Teen pleads guilty to murder of 16-year-old on Scottish beach

A teenager has admitted murdering a 16-year-old boy during a confrontation on a Scottish beach last year. Cole Turley, 18, pleaded guilty to murdering Kayden Moy from East Kilbride, who died following an incident at Irvine Beach in North Ayrshire on May 17, 2025. Two other teenagers, Jay Stewart, 18, and a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named, are currently on trial at the High Court in Glasgow, accused of murdering Kayden while acting along with Turley. They deny the charge and have lodged special defences of incrimination.

The court heard detailed accounts of the events from witnesses, including Kayden’s girlfriend and a close friend. Keryn Knox, 19, testified that she and a group of friends were preparing to leave the beach around 6 p.m. when rocks were thrown at them from the top of a sand dune by Stewart, the 15-year-old, and others. She said Kayden went up to confront them and that Turley ran in from the side as Kayden slipped. She stated she saw Turley stab Kayden twice in his left lower side as he tried to get up.

A 17-year-old friend of Kayden’s gave a similar account in a video-recorded police interview played to the jury. He described how he and Kayden went up the dune...