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Duncan Banks

Age: 39

Sex: male

Date: 28 Sep 2015

Place: Skye Road, Dunfermline

Duncan Banks was beaten to death with a hammer at his council flat on Monday 28 September 2015. However, it was thought that he probably died the day before, Sunday 27 September 2015 between 9:30am and 11am.

A heroin addict was charged with his murder, but the case against him was found not proven.

At the trial it was claimed that the heroin addict had killed Duncan Banks and then stolen his money, heroin, a wallet and a key. The heroin addict's DNA was found on cigarettes in the ashtray in Duncan Banks's living room.

The heroin addict was seen later on in the day after it was thought that Duncan Banks had been murdered in CCTV footage with a large sum of money, but he claimed that the money was from his own heroin dealing.

Duncan Banks died from extensive fracturing to his skull and had deep cuts and tears in his scalp that had caused traumatic damage to his brain.

His body was found after some friends became worried after not hearing from him. They went round to his flat and saw his blood covered body through a window. He was slouched in his favourite armchair covered in blood. He had no defensive injuries.

The friend, who was also a heroin dealer said that he had given Duncan Banks 14 grammes of heroin for him to use and sell before he and his girlfriend went off on holiday to a caravan park in Elie. He said that Duncan Banks was also looking after his dog, and he said that he became worried when Duncan Banks didn't answer his phone. He said that he thought that Duncan Banks might have taken an overdose and went to see him but could not get into his flat. He said then that he got a ladder which, because it was unstable, he held whilst his girlfriend went up to look through Duncan Banks's window whilst he held it. However, he said that when his girlfriend looked through the window, she became hysterical and started screaming, saying that she could see Duncan Banks dead in his chair.

The friend noted that he knew that Duncan Banks had a 'stash place' in his bedroom where he would hide his drugs and money.

The murder weapon was thought to have been a rusty claw hammer, but it was never found, although a 12-inch crowbar was found lying on the floor near to the right hand side of the chair. The police said that Duncan Banks's flat was clean and tidy and that there were no signs of any disturbance or fight.

The police said that they didn't think that it was in any way a random attack. It was noted that there had been no forced entry into Duncan Banks's flat.

Duncan Banks was a heroin dealer and used to sell heroin to addicts in the Abbeyview area of Dunfermline, and it was said that he had been targetted for his heroin and the money that he had made from selling it. His mother said that he had been using heroin for over twenty years. She said that the heroin had changed his personality and added that he had always been desperate for money. She said that he would come to see her everyday looking for money, saying that she always gave him some to stop him from stealing. She said that she thought he had used the money to buy drugs or pay off dealers but said that it was a shock to her to find that he had also been dealing heroin.

It was noted that the heroin addict was one of the few people that he would actually let into his flat and the heroin addict had even been allowed to stay overnight at his flat in the week before his murder.

The heroin addict admitted taking heroin and said that he had been taking heroin at Duncan Banks's flat about two hours before the time that the police said that they thought Duncan Banks had been murdered.

However, he claimed that another man that he named committed the murder.

It was heard that the heroin addict had claimed that he had never had a key to Duncan Banks's flat, but at the trial it was heard that he later admitted that he had had one some time before but had given it back. He denied that he had lied about the key, saying that it was a misjudgement of words and not a lie because he couldn't remember having one.

At the trial it was heard that the heroin addict had switched his phone off for certain parts of the day, and when asked why, the heroin addict said that he had just wanted peace and quiet.

He also claimed that a prisoner that he had shared a cell with in Perth Prison who said that he had confessed to him was lying and also said that another man who said that he had told him that he was going to rob Duncan Banks was also lying.

The man that said that he had heard the heroin addict say that he was going to rob Duncan Banks said that he regularly bought £20 deals of heroin from Duncan Banks and said that he met the heroin addict near to Duncan Banks's flat and said that the heroin addict told him that he had seen Duncan Banks with £500 of someone’s money from selling drugs and that he knew where he kept it and that he felt like robbing him. However, the man said that when the heroin addict said that he had been laughing and that he didn't take him seriously.

Duncan Banks's mother said that Duncan Banks had told her shortly before his death that he had been threatened over a drugs debt.

Duncan Banks suffered from epilepsy.


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