Two men jailed for 17 years for murder of dad-of-three

Ross MacGillivray was punched and kicked during an attack in November 2023

Two men who admitted restraining a father and beating him to death in Inverness have each been jailed for 17 years for his murder.

Craig Hayden, 30, and Leon Headey, 23, killed Ross MacGillivray at a property in the city's St Ninian Drive on 11 November 2023.

The 36-year-old was punched, kicked and stamped on, and also had his wrists and ankles tied together and his clothing removed during the assault.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Hayden was ordered to serve a minimum term of 17 years and two months and Headey 17 years and seven months.

'Traumatic loss'

Judge Lord Scott said he had read victim impact statements from Mr MacGillivray's mother and brother.

He said: "It is clear there has been a massive and permanent impact on that family."

The judge said they were faced with the "devastating, traumatic loss of a much loved brother, son and father".

The court previously heard that the victim had become estranged from the mother of his three children, Samantha MacGillivray, 33, in early 2023, but they continued to see each other.

They were both at the address when Hayden and Headey turned up.

It was later discovered that Samantha MacGillivray appeared to have been in contact with Headey in the weeks before the murder, and she left the scene with the killers.

MacGillivray was jailed for one year and nine months after earlier admitting to attempting to defeat the ends of justice by taking items from the property, including blood stained clothing worn by her husband.