Man jailed for life for murder of Fife army veteran

A man who murdered an army veteran and dumped his body in a disused building has been told he will spend at least 23 years in jail.

David Barnes killed Ean Coutts in 2019 before taking his body to the industrial unit near Glenrothes, Fife.

He later pretended to be Mr Coutts as he stole £5,000 from his bank account.

Barnes was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years at the High Court in Edinburgh after earlier being found guilty of murder.

Mr Coutts' body was only discovered 12 months after his death by an urban explorer who was taking photos at the Whitehill Industrial Unit.

He had attempted to help Barnes get a job and was paying him to carry out renovations at his home in Kinglassie prior to his murder on 3 September 2019.

An earlier trial heard how Barnes removed Mr Coutts' body from the property in a wheelie bin.

He then drove to the industrial unit where he abandoned Mr Coutts' remains in a cupboard.

On the first day of proceedings urban explorer James Fenton, 37, said he was looking around the industrial unit, when he saw what he thought were animal bones or a prop.

He called the police when he saw a skull among the debris.

During the trial, the court heard how Barnes assumed Mr Coutts' identity and withdrew the victim's money from his bank, which he then used to buy "goods and services".

He also lied to neighbours and friends that the dead man was still alive - and even posed as Mr Coutts when contacting his family on the day of his daughter's wedding.

Barnes was originally standing trial on a total of 36 charges, including allegations of theft and fraud.

However, prosecutors later withdrew those charges and he was convicted of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Sentencing him, Lord Mulholland told Barnes that Mr Coutts was someone who "did him no harm".

He said: "You thought you would get away with these appalling crimes.

"You lied about Ean Coutts whereabouts, pretending he was on an extended holiday in Morocco or with his sister in England.

"You even contacted his family on his daughter's wedding day pretending to be him and looking for money.

"It was an act of deception and arrogance.

"The finding of the body by the urban explorer resulted in the unravelling of your lies exposing your crimes and, you, as a murderer."