Man's accused of murdering a young father

A MAN has appeared in court accused of murdering a father before disposing of his clothing by burning them in a garden firepit.

- By Gordon Currie

John Higgins is alleged to have stabbed Stephen Speedie in Perthshire with a “knife or similar sharp-force implement”. The 29-year-old's body was discovered in Perthshire at about 7am on Friday. Police found Mr Speedie on the Dunning to Kinross road where he was pronounced dead.

As well as murder, Higgins is further accused of instructing unknown others to light a fire in the garden of his home in Blackford, Perthshire, to dump his clothes in a firepit in a bid to defeat justice.