A woman who lived with her killer fiancé to gather evidence against him is to launch legal action against the police.
Caroline Muirhead led police to the secret burial spot of Tony Parsons in the Auch Estate at Bridge of Orchy.
Mr Parsons was out on a charity cycle on the A82 when Alexander McKellar drunkenly struck him on September 29, 2017.
Over three years later, Alexander ‘Sandy’ McKellar took Ms Muirhead, who was his girlfriend at the time, to the site where he hid Mr Parsons’ body with the help of his twin brother Robert.
After this confession, Ms Muirhead became the key prosecution witness in the McKellar brother’s trial.
Gathering evidence against the brothers
She spent a month gathering more information – including finding out where the burial spot was and dropping a can of Red Bull at the site so it could be found by police.
She made a police report on December 27, 2020, and the twins were arrested – but they were released on bail three days later.
The forensic pathologist told the Daily Record she has since filed dozens of complaints about the police handling of the case.
She said she continued to live with her fiancé after his confession to help detectives gather evidence but claims she was pressurised into spying on the killer and was threatened with legal action if she did not cooperate.
She claims she wasn’t allowed to speak to friends or family about what was happening and even had to stop working due to a conflict of interest.
Once she made a recording of the twins discussing the crime on her laptop and sent it to the police while she was living with them on the estate.
But, Ms Muirhead said she felt pressured by the force to provide more information.
“They never said ‘you must record’ but it was heavily insinuated that the first one was so helpful,” she told the Daily Record.
“And they’d say ‘you must have more information, they must be talking about it. You’re with them all the time’.
“The police were doing surveillance on them the whole time. I didn’t have any mental health support, they said I wasn’t allowed any because it could compromise the case.”
Key witness was jailed herself
Ms Muirhead finally left in August 2021 and the twins were charged with murder in December of the same year.
However, she discovered that a judge had allowed a BBC documentary film crew into the court to film the McKellars’ murder trial due to begin at the end of last month.
She told police she didn’t want to appear on film, but claims she was told there would be consequences if she failed to turn up at court.
In a panic, she decided to flee and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
She says she was then taken into custody for two days, where she suffered a mental breakdown.
Her solicitor, Paul Kavanagh, told the Daily Record: “Without her there they didn’t have enough for the trial.
“She was absolutely crucial to the case and when I was asked to go and see her with my advocate we were shocked at the way she had been treated.”
Police confirm ‘number of outstanding complaints’
Last month, Alexander McKellar pled guilty to culpable homicide and his brother admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
The trial at the High Court in Glasgow was scrapped and Ms Muirhead said she has had no contact with officers or the courts service since.
She has now lodged dozens of complaints against the police handling of the investigation with the Crown Office, with eight being referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC).
A police spokesman confirmed complaints had been lodged.
He said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on these assertions as criminal proceedings have not concluded.
“There are a number of outstanding complaints which will be progressed at the conclusion of all criminal proceedings.”
The twins are due to be sentenced on Thursday.
