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John Henry Nisbet

Age: 25

Sex: male

Date: 13 Oct 1999

Place: Elphinstone, Tranent

William Lindsay and John Nisbet were shot and set on fire in Elphinstone, Tranent.

Their bodies were found burnt on a hilltop near Elphinstone near the B6414. Their burnt out white Peugeot 406 car, registration number P935 TSU, was later found near Airdrie.

The police said that John Nisbet had been shot three times in the head and three times in the body, whilst William Lindsay had been shot three times in the body. They were said to have been shot with a powerful handgun.

One of the men was first found by a 58-year old man that was out walking his dog and the police found the second body soon after. The dog walker said that it looked like someone had built a big fire noting that the area around the body he found was scorched. He said that there were no signs of violence.

They were identified by their fingerprints.

It was thought that their murders took place between 9pm on Tuesday 12 October and the early hours of Wednesday 13 October 1999.

It was said that they were murdered in a drugs war and that they were known to the police.

William Lindsay was from Motherwell and John Nisbet was from Craigneuk.

They were last seen the day before, Tuesday 12 October in Motherwell and Wishaw.

The place that they were found was a hill that formed part of the 420-acre Elphinstone Tower estate.

Later in May 2000 it was stated by the police that they believed that one of the men had been murdered near Monklands Bridge in North Lanarkshire, the day before on 12 October 1999, after they matched water and sediment samples from the site with forensic evidence found on the body.

It was thought that William Lindsay and John Nisbet had driven there from Hamilton in their car. The police said that it was almost certain that they had driven there for a pre-arranged meeting with at least two other men who they might have first met at a small housing estate at the back of the Chapelhall Industrial Estate before going to Monklands Bridge.

John Nisbet was said to have just completed a four-year prison sentence for a shooting and the police said that they thought that he had been involved in a drive-by shooting some days before his murder. It was also said that William Lindsay had acted as John Nisbet's driver in other crimes.

It was suggested that John Nisbet had previously been hiding out in a caravan in East Lothian in the days following the failed drive-by shooting which was said to have been part of a long-running feud.

Two suspects were named, but no one was charged.


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