Man appears in court charged with murder of Scots dad in Livingston

Connor Manners, 25, appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court on Monday.

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Gary Nicol in Livingston.

The father died after he was found seriously injured on the West Lothian town's Bankton Lane at around 2am on Thursday, September 26. Emergency services raced to the incident but sadly the 50-year-old HGV driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Connor Manners, 25, appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court on Monday charged over the father's murder. Manners, of Livingston, made no plea.

He was remanded in custody while the case was committed for further examination. Manners will reappear in the dock within the next seven days.

Meanwhile, Gary's heartbroken daughter, Taylor, paid tribute to her late father on October 2 - which would have been his 51st birthday.

Writing on Facebook, Taylor said: "Today is your birthday dad which makes this time even more harder. I would like to think heaven has a pint of Tennent’s and a wee glass of dark rum and cola waiting for you."

Following a post-mortem examination, detectives initially treated Gary's death as unexplained. However, further inquiries carried out by a dedicated team of specialist officers later led to the circumstances to be treated as murder.

On the evening of his death, it is believed he drove to Bankton Lane in his black Ford Mondeo car, registration GN02GRN. He arrived at the scene around midnight before he was allegedly murdered.

A public appeal was launched by Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team shortly after his death. At a media briefing held last week, Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Pleasance, from Police Scotland's Major Investigation Team, told how Gary's family have been left "devastated" by his death.

He said: "Gary was well known in his local community and his family are devastated. He was a father, a son, a brother, an uncle. His family, at the moment, are desperate for answers and that is what we're seeking to get and that is why I am asking the public to assist us with their inquiries."

The portal can be accessed here: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).

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