Recovered car could hold forensic clues to Welsh murder culprits
● Suspected getaway vehicle found intact in village by police
The culprits who shot former boxer Bradley Welsh in the head on his own doorstep may have given detectives a massive boost – by failing to torch their suspected getaway vehicle.
It is believed a Ford Kuga SUV recovered from a quiet residential street in Kirknewton is directly linked to the ex-boxer and Trainspotting 2 actor’s murder.
The grey car was removed by Police Scotland from the West Lothian village’s Kaimes Avenue on 20 April.
Details of the twist in the murderinvestigationemerged yesterday more than a week after the vehicle was taken to a secure garage compound to be searched for clues by forensic experts. The Ford was identified from CCTV images captured by security cameras in the West End near Mr Welsh’s Chester Street home.
Mr Welsh, 48, was gunned down with a single shot as he went to enter his basement apartment following a gym training session. A neighbour he had spoken to seconds earlier tried to save his life with CPR, but he was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
The murder prompted a massive outpouring of sympathy for Mr Welsh, his partner and their two children. His partner, daughter and stepson were in the apartment at the time he was shot.
Two men have been arrested, questioned and released by officers about the shooting on 17 April. Police have released a description of their prime suspect, who is said to have a tanned complexion and may have posed as a jogger before coming up behind Mr Welsh and pulling the trigger.
Images of the Ford now linked to the shooting have been released in an attempt to prompt any fresh witnesses who may have seen it in the West End’s William Street at the time of the 7:30pm shooting, and later as it made its way through the city to West Lothian.
It is believed the killer, possibly driven by an accomplice, switched vehicles in Kirknewton. Officers want to hear from anyone who witnessed the car arriving in Kaimes Avenue around 9pm on the night of the shooting and who may have spotted another vehicle parked nearby.
Police Scotland revealed the Ford was not torched, giving scene of crime experts a chance of recovering forensic evidence.
It was fitted with fake number plates, bearing the registration CX68XVV, andisbelievedtohavebeen stolen.