Two teenagers have been convicted of murdering 16-year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine beach, with a jury rejecting claims that Cole Turley acted alone in the fatal stabbing.
Jay Stewart, 18, and a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow after a trial lasting more than two weeks. Their co-accused, 18-year-old Cole Turley, had already pleaded guilty to murder before the trial began.
The verdicts were delivered on the second day of jury deliberations, prompting shouts of “yes” from the public benches in the courtroom. Lord Scott, the presiding judge, told the convicted teenagers: “You have both been found guilty of murder. Given your age I want to get more information about your background and Mr Stewart you have two previous convictions.”
The Verdict
Stewart and the 15-year-old had denied the murder charge and lodged special defences of incrimination, arguing that Turley was solely responsible for Kayden’s death. Donald Findlay KC, representing Stewart, told the jury his client was “not within yards of Kayden Moy when Kayden Moy was stabbed”, and that Turley had changed the “character” of the confrontation when he produced a knife. David Duguid KC, representing the 15-year-old, suggested the evidence showed his client believed the confrontation would be a “fist fight” and could not have anticipated a stabbing.
The jury rejected both arguments. After the verdicts were returned, Turley was brought into the courtroom and all three were remanded in custody. Lord Scott set a sentencing date of July 21 for all three defendants, pending background reports.
The Attack
The killing took place on Saturday, 17 May 2025, on Irvine beach in North Ayrshire. The attack was rooted in a rivalry between two groups from East Kilbride: the “Murray Boys”, to which Turley, Stewart and the 15-year-old belonged, and the “Himshie” group, of which Kayden and his friends were part. The murder was reportedly sparked after a member of the Himshie gang attacked an associate of the Murray Boys, with Kayden described as a peacemaker who had stepped in to break up an earlier confrontation.
Shortly before the fatal stabbing, the three teenagers were at the top of a sand dune throwing rocks at people on the beach. Kayden’s girlfriend, Keryn Knox, said she and Kayden had been getting ready to leave at about 6pm when the rocks started to be thrown, and Kayden went up to confront them. “I went up with him to try and stop him,” she told the court. “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.”
Another witness who went with Kayden to confront the group said that as they reached the top of the dune, Turley brought out a knife and Stewart an extendable baton. The witness described the chase: “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.”
After Turley stabbed Kayden, the witness ran back to help. Kayden was standing up, and he and another friend supported him as they walked back down to the beach shouting for an ambulance. “I saw blood going down Kayden’s leg and him going really white,” the witness said. Ms Knox described Kayden’s condition as he lay on the sand: “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.” Kayden was so badly injured that he died later.
The three convicted teenagers fled the beach and returned to East Kilbride, where they disposed of the knife and their blood-stained clothing. CCTV footage showed them running through Irvine after the incident, with one clip appearing to show a handshake between Turley and Stewart. A picture of the alleged murder weapon — described as a “brown lock-back knife” with a metal blade and three holes — was shown in court. Blood and “greasy material” from Kayden Moy, as well as blood from Cole Turley, were found on the weapon. DNA from three other individuals was also present on the handle.
Police set up a Major Incident Public Portal to receive information and footage from the public, which proved invaluable in building the case. Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs of Police Scotland later spoke about the tragic consequences of carrying knives, saying: “The key message to children and young people is they shouldn’t be carrying knives – it is absolutely the wrong thing to do.” Justice Secretary Angela Constance described the events as “tragic” and extended her sympathies to Kayden’s family.
Jay Stewart had two previous convictions, one for possession of a machete imposed just four days before the murder, and another for breach of the peace involving a knife. He was also subject to a community payback order at the time of the killing. He is accused of sending threatening messages on social media to a rival gang member weeks before the stabbing, including one message that read: “State of you wee c***s man, call yourself a scheme flying past my missus gaff. I will take the face off you…” The 15-year-old was 14 at the time of the incident.
Family Statements
Following the verdict, Kayden’s parents, Paul and Ashley Moy, released a statement describing him as “an amazing, caring boy who lit up every room he walked into. He brought happiness to everyone around him. Every morning we wake up and are faced again with the reality that he is gone. We will never hear his laugh again, never see his smile, never watch him achieve the goals he worked so hard for.”
“We have an empty chair at family gatherings, an empty bedroom in our home, and an emptiness in our hearts that can never be filled. We do not simply miss Kayden on special occasions; we miss him every minute of every day. He was loved beyond measure and will forever be missed.”
Kayden was a pupil at Duncanrig Secondary School in East Kilbride and a former youth player for Busby AFC, whose members were devastated by his death. His father, Paul Moy, had previously posted on Facebook: “My firstborn son, my big boy, my best friend, my main man, my everything. Rest easy, my boy.”
Detective Chief Inspector Campbell Jackson, the senior investigating officer, said: “Today’s outcome will never compensate for Kayden’s death; it won’t ease the heartache his family and friends must feel every single day. My thoughts very much remain with Kayden’s parents, brothers and his family and friends for their devastating loss. However, I do hope that they find some comfort in seeing justice being done.” He added: “Kayden was robbed of his future that day and his family and friends were robbed of a future with him. He should have made it home with memories that day of a day at the beach, but the actions of others means that Kayden will never grow up into adulthood.”
