Mum’s tribute to ‘loving’ son lef t to die yards from his home
Dad, 23, killed for ‘absolutely no reason’
A GRIEVING mother has paid tribute to her ‘loving’ son after he was brutally attacked and left to die in the street.
Sean McKay, 23, was killed for ‘absolutely no reason’ by another man with an unknown weapon as he made his way home from work.
The father of one was only yards from his front door when he was targeted at around 9pm on Sunday while walking along St Margaret’s Avenue in Dalry, Ayrshire.
Passers-by came to his aid as paramedics arrived but he died at the scene.
Forensic teams checked drains and wheelie bins in the area yesterday as officers conducted door-to-door inquiries and interviewed residents.
Last night, Mr McKay’s 44-yearold mother, Debbie Dowd, made a plea for information, warning: ‘It could be your child next time.’
She added: ‘The police can’t tell us much because it’s an ongoing investigation but my son’s been murdered, that’s all I know.’
She recalled: ‘I only saw Sean on Saturday when I went over to his house and he was fine, having his dinner with his girlfriend and their son Oscar, who’s only one.’
The unprovoked attack happened moments after Mr McKay had been dropped off near his home where girlfriend Chloe McCormick, 21, and Oscar were waiting for him.
Yesterday, police had cordoned off the murder scene, where a large tent had been put up.
Mrs Dowd, an auxiliary nurse at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock, said: ‘Sean loved his family and his friends.
‘If you ask his friends they’ll say he was always there for them and he was always there for his family. He was never any trouble and never really drank or anything like that. He was just a family guy.
‘We’re devastated. He was minding his own business walking home when he was attacked.’
She told how he enjoyed watching Rangers FC, viewing TV box sets with his girlfriend or playing with his son. Mr McKay worked as a construction labourer for Miss McCormick’s father, David, who had dropped him off.
Mrs Dowd, from Stevenston, Ayrshire, who also has daughters Simone, 27, and Samantha, 25, said: ‘Sean was funny, cheery and loving as well. He just loved being around the family and at gettogethers, he had to be there.
‘Sean had no enemies, he hardly drank or anything like that, he was never in bother and he wasn’t even known to the police. It was just random.’
Appealing to anyone with information, she said: ‘Please come forward to help to get this dangerous man off the streets.’
Mr McKay’s sister Samantha shared images of herself and her brother on her Facebook page. She captioned her pictures: ‘Hearts absolutely broken.’
His cousin Lyndsey Jackson posted a message saying: ‘My sweet and loving cousin Sean was cruelly taken from us in an act that can be described as nothing less than monstrous.
‘Sean was a young man that wanted nothing more than to do right by his partner and his baby boy and he made all of us proud with the man he had became. I can’t wrap my head around how someone could be so evil as to hurt you for simply walking down the street and trying to get home.’
Last night, friends set up an online fundraiser to help support
‘How someone could be so evil’
his family. Police said they are treating the death as suspicious and described the attacker as white, wearing a dark jacket.
Detective Inspector Stephen McCulloch, of Saltcoats CID, said: ‘This young man would appear to have been attacked and killed for absolutely no reason other than being in the same place as the man at the same time. There were a number of people in the street who came to the man’s aid and called for an ambulance and we believe we have managed to speak to most of them.
‘However, we would still appeal to anyone who was there but who has not yet come forward to police to get in touch. I’d also ask for motorists who may have dashcams to check their footage.’