Police appeal over burnt man death

Detectives play down speculation of homophobic attack after Stuart Walker’s scorched body found on roadside in Ayrshire Police in Ayrshire are appealing for help in piecing together the final hours of a man whose burnt body was found on an industrial estate at the weekend, amid speculation in the local community that he may have been the victim of a homophobic attack. Stuart Walker, 28, of Cumnock in East Ayrshire, was found dead on Saturday morning by the side of a road in the town’s Caponacre industrial estate with “horrible injuries”. Walker had been out with friends in the former mining community on Friday night and was last seen by a family friend at about 2.30am on Saturday. His scorched body was found by the side of the road shortly before 5am. Strathclyde police said they were looking at all aspects of Walker’s life as they tried to establish why he was killed, but have played down fears that he may have been the victim of a homophobic attack. Police have said reports that he had been tied to a lamppost were incorrect. Detectives are checking CCTV footage and making door-to-door inquiries in an effort to trace Walker’s last movements. Detective Inspector John Hogg said: “It is imperative that we find out where he was between 2.30am and 4.50am, who he was with and why this happened to him. From our inquiries so far, we understand that there may have been a number of house parties in the nearby Netherthird housing estate in the early hours of the morning. At this time we do not know if these parties are linked to our investigation or not, so, again, any information on that is important.” The local MSP, Adam Ingram, said Walker was a well-known and well-liked young man within the community and the town was in shock at his murder. “Like the rest of the community I’m shocked and horrified at such a brutal and senseless murder on a young man who was very popular and well-liked within the community,” he said. “I just can’t understand how something like this could happen in such a close-knit community. Stuart was well known and I can’t understand why or how people could behave like this and perpetrate such an evil act on a young person. “Cumnock is the heart of the former coalfields community, who are renowned for being community-minded and for the close connections, so everyone knows everyone else – so it’s a really terrible shock that something like this could happen.” Ingam added: “Obviously there has been speculation that there was a homophobic element to this but the police certainly at this stage are not suggesting that that is the case.” A Facebook page set up in Walker’s memory has attracted hundreds of tributes. Karen Torbet, from Cumnock, wrote: “Well, sweetheart, I hope you are at peace. Can’t get that smiley face of yours out of my mind. You never passed without saying hello and I don’t think I have ever seen you with a grumpy face ever. My heart goes out to your family at this sad and very hard time.” Colin Macfarlane, director of Stonewall Scotland, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender support group, said it was important to wait until all the facts had been established in the case and appealed for anyone with information about Walker’s killing to contact the police. Macfarlane said that in the past five years there had been a five-fold increase in hate crimes against LGBT people in Scotland. While some of the increase may be attributable to new legislation identifying homophobic attacks as a hate crime, intimidation and violence was still a reality for many LGBT people, he said. “Every day people are targeted simply because of who they are and while some report this to the police many do not,” said Macfarlane. “We pride ourselves in thinking we’re a forward-thinking and tolerant nation but these figures clearly show that for many LGBT people this vision isn’t a reality.” Scotland Crime Kirsty Scott guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 24, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.