Trainee gamekeeper Calum Murray, 18, had been cleaning the weapon, believed to be a shotgun, at a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands when it went off and fatally injured schoolgirl Sophie Taylor, a heartbroken local told yesterday.

The 16-year-old girl was understood to have been preparing dinner for her boyfriend at his three-bedroom cottage when the horror scene unfolded.
The bodies of Calum Murray, 18, and Sophie Taylor, 16, were found in a Scottish Highlands village yesterday

The father of one of Sophie's lifelong friends said Calum had been overcome with grief at what he had done and took his own life moments after he shot his girlfriend at the house near Tomintoul, Moray.

Dru McPherson, 50, who employs Sophie's grief-stricken mum Katie at his village restaurant, said the grim sequence of events had played out like a 'Greek tragedy'.

He said: 'The story around the village is that there were two couples there and the two males were cleaning their guns and the gun went off in the house and killed Sophie, at which point Calum got up and went out to the front porch and shot himself.

'It's like a Greek tragedy up here. Sophie was a very, very well-known girl and everyone was fond of her. It's just horrendous.'
Investigation: Police work at the Blairmarrow cottage where the two bodies were discovered just before 7pm on Tuesday
Schoolgirl Sophie was understood to have been preparing dinner for her boyfriend at his cottage when the horror scene unfolded
Mr McPherson said children in the remote area were 'raised with guns'.

He added: 'Kids here have been shooting since they were eight years old. It's drummed into them.'
The gun that killed the teenagers was understood to have been legally registered.

Officers remained at the scene of the three-bedroom house which sits on its own just off the A939 Cockbridge-Tomintoul road, in the Blairnamarrow area today.

More than 30 officers were drafted in to help with the investigation.
Detective Inspector Stewart Mackie said the first emergency response teams to arrive at the cottage on Tuesday were met with a 'shocking scene'.

He said they were now focused on conducting a 'thorough and full investigation'.

A Grampian Police spokesman said investigations were going to be made 'further afield' today after the initial fingertip probe at the cottage, but they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
Ms Taylor is understood to have been a pupil at Speyside High School in Aberlour.

One of the bodies is understood to have been discovered inside the cottage and one just outside

Remote: Tomintoul is near Moray in the Cairngorms National Park
Locals said Mr Murray, who was not from the village, had been working on the Glenavon estate.
A spokeswoman for the estate said: 'Glenavon Estate Ltd regrets to confirm that an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old woman died in an incident at a property on the estate last night.

'The estate extends its deepest condolences to the families of those involved and is co-operating fully with Grampian Police who are investigating the circumstances.'
The family of Miss Taylor today released a statement through Grampian Police.

'We are devastated at the loss of our beautiful daughter Sophie, who will be greatly missed by us, her brother and her grandparents as well as her many friends,' the statement read.

'She was studying for her standard grades at Speyside High School and had plans to continue working towards becoming a social worker.
Dru McPherson, left, who has lived in Tomintoul for 25 years, said the small town is in shock, while Detective Inspector Stewart Mackie is leading the investigation


Small community: Tomintoul is the nearest town to a property where two teenagers were found shot dead
'Sophie was bright and bubbly and loved spending time with her family and friends. We are immensely proud of her.

'We are a close family who will miss her very much and are completely shocked to have lost her so prematurely.

'We now wish our privacy respected as we come to terms with our most tragic loss.'

Sophie is survived by her parents David, 41, and Katie, 44, and brother David, 18.

Moray councillor Fiona Murdoch said: 'It seems like a terrible tragedy. For two young people to have died is absolutely horrendous, whatever the circumstances may be.'
A teenage friend of Sophie, Connor McPherson, told how the tragic pair became sweethearts after meeting at a Highland games event last summer.
The 16-year-old started playgroup at the same time as Sophie and they went through school together.

He said they met at the Tomintoul Highland Games, and Sophie had been very happy in the relationship.

Connor added: 'She was the type of girl who wasn't afraid to say what she thought about anything.

'That was what I liked about her. She was quite funny and she was interested in everything.

'We used to go skiing at the Lecht. She was a good skier. I last saw her when the school broke up.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1376850/Teenage-gamekeeper-Calum-Murray-accidentally-kills-girlfriend-shoots-himself.html#ixzz1JWvFbxyM





Tweet