Anybody else up here remember this? At the time I remember him going missing while on a charity ride. But Christ; it never ceases to amaze/horrify me how people can possibly act.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-62913661

Can somebody explain to me how one of them can offer to plead to a lesser charge of obstruction but when that is refused by the crown then go full not guilty to charges that he would have admitted? What can he hope to gain at a jury trail?

Offering to plead is all part of the game, roll the dice and see if the prosecution authority goes for it. Not going to lose much by asking.

As far as I recall an offer to take a lesser charge isn’t admissible as evidence.

A lot can happen on a run up to a trial which could send it all sideways and if the worst comes to it he can always cop a good plea at or just before the start and get any discount allowable. At trial could go cut throat defence blames the other guy entirely, puts forward duress for the reason for assisting, all sorts of fun and games.

I remember seeing in the news last year about them finding the body and the various bits of backstory, but this is just something else.

Can somebody explain to me how one of them can offer to plead to a lesser charge of obstruction but when that is refused by the crown then go full not guilty to charges that he would have admitted? What can he hope to gain at a jury trail?

Presumably he knows there is little chance of getting off with the driving and defeat the end of justice charge so the “hope” is that between now and then the Crown feel concerned about the murder charge and come back to the table with an option that the accused likes (which may involve him giving evidence against his brother!).  The advantage of floating this publically now is that if it happens they can say to the judge – we offered that at an early stage we would like 1/3rd off rather than 1/10th off for agreeing it on the day of trial.  I am really surprised that its being reported – I thought these things were only usually reported after the trial.

At trial could go cut throat defence blames the other guy entirely, puts forward duress for the reason for assisting, all sorts of fun and games.

Yes – although special defences need lodged in advance they can’t just be sprung at trial.

Wow, that’s horrific. So if they’d called an ambulance the guy might have survived?
But instead they left him dying at the side of the road, then came back and moved him to somewhere he was hidden, then came back again and buried him and poured bleach on him.
What a horrible pair of individuals.
How were they caught?

Bloody hell. We stayed at some accommodation on that farm a few years ago. Drove past it over the summer and wondered what had happened with this case.

At least the family are getting some answers, after 5 years.

How were they caught?

They kept the incident a secret until the main offendor was drunk and blurted the story to his fiance (at that point very soon to be wife) and she was the one who called the cops, making the whole thing even more incredible.

I know this because the fiance is a close friend of a relation, so even with a pinch of salt it has some credibility.

At the time I suspected that the guy had been hit by a car because that road he was on is a bloody race track after dark with a mix of HGVs, tourists and locals smashing up and down the road without a jot being given. I’ve ridden chunks of that road in daylight, snowball in hell I’d do it at night. But that doesn’t excuse what they did at the time or after.

Fair play to the fiance doing the right thing.

Flipping heck, that must have been dreadful for her.

She had a lucky escape, they’re clearly scumbags.

I remember this story vacationing with family in his hometown. I am glad they worked it all out.

RIP Sailor.