Killer showed girl burnt body of her sister, saying ‘Talk and you’re next’

THE sister of a teenage girl who was murdered and set on fire was terrified she would be the killer’s next victim after he showed her the body, a new TV documentary has revealed.

Robert Bayne beat Zoe Nelson, 17, to death then burned her body.

Her remains were left in woodland near her home in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, in May 2010.

Bodybuilder Bayne, who was 20, had been going out with Zoe but he was also seeing her sister Laura Anne, 16.

Bayne showed Miss Nelson her sister’s charred remains but she kept quiet for five days before telling police after he threatened to kill her. The horrific case is featured in a new episode of Crime+Investigation documentary series Murdertown, presented by Anita Rani.

Retired Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Derek Robertson, who led the murder investigation, told the programme Miss Nelson was frightened of revealing the truth at first because of Bayne’s fearsome reputation.

He said: ‘Laura Anne was interviewed by specialist family liaison investigators, we thought she could help us because she knew her sister and what was going on in that community. But we just weren’t getting that information. It was as if she shut down inside, she withdrew into herself. We knew there was more to give, we always knew that, but the reasons why we didn’t have a clue to be honest.

‘We had witnesses who had seen Robert Bayne with Zoe but we did not have him at the scene, we did not have him actually doing the murder. Laura Anne was a very introverted character, shy and nervous, and we worked very hard with her to get information.

‘On the Friday, that was when she said, “I know he killed Zoe. I know he killed Zoe because he said to me he killed Zoe”. She said she had been seeing him and her sister had been seeing him and they fell out. The day after, she went to return clothing to Bayne and he took her to the murder scene and pointed Zoe out.

‘She recognised her from a tattoo and Bayne told her, “If you say anything that will be you”. Robert Bayne towers over her, massive muscles, dominating, controlling, threatening. You can imagine the fear in the girl.’

Bayne’s trial heard a member of the public found Zoe’s badly burned body the day after the murder but believed at first it was a charred tailor’s dummy. Bayne disposed of Zoe’s mobile phone and told officers another person had admitted killing the student.

When the guilty verdict was read out, Bayne went berserk, shouting vile abuse at his victim’s family and headbutting a security guard.

Bayne appealed against his 20year sentence but two judges rejected the move in 2012. n Crime + Investigation channel, Monday at 9pm.

‘He said to me he killed Zoe’