It was a very grim find.
A gay barman in Scotland was tied to a lamp-post, beaten and burnt alive.
He may have been the victim of a merciless homophobic attack.
Stuart Walker may even have been sexually assaulted before the murder.
It gets worse… police say that Walker may have even known his murderers..
His body had scorch marks and he had suffered horrific injuries.
Police say that Walker may have been murdered because of his sexuality.
Detective Inspector John Hogg, Ayr CID, said: ''Stuart had been out with friends in the Cumnock area earlier during the night and was last seen alive by a family friend near to the fire station in Glaisnock
Street around 2.30am hours on Saturday morning - nearly two and a half hours before he was found.
''It is imperative that we find out where he was between 2.30am and 4.50am hours, who he was with and why this happened to him.
''From our enquiries so far, we understand that there may have been a number of house parties in the nearby Netherthird housing estate in the early hours of the morning - between 2am and 3am hours.
''At this time we do not know if these parties are linked to our investigation or not, so again, any information on that is important.
''Officers are checking CCTV and carrying out door to door in the area and we would encourage anyone with information to approach them or to call Ayr Police Office."
A colleague of Walker, Kazza Sutherland said: "Can't believe this is happened to such a great guy. I hope they catch those who did this to him. Hopefully justice will be served and I hope those who did this go to hell."
