The lead detective on the Ean Coutts ‘body in the warehouse’ murder case says he’ll never forget the “menacing stare” of killer David Barnes.
Detective Inspector Scott Roxburgh was the crime scene manager in charge of the location where army veteran Ean Coutts’ remains were discovered in September 2020.
The partially mummified skeletal remains, which had been set on fire, were dumped in a derelict warehouse in Glenrothes, five miles from the dead man’s Kinglassie home.
DI Roxburgh, featured on recent BBC documentary – Murder Trial – Body In The Warehouse, traced the trial of David Barnes who was found guilty of murdering Coutts.
Fife detective will never forget killer David Barnes’ ‘lack of emotion’
Barnes was sentenced to life in prison for killing the 60-year-old.
He hid the body in a wheelie bin before dumping the charred remains at Whitehill Industrial Estate.
Barnes then assumed the dead man’s identity on 91 occasions to gain around £5,000 in cash.
Speaking exclusively to The Courier in the wake of the BBC documentary, DI Roxburgh recalled the killers’ “menacing stare” as he looked over members of the victim’s family.
“I was struck by the complete lack of emotion as he sat just yards away from myself and Ean Coutts’ relatives,” said DI Roxburgh.
“Barnes’ menacing stare as he eyeballed Ean Coutts’s loved ones in the public gallery is something I won’t forget.
“There was not even a flicker of emotion from Barnes while the charges were read out in court, and he sat pretty much emotionless throughout the trial.”
“I’ve attended many trials to give evidence, but it’s always a nervous time attending court as you are constantly going over in your mind whether you have done enough to get the conviction,” recalls.
DI Roxburgh spent a month searching derelict Glenrothes warehouse
In charge of a vast crime scene at the derelict industrial estate in Glenrothes, DI Roxburgh and the team meticulously sifted through thousands of items for clues to who the body was and how it had got there.
“We searched the warehouse where the remains were found as well as the wider site and ended up being there a month due to the complexities and sheer amount of items at the site,” recalled DI Roxburgh.
“Every single leaf, every piece of rubbish, every inch of ground both inside the warehouse was searched.
“There were thousands of items that could potentially yield a clue and had to be logged and secured.
“Looking back, it’s mindblowing to think how much material had to be checked.”
“However, that meticulous approach and dedication by detectives eventually brought significant results.
“For instance, a scrap of paper with an Edinburgh address that eventually linked the killer with Whitehill estate is just one example of why that work had to be done.”
Forensic experts were able to determine from soil samples how long the remains had been there.
DI Roxburgh also recounted the emotional moment when he saw the facial reconstruction of Coutts undertaken by John Moores University in Liverpool.
“You want that image immediately but have to accept it takes around two weeks for the experts to complete the facial reconstruction.
“I was on my way home at the end of the week when I got the alert that the reconstruction had been completed.
“I raced to open the email and remember the adrenaline at that first sight, how the person would have looked.
“It was a massive moment in the case as almost immediately after that image was released to the public, we had a council worker come forward with the name of Ean Coutts.
Circumstantial evidence key in conviction of Ean Coutts’ killer
“I can’t overstate the importance of that moment.
“It also gave a huge boost to the morale of the investigation team and helped everyone push on.”
While it was never determined how Ean Coutts came to his death, it was the weight of circumstantial evidence gathered by the investigation team that helped convict Barnes of the appalling crime.
“The jury deliberated for about three hours then the call comes over the tannoy that there’s a verdict,” said DI Roxburgh.
“I’m not an emotional person, but I’ll admit there was a rush of emotions and a lump in my throat, and I can remember the relief I felt for everyone involved.
“It’s the culmination of all the effort that resulted in bringing Barnes to justice.
“That’s ultimately why we do it.
“I see it as a privilege to do that for the families and hopefully bring them some level of closure.”
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