Murder hunt terror towns
Call for cops to issue a description of thug in kidnap and torture case
Terrified locals in two towns at the centre of a kidnap and torture murder probe are urging police to release a description of the suspect.
Alan Lawson, 36, died in hospital two days after he was discovered seriously injured at his home in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, on Sunday.
He is understood to have been held hostage and tortured at a property in Largs before being dumped back at his home.
Lawson’s selfconfessed attacker then boasted of his sickening crime on social media app Snapchat, sharing footage he claimed showed Alan’s severely wounded body on the floor of a blood-spattered room.
He also shared a topless picture of himself, with his naked torso smeared in his victim’s blood.
Officers say they are following a “positive line of enquiry” into Alan’s death.
But residents in Saltcoats and Largs say they are petrified that his killer is still at large, and feel left in the dark about what, or who, to look out for.
One Saltcoats resident said: “There is a killer on the loose but the police haven’t released any information on a description.
“Right now, I could pass him in the street and not even know.”
Another parent who lives near where the terrifying incident took place said: “My kids haven’t been allowed out to play after school since the murder.
“A number of other parents feel the same. I’ll be keeping them at home until the police have caught the person responsible.”
We reported on Wednesday that sources who had viewed the traumatising clips of Alan on Snapchat told how his attacker claimed Alan was chained to a radiator while he was beaten and slashed, leaving him with grotesque injuries.
The man seen by the Daily Record in the footage can be described as slim and in his late 20s.
He also had light brown hair and facial hair.
Sources added that the man had been on a weeklong “crack and booze” bender before he carried out his frenzied attack.
Police swooped on the house of horrors in Alexander Avenue, Largs, on Wednesday afternoon, leaving residents shocked.
Officers have also been seen stationed outside Alan’s home on New England Road in Saltcoats.
Detective Chief Inspector Ally Semple, of the Major Investigation Team, said: “We still need the public’s help to establish exactly what happened to Alan.
“Any information you have, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, could be crucial to the investigation.”