An urban explorer's grisly discovery that led to a murder conviction
2025-01-28
Category: news

While exploring a derelict warehouse, James Fenton was totally unprepared for the gruesome discovery he was about to make. Inside the dilapidated building, the urban explorer stumbled across the skeleton of a man who, it later turned out, had gone missing a year earlier.Initially, the remains could not be identified and it wasn't until a facial reconstruction was circulated by the media that they were later confirmed as those of 60-year-old Ean Coutts.Despite there being no established cause of death, painter and decorator David Barnes was to go on trial accused of the army veteran's murder.Barnes had assumed Ean's identity on 91 occasions to obtain thousands of pounds worth of cash and goods but did he kill him?Murder Trial: Body in the Warehouse follows the family's quest for justice and goes behind-the-scenes of Barnes' trial.
James Fenton's hobby was to go urban exploring - where people go into abandoned and derelict buildings to see what they can find.On 27 September 2020, along with his brother and their girlfriends, he went to the Whitehill Industrial in Glenrothes, Fife, where the group were "just messing about".In one of the units, James spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He thought it was animal bones at first but then realised it was something more sinister."I just saw white, dull, bony kind of material," he told BBC Scotland. "I kicked one of the boxes off and that's when I saw the skull, the ribcage and the foot coming up the side of the wall."At first  I couldn't get myself round believing what it actually was until I saw mummified skin at the back of the neck and on the back of the foot."
There had been an attempt to set fire to the body.James called the police and after confirmation the remains were human, he felt sick to the stomach. "It's the last thing you would think anyone would discover," he said."It's scary to think how long he'd been lying there - nobody noticed for so long. I'm glad he's finally been found and put to rest."However, before that could happen, the remains had to be identified. Police searched missing people databases and checked on homeless people who were known to sleep rough, but drew a blank.
Police Scotland crime scene manager Det Sgt Scott Roxburgh, said the warehouse was in an area that had been badly neglected for many years and had become a dumping ground for fly tippers - the area contained old sofas, fridges and car parts."This individual had been callously dumped," he said. "It was a pretty sad scene - certainly not where you'd want your loved one's final resting place to be."It wasn't until a facial reconstruction was created that someone came forward. A council officer thought the reconstruction resembled Ean Coutts whose council home in Kinglassie, Fife, had been abandoned.It was just five minutes' drive from where the skeleton was found.Ean had last been seen on 2 September 2019."Nobody had a bad word to say about Ean," Det Sgt Roxburgh said. "He was generally known for being a cheery, jovial chap about the village."He was a man of routine - went to the same shops at the same time, on the same day of the week."He spent his money in the same pattern for a number of years - it was quite clear to police that after September 2019 there was a complete change in that pattern of spending."
David Barnes went on trial for Ean's murder.He was a painter and decorator who had been doing work on Ean's house.Kevin O'Donoghue told the High Court in Edinburgh that around the time his neighbour went missing, the workman told him Ean wasn't coming back as he had gone to live with his sister in England.Ean's sister Audrey told the trial that neither she, nor their other sister, lived in England. 
Mr O'Donoghue said he saw the workman putting his wheelie bin in the back of his silver VW Golf on 3 September 2019 and said it appeared to be heavier than an empty bin.He sent a text message to Ean asking why the workman had taken his bin.Part of a letter sent to Mr O'Donoghue was later found in the grey bin at the Whitehill industrial estate where Ean's remains were discovered.However, in court Mr O'Donoghue was unable to identify the person he saw putting the wheelie bin in the car.
But a woman who had been in a relationship with David Barnes identified him from an image of a man sitting in a car outside Ean's house.She also confirmed that she had spent a long time trying to get hold of Barnes on 3 Sept 2019 - and that he seemed to have more money after that date.It was later agreed in evidence in court that Barnes had assumed Mr Coutts identity on 91 occasions to obtain thousands of pounds worth of cash and goods.Forensic soil scientist Prof Lorna Dawson discovered that plant material of the same species found outside the industrial units in Glenrothes was found in the carpet from the front footwell of the car.Ean's cause of death could not be determined but a forensic pathologist told the court there were areas of charring to soft tissue and bone. The defence argued that there was no evidence that Barnes had killed Ean. Barnes did not take to the stand and there were no defence witnesses.He was found guilty by a majority verdict and was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 23 years.
Ean's sister Audrey Reid had lost touch with her brother, who was 10 years older than her."I remember seeing on the news that remains had been found in Glenrothes, never for one minute thinking it would be my brother," she told BBC Scotland.As she flicks through family photos of Ean as a young boy with a bowl haircut; messing about with family at home; and of his time in the Army, she said Ean was "a bit of a cheeky chappie, always in a wee bit of bother".He had joined the Army at 16. "Looking back I think he struggled when he came out of the Army – getting used to civilian life," Audrey said. "But you grow apart and lead different lives. But we're still brother and sister and still loved each other."He was just a nice, simple man that wouldn't do anybody any harm whatsoever – he lived in a nice, wee, peaceful area."In my head, there was nothing to gain from doing that to Ean, nothing. He was just a  simple man living a simple life. And that got taken away from him."From the time I walked into that court I never took my eyes off him [Barnes] - just to say you're not winning. I see you."And I wanted him to see that me and his daughters were there because Ean had a family and I want him to see that - he had people that loved him." 
Ean was married for more than 10 years before his relationship broke down. He had three children.His daughters Emma and Louise Coutts moved to Colchester in Essex with their mother when they were very young and didn't see him again until they were adults."We tried to form a bond again but it was quite difficult," Emma told BBC Scotland.Louise added: "We hadn't seen him for 10 or 11 years until we got this phone call.Emma said: "He was still our dad and he died in an undignified way. You feel a sense of guilt in a way because we were estranged but he was still our dad and there's still a lot of feelings there."We could have had that chance to get back in contact with him but the fact that someone's taken that chance away - for us to ever be able to reconnect with him I think that was quite gut-wrenching."Louise added: "There will never be full closure because we dont know what happened to our dad - only he [Barnes] will ever know that." Sentencing Barnes, the judge Lord Mulholland told him: "What you did was callous. The murder of a man who did you no harm - to the contrary he gave you work."You have displayed no remorse or taken responsibility for the crimes you have committed. What you did was despicable and evil."Murder Trial: Body in the Warehouse will be available on the BBC iPlayer from 28 January, on the BBC Scotland channel at 21:00 on Tuesday 11 February and on BBC Two at 21:00 on Wednesday 12 February.