Fife man convicted of murder & concealing remains in abandoned industrial estate

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday, David Barnes from the town, was convicted of murder and attempting to pervert the ends of justice.

Ean Coutts was killed at his home in Main Street in Kinglassie in September 2019 and 33-year old Barnes then used a wheelie bin to take him to the industrial estate where he concealed the body. Barnes then committed a series of frauds and theft, including pretending to be Ean at premises in Fife, applying for finance in his name and also using the dead man’s bank card to withdraw money from his bank account.

The body of Ean, aged 60, was found by chance at the Whitehill Industrial Estate in Glenrothes in September, 2020, but it took until December of that year for the remains to be identified.

Detective Inspector Scott Roxburgh 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.”