a big toll on his family.

Tony Parsons was killed on the A82 near Bridge of Orchy on September 29, 2017. Photo / Police Scotland

He told Sky News: “My personal opinion is, I’m disgusted with the whole thing. The fact that these two guys just basically let him die and then tried to cover it up – [I am] disgusted.”

Jones added that he was disappointed that Alexander McKellar’s charge had been reduced to culpable homicide.

Parsons had set out on a charity cycle ride as he wanted to give something back after having battled prostate cancer, which he had been diagnosed with in 2010.

He planned to ride through the night to complete a 160km journey from Fort William back to his home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, in one day.

Parsons travelled north by train on the morning of September 29, 2017, and sent messages at around 5pm to his wife, Margaret, confirming he had arrived and checking how she was. That was the last contact she had with her husband.

The court heard Parsons stopped off at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for a coffee at around 11pm that night. The owner tried to persuade him to book a room due to the awful weather conditions but he decided to continue.

The McKellar brothers had dined with a German hunting party at the hotel the same night. Alexander then set off home in an Isuzu pick-up truck with his brother as a passenger.

After the vehicle hit Parsons on the A82, Prentice told the court: “Alexander McKellar ascertained that Parsons – though severely injured – was still alive. He did not call the emergency services, preventing any prospect of him receiving treatment.”

Photo / Supplied

Without medical help, he said Parsons was unlikely to have survived more than 20 to 30 minutes due to his catastrophic injuries. The quickest emergency medical response in the area that night would have taken around an hour to arrive.

The twins fled and dumped their mobile phones, before returning to the scene in a Toyota. They put Parsons’ body and his bike in the vehicle and took them to the Auch Estate, where they hid the corpse in a wooded area.

It also emerged Alexander had sent texts to his then partner shortly after the collision stating: “Aw hun, I hit a deer in Robert’s pick up tonight. That’s all I needed.”

Anonymous letter sent to police

Prentice told the court: “After attending a shooting party the next day, the body was taken to a peaty area of the estate. A grave was dug and the body was placed in it and covered.

“The personal possessions of Parsons were also disposed of. Such was the location that if Alexander McKellar had not disclosed where the grave was, the remains are unlikely to have ever been found.”

In August 2018, police received an anonymous letter asking them to pay attention to the McKellar brothers as they had been in the hotel the night Parsons went missing.

Months later, officers spoke to the McKellars and asked if they had been involved in a road accident that evening but no further action was taken.

They were questioned again about Parsons’ disappearance in June 2020 and confirmed they had been in the hotel that night but insisted they had not seen the cyclist.

Three months later, Alexander started a relationship with a woman and in November that year she questioned him about his past.

Relaying McKellar’s confession, Prentice said: “Once a large hole was dug, the body was deposited within it and covered with soil.

“He said they destroyed the male’s phone [and] SIM card as well as burning his backpack, wallet and cycling helmet.”

The badly damaged Isuzu was repaired by “a friend of a friend” at a garage in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, with a repair bill of up to £3,000 ($6259).

After the woman alerted police, the search of the site began on December 30, 2020. Prentice said: “The Red Bull can was still present. The description of other landmarks were consistent with what was found at the site by officers.”

The can of Red Bull left at the site where Alexander McKellar had buried the body of charity cyclist Tony Parsons. Photo / Crown Office

Police enlisted the assistance of Prof Lorna Dawson, a soil expert who had previously helped catch killers including World’s End murderer Angus Sinclair.

During the dig, investigators initially discovered a segment of red material, which matched the jacket Parsons had been wearing. Between January 13 and 14, 2021, the body was “exposed and, with great care, recovered from the mechanically dug grave”.

Parsons was found to have suffered catastrophic rib, pelvic and spine fractures following the collision.

The rib injuries were considered to be the most immediate cause of death due to the effect it would have had on his breathing. The victim may also have suffered a collapsed lung.

The brothers were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced by judge Lord Armstrong next month.