Men who drugged, raped and murdered young father jailed for life

Two men who drugged, raped and murdered a young father-of-four have been jailed for life.

Dylan Brister and Cameron Allan spiked Calum Simpson’s drink with Etizolam and bound his wrists with rope at a flat in Methil, Fife, before filming their "depraved" attack on a mobile phone.

Mr Simpson, 24, whose youngest child was born just 11 days previously, later died from intoxication caused by the combination of the class C drug and alcohol.

Brister, 28, who also admitted attacking two police officers, was told he will serve a minimum of 23 years, while Allan, 21, received a 19-year sentence after both were earlier found guilty of sexual assault, rape and murder.

Sentencing at the High Court in Dundee, judge Lord Harrower told the pair they had caused "terrible devastation” to Mr Simpson’s family.

He said: "There are so many milestones in the children’s lives that their father will no longer be able to share for reasons that cannot adequately be explained to them.

"No sentence of this court can alleviate the family’s grief and anguish."

The court heard the pair had been attempting to recruit a man to make up a threesome using the dating app Grindr, but their efforts had failed.

Mr Simpson had been with a friend before accompanying him to the flat on 3 November 2021.

His friend had later departed, leaving Mr Simpson alone with Brister and Allan.

Brister, who had won more than £20,000 gambling, had purchased 1,000 tablets of Etizolam, also known as "street valium," which he claimed he thought were diazepam.

The court was told the sedative was up to 10 times stronger than regular valium.

Brister had previously spiked the drink of one woman and placed tablets in the mouth of another without her consent.

Mr Simpson was rendered unconscious by the combination of the tablets and alcohol.

Allan claimed Mr Simpson had been conscious and consenting when he was tied up by the pair, but acknowledged they had continued their attack after he “passed out”.

The pair filmed several videos of their assault on a mobile phone, which were later deleted but officers from Police Scotland’s specialist cybercrime unit were able to retrieve the footage.

During the earlier trial, Brister told the court: "I won't dispute the fact that Calum passed out and we carried on. I didn't spike that boy, but yes, I gave him drugs.

"We raped him and continued to have sex. It is what it is, disgusting. It should never have happened. I am not going to make excuses."

Allan, meanwhile, said he was “disgusted” that the videos were taken, but said he "did not know he was doing something wrong” at the time.

After their attack, the pair left Mr Simpson unconscious before going to sleep. In the morning they found him cold and rigid.

However, before contacting the emergency services, the pair first concealed what remained of their drugs in a safe and handed it to a neighbour.

Ambulance personnel were called at 12:03 and confirmed Mr Simpson had died.

During the trial, Brister said he suffered from complex post-traumatic stress disorder and a personality disorder, and received anti-psychotic medication.

Allan said he was diagnosed with an attachment disorder after watching his mother die in a car accident when he was three.

In addition to their sentences, both men were placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

During sentencing, Lord Harrower said: "Whether or not you intended to kill Calum Simpson, you each revealed yourselves to be completely indifferent as to whether he lived or died.

"As a result, the jury would have been entitled to conclude that you displayed such a degree of wicked recklessness that what you did amounted to murder."

Lord Harrower excluded the jury from further service for life due to the evidence seen.

Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said:   "The depraved and predatory actions of Dylan Brister and Cameron Allan have robbed a family of their loving son, father, partner, nephew and grandson.

“They showed a blatant disregard for their victim’s safety and life by spiking his drink with drugs before subjecting him to the most harrowing sexual abuse."