Pair accused of murdering man and trying to set fire to body in field

Two men have appeared in court charged with murdering a man in a flat before trying to set fire to his body in a field.

Andrew Brodie and Stephen Shields are alleged to have stabbed Robert Best to death in Greenock.

Prosecutors claim Brodie, 51, and Shields, 44, killed the 50-year-old at Shields’ flat on Lansbury Street on November 10 this year.

Court papers state they “did repeatedly stab him on the body with knives… whilst acting with others”.

Both men are accused of a second charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Police were called after the body of a man was found in a field near High Mathernock Farm in Kilmacolm around 9.20am on Tuesday.The man has been formally identified as Robert Best, who was reported missing from Greenock on the same day. Police Scotland

The charge states that “having committed the crime” and “being conscious of [their] guilt”, they did “place the body of Robert Best within a rug and remove said body” from the flat.

They are accused of “acting with others whose identities are meantime unknown to the prosecutor” and Brodie is said to have taken the body “to a field near Devol Road, Kilmalcolm”.

The charge states that in that field there was an “attempt to set fire to said body, all in an attempt to avoid detection, arrest and prosecution”.

Best’s body was found in the field, near High Mathernock Farm, Kilmacolm, on November 11.

The discovery was made after reports of a disturbance at the Lansbury Street flat saw police cordoning the property off and erecting a forensic tent in the garden.

The pair, both of Greenock, were arrested during the investigation and held in police custody ahead of their court appearance.

A third man, 45, was released pending further enquiries.

Both Brodie and Shields made no plea to the charges against them when they appeared at Greenock Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Anthony McGeehan continued the case for prosecutors to investigate further and remanded them in custody.

No future court dates have been set, but they are set to make a second court appearance in connection with the case next week.

Officers continue to investigate.

Detective chief inspector Graham McCreadie said: “Our thoughts are with Robert’s family and friends at this time. We are providing them with support as our investigation continues.

“An extensive investigation is being carried out and I am asking anyone who was in the Lansbury Street area or near High Mathernock Farm at those times to get in touch.

“If you have CCTV, private footage or dash-cam footage of that may have captured something, please contact us. Any information, no matter how small it may seem, could be vital.”

An online portal has been set up to encourage members of the public to submit information directly to officers and can be accessed here: https://orlo.uk/gKAwW