Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Oban alleged murder victim named as 73-year-old Martyn Smith

Post Thumbnail

An alleged murder victim who died after an incident in Oban has been named as 73-year-old Martyn Smith.

Police were called to Columba Court off Castle Road in the Dunollie area of the town on Monday after reports of an elderly man being seriously injured following an altercation between neighbours.

Mr Smith, a resident of Columba Court, was taken to Lorn and Islands Hospital where he died.

Oskars Rancevs, 32, appeared in private at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Tuesday charged with murder.

Police are investigating whether the death of another elderly man in the same block of flats on the same day is connected.

The body of a 75-year-old man was found in a flat in Columba Court at 8pm on Monday. The man has been named locally as John White.

His death is still being treated by police as unexplained, however it is believed he had a heart attack.

Man facing murder charge following Oban incident

Mr Smith lived on a boat before moving into Columba Court. He was not from the Oban area. He kept his boat at Puffin Dive Centre in the town.

Mr White was a taxi driver. Oban Councillor Roddy McCuish said: “I understand Mr White called the police about Monday’s incident. I believe he was told to lock his door.

“He was well respected in the town and a very popular taxi driver. He was a quiet unassuming man who went about his business.

“I did not know Mr Smith. Obviously it is dreadful that this has happened and my sympathies go out to both families.”


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Marri Malloy, chairwoman of Oban Community Council, said: “It’s tragic. I understand that the second man was phoning the police when he died of a heart attack.

“It is tragic for both families.

“To have two deaths in the one street is never heard of in Oban. It’s barely heard of to have one sudden death in Oban never mind two. Oban is a small place where you never hear of anything like this.

“It is such a shame. Everyone is very shocked that something like this has happened in Oban. We all feel that.”

Forensic police officers were still working in a cordoned off area of Castle Road and Columba Court last night.