Three teenagers have been sentenced to detention for the murder of 16-year-old Kayden Moy, who was stabbed to death on a beach in North Ayrshire in front of his girlfriend. Jay Stewart, 18, Cole Turley, 18, and a 15-year-old boy (who cannot be named for legal reasons) were convicted of the killing, which occurred on Irvine beach on May 17, 2025.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Turley admitted the murder, while Stewart and the 15-year-old were found guilty following a trial. The judge imposed minimum detention terms of 16 years for Stewart and Turley, and 14 years for the 15-year-old.
Gang Rivalry and the Attack
All three assailants were members of the 'Murray Boys' gang in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, while Kayden and his friends were part of the 'Himshie' group. During the trial, the jury heard that shortly before the attack, Turley, Stewart, and the 15-year-old were at the top of a sand dune throwing rocks at people on the beach.
Kayden's girlfriend, Keryn Knox, who was with him at the time, testified that they were preparing to leave at around 6pm when the rock throwing began. Kayden went up to confront the teenagers, and she followed to try to stop him. She told the court: "I went up with him to try and stop him. At that point he had run up the hill and he was just shouting stuff back. Then Cole ran in from the side and Kayden has seen a blade and when he tried to run he slipped, and when he tried to get back up Cole has stabbed him in his left lower side twice."
Ms Knox described Kayden's condition after the stabbing: "His body turned completely white and his limbs were blue and people were crowding round him, trying to put his T-shirt over the wound."
Witness Accounts
Another witness who accompanied Kayden to confront the teenagers said that when they reached the top of the dune, Turley produced a knife and Stewart an extendable baton. The witness stated: "Then out of nowhere Cole just started running at us. I ran to the right, so did Kayden, I jumped over a grass ledge, Kayden slipped and Cole leaped over and jumped on him. He had a knife and it hit. I saw one stab."
Kayden suffered severe injuries from the stabbing and later died at the scene. The attack occurred in broad daylight on a public beach, shocking the local community.
