Three men will stand trial next year accused of murdering their neighbour on his doorstep in North Ayrshire. John Taylor, 44, was found with fatal injuries outside his home in Kilwinning on October 18.
Emergency services pronounced Taylor dead at the scene in Pollock Crescent at around 1.55pm. Police immediately launched a murder investigation following the discovery.
Charges and allegations
Kieran Lindsay, 20, Marshall Strachan, 21, and Kiey O'Connor, 28, have all been charged with murder. The three men are accused of attacking Taylor with a knife at his home and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Prosecutors allege the men were masked when they carried out the fatal attack at the neighbouring address. Court paperwork lists a total of seven offences against the accused.
Drug dealing allegations
Lindsay and O'Connor face additional charges of dealing cocaine from an address on the same street for five days before the murder. Both men are also accused of dealing cannabis from other addresses in Ayrshire.
Lindsay faces a separate charge of dealing cocaine between August 1 and October 12. He is accused of five charges in total, including attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Cover-up attempts
The court heard allegations that Lindsay accompanied Strachan to Glasgow on October 18, where both allegedly turned off their mobile phones. Strachan is accused of disposing of a knife to pervert the course of justice.
Lindsay allegedly burned clothes at various locations including a beach in Troon and sites in Glasgow in the four days after the murder. He is also accused of telling his girlfriend to dispose of a knife and her mobile phone and SIM card "and not disclose what she knew" to avoid detection.
Trial arrangements
The day after the murder, O'Connor allegedly contacted someone on Facebook Messenger offering to sell his car for £40 and cannabis for £60 "to avoid detection, arrest and prosecution". At a preliminary hearing on Wednesday at the High Court in Glasgow, a trial date was set for June 22, 2026.
The trial is expected to last ten days at the same court. Lindsay and Strachan are both remanded at Polmont Young Offenders Institution.
Prosecutor Erin Campbell told the court that some witnesses who would normally give evidence remotely have been ordered to appear in person. "The reason those witnesses be allowed to come in person is I will variously be asking them to identify the accused," Campbell said. A preliminary hearing has been set for October 14 at the High Court in Glasgow.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
