We all have secrets we keep from our partners during the dating stage, but one man kept a rather huge one from his fiancée. So big - it’s made its way onto Netflix.
Dr Caroline Muirhead and Alexander McKellar - known as Sandy - met on dating app Tinder in fall 2020.
The pair got on so well, that within weeks, McKellar had already popped the question - although there was something huge he was hiding.
Still getting to know each other after the whirlwind engagement, Caroline proceeded to ask her soon to be husband whether there was anything she didn’t know about him which may affect their future.
Advert
It was then that Sandy revealed he had struck and killed charity cyclist Tony Parsons in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, in 2017. Alexander then buried the body with his twin brother Robert, which was left undiscovered for three years.
“He's right beneath your feet when you shoot your clay pigeons,” Sandy told his fiancee when making the chilling confession.
Speaking to Netflix cameras on the documentary Should I Marry a Murderer? Caroline said: “It was something so vile, it flipped my entire world upside down.”
Caroline was left in the difficult position of whether to stand by the man she loved, or hand him in.
“I knew I had to hand in the man I loved,” she said. However, the story didn’t end there. The twins were released on bail just days after the report in December 2020, with no idea Caroline was the one who reported them.
Caroline stayed with Sandy, and continued to secretly co-operate with the police. She even went back to the estate with Sandy, and secretly dropped a can on the spot the Parson’s body was buried, before later informing the police of the spot.
The twins were re-arrested in December 2021, and were charged with murder despite attempting to plead guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
During the time they were released, director Josh Allot said: “She expected the brothers to be remanded in custody, face trial and be in prison forever and be out of her life but they were thrust back into her life.”
"She had her whole life on track and after meeting Sandy and hearing what he did, everything falls apart."
Caroline was due to give evidence in court, however, broke down and failed to arrive at day one of the trial.
Sandy was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and his brother Robert was jailed for five years and three months.
Caroline has opened up about how she hopes that by telling her story she can ‘start an honest conversation'.
"I hope by speaking out and sharing what happened to me, we can start an honest conversation about greater protection for victims and witnesses and why a far deeper understanding of mental health within the police and court system is so desperately needed.
"All too often the impact of trauma and abuse is overlooked or dismissed entirely and this means people like me are being left high and dry to pick up the pieces alone."
Caroline, who has now moved on with a new partner said Sandy was 'a coward and a killer'.
Topics: True crime, Netflix, Scotland
Kiesha Dosanjh