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.

Man facing murder charge following Oban incident

Post Thumbnail

A man attended court facing a murder charge following the death of an elderly man in Oban.

Oskars Rancevs, 32, made no plea or declaration when he appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court yesterday. He was remanded in custody.

Police were called to Columba Court off Castle Road in the Dunollie area of Oban at 9.40am on Monday following reports of an elderly man being seriously injured following an altercation between neighbours.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


The 73-year-old man, named as Martyn Smith, was taken by ambulance to Lorn and Islands Hospital where he died.

Meanwhile, police confirmed they were investigating the death of another elderly man, in Columba Court.

It is believed he may have suffered a heart attack.

Asked if his death was connected to the earlier incident, a police spokeswoman said it was “one line of inquiry”.

She added: “At 8pm on Monday the body of a 75-year-old man was found within a flat in Columba Court. His death is currently being treated as unexplained.”

Residents of Castle Road and Columba Court yesterday had to sign in with police to get through a cordoned-off area and gain access to their homes.

There was a high police presence throughout the area and forensics workers in white suits could be seen coming and going from the flats.

Last night police had not released the names of either of the dead men.

Yesterday one resident of Columba Court said that a lorry arrived to recover a car from the scene on Monday night.

Martyn Smith

The curtain-sider HGV from ADJ Stevenson Prestige Vehicle recovery arrived with several police vehicles and took a dark-coloured car away, she said.

She said: “A car was taken away by forensics last night. It is shocking. I think all of the neighbours are in shock.”

Councillor Julie McKenzie of the Oban North and Lorn ward said: “This is an incredibly concerning development.

“I would like to send my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased men.

“There is understandably a great deal of anger and shock in the community and it is important at this time that police officers are given time and support by Oban residents in order to carry out their investigation.”