Two plead guilty to murder of Ross MacGillivray in Inverness
Two men have pleaded guilty to the murder of Ross MacGillivray in Inverness in November 2023.
Leon Headey, 23, and Craig Hayden, 30, admitted killing the 36-year-old at the city’s St Ninian Drive on Sunday, 12 November, 2023 when they appeared at the High Court in Glasgow today (Friday, 24 October, 2025).
Samantha MacGillivray, 33, also pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to assist the two men in covering their actions after they had attacked Ross MacGillivray.
He suffered multiple serious injuries and was pronounced dead a short time after he was found in the early hours.
A police investigation identified that Headey, from Liverpool, and Hayden, from Alness, had been present after Ross MacGillivray went to the property where he was attacked.
They, along with Samantha MacGillivray, had then gone to the nearby Caledonian Canal and disposed of a number of items in an attempt to cover their tracks.
Headey was also appearing at the High Court in relation to the violent attack of another man outside a property in Alness on Wednesday, 25 October, 2023.
He entered a guilty plea to his involvement in that offence, along with a further two men, Lee Fraser, 34, and Thomas Hooson, 29.
Detective Inspector Richard Baird of Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team said: “Ross MacGillivray was subjected to a brutal and violent attack, leaving him with unsurvivable injuries.
“Our investigation identified Hayden and Headey as having been involved before fleeing the Inverness area for Aberdeen where we arrested both men.
“We also identified Samantha MacGillivray as having attempted to help the two men cover their tracks in the aftermath of the attack on her estranged husband by facilitating the disposal of incriminating evidence and providing deliberate false statements.
“This type of violence has no place in the Highlands or in Scotland and Police Scotland is committed to identifying and bringing to justice anyone involved in acts such as these.”
