Robert Bayne

Case overview

Robert Bayne was convicted in the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh of murdering 17-year-old Zoe Nelson and of a second charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

His murder was committed in the Cambusnethan suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland on 22 May 2010. Zoe Nelson’s extensively burned remains were found in woodland near a colliery spoil heap known locally as Monkey Hill after her killer constructed a pyre in an attempt to destroy evidence. Her cause of death was officially recorded as “unascertained”, with forensic evidence indicating that “some form of throttling or suffocating” was the most probable cause of death.

Bayne was found guilty on 25 March 2011 and sentenced on 27 April 2011 to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of twenty years, for the murder. He received a concurrent six-year sentence for the second charge.

Timeline

• 22 May 2010 — Zoe Nelson disappeared after leaving her home and walking off with Bayne.
• 23 May 2010 — Zoe Nelson’s extensively charred remains were found in woodland at Monkey Hill.
• 24 May 2010 — Police launched a murder inquiry.
• 25 March 2011 — Bayne was found guilty by a jury of murder and of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
• 27 April 2011 — Bayne was sentenced to life imprisonment (minimum 20 years) and received a concurrent six-year sentence for the second charge.
• August 2011 — Bayne launched an appeal against his conviction.
• 6 January 2012 — Bayne’s appeal against his sentence was dismissed.

The offence

Bayne assaulted Zoe Nelson in a wooded area near Branchalfield Drive, Cambusnethan, striking her on the body with a knife, repeatedly hitting her, putting a plastic sheet over her head to restrict her breathing, and by means unknown injuring her before setting her on fire.

Police and pathologists found that a heavy duty plastic sheet had been partly melted on to the facial area and that the body lay on a makeshift pyre.

The second charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice included washing or disposing of clothes he had worn at the time of the alleged murder, disposing of Nelson’s mobile phone, and threatening her sister Laura Anne. The trial evidence also described the setting fire to Zoe’s body as an attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the murder.

Victim

Zoe Nelson was seventeen years old. She was a motor vehicle repair student at Motherwell College. She lived with her mother, stepfather and younger sister at Crindledyke Crescent, Newmains, on the eastern edge of Wishaw.

During the trial, it also emerged that Zoe’s sister had withheld the identity of the killer for five days.

Background and relationships

Zoe Nelson and her 16-year-old sister Laura Anne were both involved in relationships with the same man, 20-year-old Robert “Rab” Bayne, who lived with his grandparents in Harper Crescent, Cambusnethan.

Zoe’s elder sister also dated another local man, Ross Hemphill.

Marieann Nelson, Zoe’s mother, described an argument outside the family home at around 5pm on 22 May. She said:

"Laura Anne ran out and flicked Zoe's hair and tried to slap her face and the two of them ended up having a fight at the end of the driveway. I split it up. I said 'Go away you cow and don't come back'. She said she wouldn't come back."

Isobel Park, Zoe’s stepsister, said Zoe and Bayne seemed “a bit intoxicated” and that Laura Anne had been upset as “she was supposed to be seeing Rab as well.”

Investigation

Body discovery and initial description

At 4.20pm on Sunday 23 May 2010 an off-road motorcyclist spotted what he initially described as “a sort of charred tailor's dummy” in woodland at Monkey Hill, near Branchalfield Drive, Cambusnethan, Wishaw. As he approached, he realised it was a corpse. He testified:

"At first I thought it was a mannequin and what struck me was the leg, possibly the left leg. I could see bone there. Tailor's dummies don't have bones."

He described the body as extensively charred and said he was unable to tell if it was that of a male or female. He telephoned police and led officers to the scene. Detective Sergeant (DS) Clifford Neil of Strathclyde Police described the scene as “gruesome.”

The body lay on a makeshift pyre and had heavy duty plastic sheet partly melted on to the facial area.

Launch of a murder inquiry

Strathclyde Police launched a murder inquiry led by Detective Superintendent (D/Supt) Derek Robertson of the force’s Major Investigation Unit on 24 May following the results of a post-mortem examination.

Forensic examination and cause of death

Forensic scientist Laura Wilcock, with specialist expertise in examining suspicious fires, concluded that the body could have been burning for up to seven hours and that very little of it was undamaged by the burning.

DNA evidence was developed from the palm of the right hand, which remained relatively undamaged and was swabbed for DNA evidence. The tequila cap and bottle were also relevant to DNA findings.

Dr. Julia Bell, a forensic pathologist at the University of Glasgow Medical School, told the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh that the possibilities for a full post mortem were “limited” because the body was too badly burned, but that “some form of throttling or suffocating was the most probable cause of death, which was recorded as 'unascertained'”. In court, Bell said:

"There were findings at post-mortem consistent with assault, with such a manner of death in keeping with the circumstances in which her body was found. As to the actual mechanism of her death, perhaps the most likely cause has been some form of asphyxia. I cannot exclude the possibility that sharp force injury has been the cause of her death, or blunt force trauma."

Bell also testified:

"There were findings at post-mortem consistent with assault, with such a manner of death in keeping with the circumstances in which her body was found. As to the actual mechanism of her death, perhaps the most likely cause has been some form of asphyxia."

The trial also included findings about the absence of soot in quantities that would indicate breathing and the inability to carry out blood analysis that might have provided further proof.

Tequila and accelerant evidence

Near the body was the cap from a bottle of “Sierra Silver” tequila in the shape of a red plastic sombrero, and a corresponding empty bottle was found on the other side of a small path nearby.

Near one foot police found another bottle which was tested for traces of an accelerant.

Examination of the tequila bottle found a mix of Nelson’s blood and adipose tissue on the bottle. Forensic scientist Marie Campbell stated that this was normally the result of a wounding injury causing bleeding and body fat to become mixed, and that similar results were observed on knives examined after stabbings. She also said the stains on the tequila bottle:

"did not have the distinctive pattern she would have expected" if the bottle had been used directly as a weapon.

Interviews and early inquiries

Police enquiries focused on the time between when Zoe left home on Saturday evening around 5pm and when she was last seen before 4.20pm on Sunday.

On 24 May D/Supt Robertson said:

"[Zoe] was a popular girl and well known in the area. From our enquiries so far, we know Zoe left home on Saturday evening around 5pm. We would obviously be very keen to find out where she was, and who she was with, between then and 4.20pm on Sunday. She was last seen wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a white, long sleeved T-shirt and black Nike trainers... We will interview friends, her boyfriend and all her associates."

Ross Hemphill was interviewed and ruled out as a suspect.

Police checked CCTV and telephone records, interviewed friends and family, and carried out house-to-house enquiries. Witnesses reported seeing a fire on Monkey Hill at around 11.20pm on the night of the murder. D/Supt Robertson said:

"We know there was a fire at 11.20pm on Saturday in exactly the spot where Zoe was found. You would need local knowledge to go there. We firmly believe the answers in this case lie in this community... It had only got dark at 10pm and it was the hottest day of the year so there must have been people around this area."

Use of “new media”

On 26 May police said there had been “a poor response to their appeals” and launched a dedicated email address and SMS text number, citing concerns that witnesses may have been too afraid to come forward. They said they hoped the move would “tempt witnesses from the so-called 'Bebo generation'” to become involved, noting that “dozens of people have flooded Zoe's page on the social networking site with tributes” and officers were “desperate to tap into their local knowledge”.

D/Supt Robertson said:

"The response so far has been slower than we would have liked... We hope that by offering new ways to contact the investigation team more people will come forward."

Detective Constable (DC) Jennifer Bell, previously seconded to the Metropolitan Police Service’s SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, examined hours of recovered CCTV footage for sightings of Nelson. She eventually located an image of Nelson taken inside a Scotmid Co-operative store on Manse Road, Newmains at 5.30pm on 22 May. Police also received a confirmed sighting of her at 5.40pm on Cambusnethan Street, walking towards the Cambusnethan area.

The CCTV stills of Nelson were released to the public on 27 May and police announced that they had set up a page on Bebo, “in a bid to engage with young people who may know something which could be useful to the inquiry,” particularly those teenagers who may have been reluctant to speak directly to police.

D/Supt Robertson explained that police were using new media for the first time in a murder investigation and reassured potential witnesses with:

"If there are people out there underage drinking, I don't care. If there are people where they shouldn't be, I don't care. This is a violent murder investigation and we need to solve it."

Witness sightings and alleged violence

By 28 May several witness reports had been received by police.

One witness reported Nelson had been with a man who was “very drunk” and was violent towards her, “punching her on the head”.

Other witnesses reported seeing Nelson walk past a garden with a man with a tattooed face, with one witness saying:

"He just looked angry," and that he was “punching a lamp post” and saying he was going to “kill some cunt tonight.”

Another witness reported the man said he would “end up killing someone tonight.” Another witness said he told Nelson:

"This is all your fucking fault" while pointing angrily in her face.

A fourteen-year-old girl saw them together “boozing behind Newmains Asda.” She said he was bare-chested and sunburnt and told her his name was “Rab Bayne” and had “asked me to rate his body, like out of ten.” She described them drinking alcohol that they claimed was stolen, with the male drinking tequila and Nelson drinking vodka.

A passer-by reported seeing Nelson with a man with a facial tattoo outside the Scotmid store in Newmains. The passer-by said Nelson was rubbing suntan lotion onto his sunburned back which was “red as a lobster” and said:

"She didn't look too happy. I thought it was a boyfriend-girlfriend thing. They must have got something in the shop, sun tan lotion, because as they were walking away the girl was rubbing something onto his shoulders."

A shirtless, sunburned man with a tattooed face was seen “wandering aimlessly” in Cambusnethan attracting a family’s attention while they watched the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final on television. One of the group said:

"What attracted attention was his hairstyle and his back was very, very red from the sun."

Police also received information that Robert Bayne had telephoned an acquaintance on 24 May and asked for help to “batter” the last people to see Nelson. The call was described as being made before the body had been identified. The witness said:

"He asked me to help him batter [Ross Hemphill and Stewart Campbell, who he claimed were the last to see Zoe]. I don't know why he said this because we didn't know it was Zoe who was found."

Arrest and pre-trial proceedings

Just before 6pm on 28 May Robert Bayne walked into the police incident caravan at Wishaw and said he wanted to make a statement. PC Robert Davie said:

"The male appeared to be quite intoxicated. He was slurring his words."

Bayne said he had been to Motherwell several days previously and that on the return journey a man called Stewart Campbell had got onto the bus. He told PC Davie:

"I went up to Stewart Campbell and said to him 'Were you with Zoe on Saturday night?'" to which he claimed Campbell replied: "Aye, I killed her."

Detectives walked into the caravan and immediately detained Bayne by snapping handcuffs on him.

On the morning of 29 May Strathclyde Police issued a statement:

"A 20-year-old man has been arrested and is presently detained in police custody in connection with the death [of Zoe Nelson]. A full report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal."

Bayne was detained in custody to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court on 1 June 2010. At the subsequent brief court hearing Bayne made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody.

During police interviews following his arrest, Bayne insisted that the last time he had seen Nelson was on the morning of 22 May “after a chance meeting,” when he went to a local newsagent to buy cigarettes. He claimed he then spent the rest of the day at home in Cambusnethan.

At a preliminary hearing at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh on 1 December 2010, Bayne entered not guilty pleas to all charges and a trial date was set for February 2011.

On 8 January 2011 Bayne was transferred to HMP Greenock, where he was segregated from the main prison population for his own safety.

Trial

Charges

Bayne was charged that in a wooded area near Branchalfield Drive, Cambusnethan, he assaulted Zoe Nelson of Newmains, striking her on the body with a knife, repeatedly hitting her, putting a plastic sheet over her head to restrict her breathing and by means unknown injuring her and setting her on fire.

He was also charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice by washing or disposing of clothes he had worn at the time of the alleged murder, disposing of Nelson’s mobile phone, and threatening her sister Laura Anne.

Bayne elected not to take the witness stand during the trial.

Laura Anne Nelson evidence

Laura Anne Nelson was Zoe’s sister. It emerged during the trial that she had been shown Zoe’s body by Bayne on the morning after her murder but had kept this information from the police for five days.

Laura Anne gave evidence from behind a screen to prevent her from seeing Bayne. She did not relay the information until she made her third statement to police on 28 May, the day of Bayne’s arrest.

Laura Anne said she had gone to Bayne’s address on the morning after Nelson disappeared to return articles of clothing. She said Bayne appeared “jumpy” and was drinking vodka. Shortly after, she said Bayne led her to the area where he had killed Nelson and pointed out the blackened body. She said she knew it was her sister because she recognised a Rangers F.C. tattoo on her arm.

In her statement she said:

"At Monkey Hill Rab said to me 'I hit her with my hands. She tried to hit me back.' Rab also said 'I burned her with petrol.'"

In court, she said she kept silent because she was terrified of Bayne. Neil Murray QC for the defence produced other police statements in court in which she denied she had been threatened, admitted she had been out with Bayne on the day after the body was discovered, and had subsequently visited Bayne and spent some time in his bedroom listening to music. The court heard that she spent about an hour on the telephone to him.

A friend also described her as happy and normal during the period of silence.

When asked why she had not told police when she was first interviewed, she said:

"I did not tell them about this because I was scared my mum would not believe me and think it was me who killed Zoe."

Additional family testimony

Bayne’s grandmother testified that on the day the body was discovered, Laura Anne did not visit and Bayne did not leave the house except to go with her to a local supermarket.

Verdict

On 25 March 2011 the jury returned unanimous verdicts of guilty on both charges.

As the verdicts were read out, handcuffed Bayne fought with security guards and police officers, headbutting one of them, and shouted abuse at Laura Anne Nelson. He shouted:

"You have fucking got me for fuck all. You're a fucking wee cow. You're dead."

The judge Lady Dorrian QC ordered the public to be cleared from the court and directed that the hearing continue without Bayne who was detained in the court cells below.

Sentencing was deferred for psychiatric and social background reports.

Sentencing

On 27 April 2011 Bayne was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of twenty years, for the murder.

He was sentenced to six years for the second charge, to be served concurrently.

The case notes that he was currently detained at HMP Edinburgh following sentencing.

In remarks reported later, Judge Lady Dorrian told Bayne:

"This was an appalling crime, the circumstances of which are properly to be described as shocking."

Appeals and outcomes

Bayne launched an appeal against his conviction in August 2011, alleging a lack of evidence about Nelson’s cause of death. The appeal was subsequently abolished.

Bayne then appealed against his sentence, claiming the 20-year minimum term was excessive. The appeal was dismissed on 6 January 2012 by Lord Reed and Lord Brodie at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.

In the context of refusing the appeal, Lord Reed said:

"The sentence was arguably at the upper end of the range, but that reflects her assessment of the gravity of the case having heard the evidence over a number of weeks,"

and also:

"The exact cause of death could not be determined. The evidence suggested that in all likelihood the girl was dead before her body was set on fire."

He further stated:

"The sentencing judge described this as the brutal murder of a 17-year-old girl, as it plainly was. Criminal record" and "The age of the girl and her vulnerability are aggravating factors to be reflected in the sentence imposed."

Lord Reed referred to Bayne’s criminal record and described steps taken to avoid detection as particularly serious in the burning of the body. He also said:

"The steps taken to avoid detection are particularly serious in the present case as the burning of the body would be especially distressing to the family of the deceased."

He said prior appeal court authority indicated certain types of murder attract minimum sentences in the range of 20 years, adding:

"We accept these are indeed suitable examples, but by no means exhaustive."

Aftermath and reactions

Following the verdict, it was revealed that Bayne had been released from prison after serving an 18-month sentence for assault and robbery in Hamilton seven weeks before he murdered Nelson. The case records that he had previously been imprisoned on four occasions after convictions for drugs charges, assault and theft.

After the verdicts, D/Supt Derek Robertson made a statement:

"Zoe Nelson was a young 17-year-old girl with everything to live for. She had many friends and a loving family in Newmains. Robert Bayne ruthlessly took her life and tried to dispose of her body in a cold-blooded attack. This was a particularly horrific crime and now that Bayne has been convicted, Zoe's family and the local community can hopefully try and move forward knowing [he] will not be a threat for a considerable period of time. He showed no remorse for his vile actions or the effect this murder had on Zoe's close family, who remain devastated by her loss. When the verdict was raised you saw what he can do. So the streets will be a lot safer, and hopefully the Nelson family can move on knowing that he is behind bars."

Lady Dorrian said:

"This has been... a somewhat distressing case and a stressful one."

Zoe’s uncle, Steven Hynes, told reporters:

"It's a relief to know he's in prison but it's not justice. He should be tortured like he tortured Zoe."

Bayne’s grandmother said:

"I am so incredibly sorry about what happened. The lives of two families have been ruined by this tragedy."

When Bayne was sentenced, Zoe’s aunt Shirley Nelson, 35, was reported to have said:

"A life should mean a life. We should go back to the old days and bring back hanging," and: "All we can say now that all this is over is, as a family, we would like to thank everyone for the help and support that has been given to us all. " and: "Now, as a family, we have to come to terms with the fact that we will never see Zoe again as her life was cut short at the evil hands of Robert Bayne."

After the verdict, there were reports of Bayne’s conduct in custody and in court, including kicking and punching windows of a security van while being transferred, and lashing out during a hate-filled tantrum at the prison reception.

Other details

Additional allegations mentioned in the trial reporting

Reports around the trial described that jurors deleted from the murder charge an allegation that a knife had been used, and that the jury found the fire was used to cover up evidence rather than to kill. The trial evidence also included that the cause of death was “unascertained,” and that tests for drugs were negative with only tiny traces of alcohol in Zoe’s body.

It was also said that Bayne was accused of punching Zoe on the head and scratching her and of committing a breach of the peace by threatening her, and that there was evidence Bayne disclosed the whereabouts of Zoe’s body to her sister and threatened Laura Anne, implying he would kill her if she told what she had seen.

Statements about Bayne’s conduct and description

Reporting described Bayne as a “jealous control freak” who showered three times a day and often changed his clothes because he was obsessed with keeping clean. It also described dirt on his hands and face in the aftermath of Zoe’s death, and referenced a tattoo on his face.

Bayne’s counsel at the sentencing appeal was described as Chris Shead, and another defence advocate at trial was Neil Murray QC.