A killer has been convicted of murdering a man in his own home and hiding his remains at an industrial unit.
David Barnes, 33, killed 60-year-old Ean Coutts at his home on Main Street in Kinglassie, Fife, in September 2019. The brute went on to torch his body before transporting it via a wheelie bin to an industrial unit nearly five miles away in Glenrothes.
Barnes then committed a series of frauds and theft - including pretending to be Ean at a premises in Fife, applying for finance in his name and also using the dead man's bank account to withdraw cash. Ean's body wasn't discovered until a year later when it was found by chance at the Whitehill Industrial Estate on September 27, 2020.
It took a further three months for the remains to be identified. The breakthrough was made following extensive enquiries, including the release of a facial reconstruction created by experts at Liverpool John Moores University.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday, November 15, Barnes, from Glenrothes, was convicted of murder and attempting to pervert the ends of justice.
Detective Inspector Scott Roxburgh from Police Scotland said: “This was a long and complex enquiry and I want to thank everyone involved. Barnes acted in a callous manner, killing Ean and then pretending to be the dead man. He disposed of the body in a horrific way, even setting fire to it to try to dispose of the remains, leaving it in an inaccessible place so that it was only by chance it was found.
“It took a facial reconstruction for us to be able to identify Eon and I hope the court result brings some kind of closure for his family and those who knew him.”
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