A 17-year-old witness has recounted in court how he saw his 16-year-old 'best friend' fatally stabbed on a beach. The teenager gave recorded evidence in the trial of Jay Stewart, 18, and a 15-year-old boy accused of killing Kayden Moy on May 17, 2025.
Gang Violence on the Beach
According to the witness, the attack stemmed from gang violence between teenagers who travelled from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, to Irvine beach in Ayrshire. He stated that he and Mr Moy went to confront Stewart, Turley, and the other teenager, leading to a fight and the fatal stabbing.
Murder Charges
The murder charge alleges that Stewart and the 15-year-old (who cannot be named for legal reasons) pushed Mr Moy to the ground and repeatedly stabbed him, acting alongside Cole Turley, 18. Turley pleaded guilty to murder before the trial. Stewart and the other teenager have lodged a special defence of incrimination against Turley.
Witness Account
In his recorded police statement, the teenager said his group was sitting on sand dunes when he and another boy carried out a 'revenge attack' for the 'Himshie gang'. Later, rocks 'the size of hands' were thrown at them but missed. He identified Stewart, Turley, and the 15-year-old as the throwers, members of 'The Murray Boys' gang.
The witness said he, Mr Moy, and another boy went up the dune to confront the trio. When the groups were 10 feet apart, Turley pulled out a knife and Stewart a cosh. The witness claimed they told the pair to discard their weapons and offered to fight them.
'I ran to the right of [Turley] as has Kayden. He ran behind me. I jumped over the grass ledge and Kayden kind of slipped and Cole Turley jumped on him,' the boy recounted. He saw Mr Moy stabbed once but knew he was struck three times. The 15-year-old reportedly did not hit anyone but shouted threats and threw rocks.
When asked why the trio were there, the teenager said: 'Probably, they came for us. One hundred percent. Apparently they were at Troon or Ayr and came to Irvine. They came and found us. It was planned.'
He recalled taking Mr Moy down to the beach, where they were surrounded. 'I remember blood going down Kayden's leg and Kayden going really white and his eyes started to close.' A woman claiming to be a nurse applied pressure until medics arrived 15 to 20 minutes later.
The boy told a police officer: 'My best friend was stabbed off Cole Turley.' He agreed with defence counsel Donald Findlay KC that the scene was 'total chaos'.
Additional Charges
The pair face a separate charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice between May 17 and 21, acting with Turley. It is alleged they tried to remove blood from the knife, fled the beach, and hid in bushes. They are said to have requested a taxi via a third party, travelled to an East Kilbride address, covered their faces, changed clothes, washed blood off, and hid knives in a divan bed frame and a freezer.
Prosecutors claim they asked someone to burn their bloodstained clothing and phone, fled from a property through a window to avoid police, used cash to avoid debit card tracking, and handed police clothing they claimed was worn at the time of the murder. The younger defendant allegedly stayed at a Holiday Inn in East Kilbride.
The trial continues before Judge Lord Scott.
