Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Three to stand trial accused of torturing and killing Inverness dad Ross MacGillivray

Samantha Jane MacGillivray, 32, Craig Hayden, 29, and Leon Headey, 22, deny the fatal attack inside a property on last November 11.

Three people deny murdering Inverness dad Ross MacGillivray at a property in St Ninian Drive.
Three people deny murdering Inverness dad Ross MacGillivray at a property in St Ninian Drive.

Three people are to stand trial charged accused of murdering an Inverness dad – including the dead man’s wife.

Samantha Jane MacGillivray, 32, Craig Hayden, 29, and Leon Headey, 22, are accused of a fatal attack on Ross MacGillivray last November 11.

The alleged killing is said to have occurred at a property in St Ninian Drive in Inverness.

The murder charge includes claims the 36-year-old had his wrists and ankles bound, that he was stripped and had water poured over his head.

A flower tribute on the fence as police investigate the scene of the murder.
A flower tribute at the scene of the alleged murder. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Mr MacGillivray is said to have been repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped upon.

The indictment further claims he was struck with “blunt instruments”.

It is claimed the alleged attack left him so severely injured that he passed away there.

The murder accusation states the trio had previously shown “malice and ill will” towards Mr MacGillivray.

Hayden, Headey and MacGillivray also face a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

This includes claims the alleged murder scene was cleaned and that items – such as blood-stained clothing – were dumped in the Caledonian Canal in Inverness.

Trial could last up to 15 days

Ross MacGillivray’s wife Samatha is said to have given “inaccurate accounts” to police including not knowing Hayden or Headey.

It is claimed Hayden and Headey also travelled to Alness in the Highlands, as well as Aberdeen, after the alleged murder.

Other charges on the indictment include an accusation that Headey was involved in the attempted murder of another man, also in Alness, along with Lee Fraser, 33, and 28-year-old Thomas Hooson on October 25 2023.

The case called for a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow today, where lawyers for the accused pleaded not guilty on their behalf.

Lady Drummond went on to state: “I will fix a trial for October 20 2025 in Glasgow.”

The case could last up to 15 days.