Three adolescents have been imprisoned following the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy at North Ayreshire’s beach. Jay Stewart, 19, Cole Turley, 18, and an unnamed 15-year-old were convicted of murdering Kayden Moy, 16, after a confrontation on Irvine beach on May 17, 2025. They received minimum detention sentences of 16, 16, and 14 years, respectively.
Turley confessed to the killing, while Stewart and the 15-year-old were found guilty of murder after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. The trio were associated with the ‘Murray Boys’ gang in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, while Kayden and his group, Himshie, hailed from East Kilbride.
During the trial, it was revealed that just before the incident, Turley, Stewart, and the 15-year-old were hurling rocks from the top of a sand dune at people on the beach. Kayden’s girlfriend, Keryn Knox, recounted that as they were preparing to leave around 6 pm, Kayden confronted the teenagers who were throwing rocks.
Knox testified, “I went up with him to try and stop him. At that point, he had run up the hill and was shouting back. Then Cole ran in, and Kayden saw a blade, but when he tried to flee, he slipped, and Cole stabbed him twice in his left lower side.”
Another witness mentioned accompanying Kayden to confront the teenagers, where Turley brandished a knife and Stewart had an extendable baton. The witness described the tragic event, stating, “Then out of nowhere, Cole started running at us. I ran to the right, Kayden slipped, and Cole leaped over, landing on him with the knife. I witnessed one stab.”
Kayden sustained severe injuries from the attack and tragically succumbed to them later on. Ahead of the sentencing, Kayden’s father, Paul Moy, expressed on social media, “Nothing that happens in that courtroom will ever bring our son back. No sentence can fill the emptiness, the heartbreak, or the lifetime of memories we’ve been robbed of. Tomorrow is not about closure because there is no such thing when you lose a child. It is about justice, accountability, and ensuring my son’s life is remembered. Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever my son.”