The BBC’s latest crime documentary, Murder Case, The Vanishing Cyclist, has us firmly under its grip. The two-part series follows the harrowing story of a drunk hit-and-run in Scotland, all tangled up with the challenges of investigating a crime in such a rural location.
Tony Parsons was struck down by a speeding car near the Bridge of Orchy and Tyndrum in the Scottish Highlands on 29 September 2017. At the time, he was completing a 104-mile solo charity cycle ride from Fort William back to his hometown in Tillicoultry.
The grandfather, 63, was a retired naval officer. After previously being treated for prostate cancer, he was raising money for this cause.
But Mr Parsons never made it home.
What do we know about the McKellar twins?
Alexander McKellar, who was 25 at the time, was driving a car under the influence of alcohol with his twin brother, Robert, in the passenger seat. The pair grew up near Auch Estate in the Scottish Highlands.
After hitting Mr Parsons, the brothers didn’t call for medical assistance. Instead, they dumped the car and their phones at the Auch Estate nearby.
The twins then hid Tony’s body in the woods near Auch Estate, before moving him to a location typically used for disposing of dead animals. Mr Parson’s family were left in a life-shattering limbo for three long years, until one call changed everything.
Alexander confided in his girlfriend of two months, Caroline Muirhead, about the murder and took her to the grave site in 2020. Horrified, she secretly dropped a Red Bull can in the location of Mr Parson’s body. On 27 December 2020, she made a formal report to the police.
Where are Alexander and Robert McKella now?
In 2023, both men were put behind bars. Alexander was charged with murder, but his crime was downgraded to 12 years after he pleaded guilty to culpable homicide.
Robert pleaded guilty to trying to defeat the ends of justice, as his brother did, too, and was jailed for five years and three months.
The twin criminals could be eligible for parole, as their sentences were backdated to when they were arrested on 2 December 2021. This means that Robert could already be a free man and Alexander’s earliest release date would be Christmas 2027.
Watch Murder Case, The Vanishing Cyclist on BBC iPlayer
