Greenock death: Jack Doyle is nephew of murder victim Elaine
A teenager who was murdered in Greenock earlier this week was the nephew of a woman who died in an unsolved murder in the town 25 years ago, it has emerged.
Jack Doyle, 17, was found at the rear of houses on Hope Street, near Antigua Street, at about 09:45 on Tuesday.
It is understood he had sustained serious injuries.
His aunt, Elaine Doyle, was strangled in Greenock in 1986 when she was 16. An appeal over her murder was made on the BBC's Crimewatch programme last year.
The decision to treat Jack Doyle's death as murder followed a post-mortem examination on Wednesday.
His family said they were devastated that "such a lovely boy" had died such a cruel way.
In a statement, they said: "Jack was a happy go lucky sort of boy, really quiet and kept himself to himself.
"He was always around his brothers and sisters and doted on his nephews. He was so loving and didn't have a bad bone in his body. He would rather stay in with family or friends, than go out.
"You couldn't meet a more genuine boy."
Det Ch Insp Duncan Sloan, who is leading the investigation, said: "Officers have been carrying our door-to-door enquiries and are checking CCTV from the area.
"These enquiries have told us that there was a report of a disturbance and blood found in a close in Antigua Street earlier in the morning near to where Jack's body was found.
"We know that Jack was in the Orangefield area of Greenock around 22:00 on Monday 2 January and what we need to do is establish his movements between then and when his body was found."
Jack's aunt, Elaine, was killed in Greenock on 1 June 1986. Her body was found the next day in a lane yards from her home.
The 16-year-old had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
The unsolved case was the subject of an appeal on the BBC's Crime watch programme last July.
Police said following the broadcast, which featured a reconstruction of her last movements, they had received more than 50 calls which had created new lines of inquiry.