Teenagers jailed for murdering 16-year-old in beach knife attack

Three teenagers have been jailed for murdering a 16-year-old boy during a confrontation between rival groups on a beach in North Ayrshire last year.

They were convicted of stabbing Kayden Moy on Irvine Beach on 17 May 2025.

Cole Turley, 18, who had pleaded guilty to the murder, and Jay Stewart, 19 were given life sentences and told they will serve a minimum of 16 years.

A third teenager - a 15-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons - will be detained for a minimum of 14 years.

Speaking outside the High Court in Glasgow, Moy's father said his family's grief meant they were themselves enduring a life sentence.

Paul Moy said: "While today's outcome brings a measure of justice, it does not bring peace, it does not bring our son back.

"Kayden was more than a name in the courtroom or a headline in the news, he was our son, he was loved beyond words and had his whole life ahead of him.

"We hope today's sentence sends a clear message that violence has a devastating and irreversible consequences.

"One moment of violence has destroyed so many lives and no family should ever have to endure the pain that we now live with every day."

Passing sentence, Judge Lord Scott said Kayden Moy's death was "pointless and unnecessary".

He said the attackers "travelled to Irvine, armed, intent on a reprisal for some slight".

He added: "It could have been anyone but Kayden slipped and fell."

The court heard that Stewart and the 15-year-old - while acting with Turley - chased Moy and repeatedly stabbed him with a lock knife after he fell to the ground.

Stewart brandished his baton and was heard to shout "Murray Boys". He then told a witness at the scene that his victim "deserved it."

After running from the scene, Turley stuck the knife into the grass and was overheard boasting that he "just done him."

CCTV showed the trio running down a road near to the beach - stopping momentarily to embrace each other.

They also went on to create a rap song mocking Moy who at the time was fighting for his life in hospital, and Turley acted out the murder on the couch of a friend whose flat was used as a hide-out.

That friend, Fraser Wallace, told the court the teenagers were "over the moon" after the attack.

He said: "I have never seen people as happy in my life."

Stewart and the younger boy had both denied murder but were found guilty last month after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Prosecutor Liam Ewing KC said the group's apparent congratulations to each other after the stabbing were "the actions of those who have accomplished what they came to do".

The trial heard the attackers were members of the Murray Boys gang from East Kilbride, while Moy was a member of the rival Himshie group.

The trio had travelled to Irvine beach after a fight between the groups earlier that day.

Stewart, who was also armed with an extendable baton, had previously made threats towards Moy on social media.

The boys threw rocks at Moy and his friends - which prosecutors said was intended to draw them into a fight.

After the stabbing, which led to scenes of chaos on the beach, they took a taxi back to East Kilbride.

Earlier, Donald Findlay KC spoke in mitigation for Stewart. He told the court that Stewart and Kayden Moy had been "close friends at one time".

He added: "But two groups were formed and took to behaving in the way that they did. Violence was commonplace."

He said Stewart regrets what happens and has been "very affected" since his conviction.

Stewart was subject to a community payback order at the time for possession of a machete which was imposed four days before the murder.

His other previous conviction was a breach of the peace with a knife.

Mark Stewart KC, representing Turley, said the 18-year-old "didn't intend to kill or want to kill Kayden Moy but he accepts that he did".

Iain Duguid KC for the third teenager said he was 14-years-old at the time of the murder and his "immaturity" had been highlighted in criminal justice social work reports.

He said the teenager had a "traumatic upbringing" and has since engaged in education projects while in secure accommodation.

He will be detained in secure accommodation until he is 19, before being transferred to prison.

Moira Orr, who leads on homicide for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service said: "The three accused, all teenagers, made themselves potential murderers the moment they armed themselves with at least one knife.

"And murderers they became. One of them - Cole Turley - struck the fatal blow but prosecutors proved that all three were part of the planning and execution of the crime.

"It is difficult to adequately express the devastation caused by their decision to carry a bladed weapon."