The Glasgow Crime Story of the murder of Kenny Reilly

Kenny Reilly had been out for a meal with friend Emma MacDougall, 25, and was being driven home in her silver BMW.

It had been a pleasant and enjoyable evening and the couple would have had little expectation of the horrors that were about to unfold.

A black Ford S-Max suddenly pulled up in next lane.

A passenger wearing a black balaclava got out of the car and opened fire on 29-year-old Reilly as he sat in the front passenger seat.

At this point Ms MacDougall tried to reverse the car away from the gunman but he continued firing.

The mystery masked shooter then jumped back into the Ford which was then driven off at high-speed by a second man.

Terrified, Ms MacDougall called for an ambulance as her friend, who had been hit with six shots, fought for his life.

The heavily bleeding passenger was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary by paramedics, where he died two days later after being taken off life support. 

A major murder investigation was launched by Police Scotland.

Though people were reluctant to come forward with information officers began to build up a picture of who may have carried out the brutal and brazen attack.

Four names emerged as prime suspects including a father and son.

They were Darren Eadie, 30, dad Morton Eadie, 56, John Kennedy, 41, and Ross Fisher, 30.

Three of the suspects, the Eadies and Kennedy, had disappeared abroad days after the shootings.

Kennedy, who was suspected of shooting and fatally wounding Reilly, flew to Jamaica 48 hours after the incident. 

It was the same day that his victim died.

Darren Eadie, who organised the murder, took a trip to Cancun in Mexico.

Morton Snr, the driver of the getaway car, headed to Alicante in Spain.

Murder squad detectives investigated Reilly's assassination for 20 months before charging their suspects. 

During that period a £10,000 reward was offered by Crimestoppers for information.

All four men stood trial in November 2021 at the High Court in Glasgow.

One of the first witnesses was Ms McDougall who told the jury of Reilly's final minutes on April 16, 2018.

She described her anguish as she desperately tried to help her friend, who had been blasted in the head.

On the night he was shot, Ms MacDougall had gone to the victim's house in Bilsland Drive in Ruchill to take him for a meal at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

When she stopped at lights at the junction of Bilsland Drive and Maryhill Road, the black Ford S-Max motor pulled up in the right hand lane.

Ms MacDougall said: "Somebody came out of the back seats wearing a black balaclava and started shooting at my car.

"I don't think I have any words for it. It was every single emotion ever. I didn't know whether to drive. I know I needed to phone the police.

"I knew I needed to phone an ambulance. I was trying to remain calm because I knew Kenny had obviously suffered a severe injury."

During 12 weeks of evidence it emerged that the murder was linked to a feud between rival factions in Glasgow's Possilpark and Maryhill.

Eadie Jnr also wanted revenge for an attack on his pal Ryan McAteer eight days before the shooting, which he blamed on Reilly,

During their investigation, detectives recovered a mobile from McAteer and found a number of incriminating messages in a WhatsApp group which he and Eadie Jnr were part of.

The jury heard how one of the messages read: "F**k the Reillys."

Another said: "F**k the Possil."

A detective told the court that Reilly and his brother Peter were "Possil Boys".

The jury also heard evidence from a supergrass witness who claimed that Kennedy had confessed the murder to him.

Kevin McGinn, 30, had shared a cell at HMP Barlinnie for 11 days with the alleged gunman.

Kennedy had admitted the attack was over "drugs and money" and that Reilly owed a major underworld figure £100,000.

Details of the gang's bids to avoid arrest also emerged

After arriving back in Scotland from Jamaica on May 2, 2018, Kennedy had jetted off again to Alicante.

Kennedy was arrested in Spain in November 2019 and extradited back to the UK.

In court, jurors watched shocking CCTV of the murder.

Images showed Kennedy appearing from the rear of the black Ford car and using an automatic pistol to fire six shots at Reilly.

The attackers sped off to nearby Craigieburn Gardens in Maryhill immediately after the bloodbath, where they set the car on fire before disappearing into the night.

But forensic experts found Fisher's DNA on the wreckage and the breakthrough helped detectives narrow down the list of suspects.

The court also heard that a phone seized from Kennedy had contained EncroChat software.

The secure, encrypted messaging app was mainly used by organised gangs to mastermind crimes.

Prosecutor Steven Borthwick said evidence showed that Eadie Jnr organised the plot, while his dad acted as getaway driver.

Fisher stole and torched the Ford and Kennedy was the gunman.

A jury agreed and found all four guilty after the four-month trial in February this year.

Though the Eadies and Fisher hadn't fired any shots, under Scots law they were considered as guilty of murder as the gunman himself.

The court was then told that Kennedy had a conviction from 2008 at the High Court in Glasgow for firearms offences and had had been jailed for 54 months.

Before sentencing, judge Lord Beckett slammed the murderers for ignoring the risk to Ms MacDougall and members of the public.

All four were given life sentences which are mandatory for murder.

Kennedy was ordered to serve at least 26 years for shooting Reilly.

Eadie Jnr was locked up for a minimum of 24 years, and Eadie Sr and Fisher were each ordered to serve 22 years before they can seek parole.

After passing sentence, Lord Beckett also told the gang there was no guarantee they would be set free after completing the terms.

He added: "It will be for the parole board to determine when it is safe for you to be released from prison.

"People who are prepared to engage in such meticulously planned and ruthlessly perpetrated assassination on the streets of our cities can expect substantial punishment."

Reilly's family had watched proceedings at the court and left the building without making comment following the verdict. 

After sentencing the four killers, Lord Beckett also praised the jury for their fortitude over the previous three months, describing the evidence they had heard from witnesses as "harrowing".

He added: "Plainly this has been a long and demanding trial and there has been some evidence which some of you may have found deeply upsetting to listen to."

The judge then said they were exempt from jury service for life.

During their lengthy investigation, police also thought they'd made a breakthrough in an unsolved murder from March 2006.

Jamie Campbell had been gunned down in Essenside Drive in Drumchapel by a mystery assailant. 

But forensic scientists using new techniques found DNA which "could" belong to Kennedy on bullets recovered from the street where Campbell was shot.

A burned-out Fiat Ducato close to where Campbell was shot contained items with Kennedy's DNA.

However, his defence team claimed that it was the notorious gangster Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll, now dead, who murdered Campbell.

The jury delivered a not proven verdict on that murder charge for Kennedy.

David Green, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said at the end of the case: “This was a brazen, calculated murder in a public place that showed a complete disregard for the safety of others.

'These four men took steps to try to conceal their actions, but thanks to diligent work by investigators and prosecutors, they have been brought to justice."

While detective superintendent Stevie Wallace, who led the murder inquiry, also hailed the gang’s convictions.

He added: "Kenny Reilly left behind a family who has sought answers on how and why their loved one was killed.

"Although he can't be brought back, I hope this result will bring some comfort.

"It really does show that no matter the length of time, if you commit a crime, you will be caught and you will be brought to justice."