DETECTIVES have stepped up the hunt for the killers of a man who was brutally beaten to death within sight of his horrified partner after a night out.
William McKeeney, who was described by police as someone with no enemies, was returning home when two men of Asian appearance launched an unprovoked attack on him just yards from his front door in Pollokshields, Glasgow, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
He had called his partner Annemarie Newlands, 48, to tell her that he was on his way home, but around 15 minutes later she looked out of the window to see the two attackers jumping up and down.
She could not tell that her long-term partner was being attacked until she got on to the street and saw the 57-year-old's battered body lying on the ground.
Around 60 police officers are involved in the hunt for Mr McKeeney's killers, and the force appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Chief Inspector Stephen McAllister said: "Mr McKeeney's partner was concerned about the time delay after the telephone conversation and was looking out for him coming home. She didn't realise it was her partner until she went out to the street, so it's obviously been fairly horrific for her.
"He was unconscious by the time she got to him and my understanding is he never regained consciousness.
"You can imagine that she's completely traumatised, the fact that she's found him is absolutely horrendous."
Detective Chief Inspector David Gailey added: "As you will no doubt understand, she is completely devastated, as are William's family – most of whom are in Ireland. William was from Donegal.
"People should be repulsed by what has happened and I would ask them to think about the effect this has had on his partner and, indeed, the local community."
The murder scene in Melville Street is close to where 15-year-old Kriss Donald was kidnapped before being tortured and murdered by a gang of Pakistani men in 2004.
Neighbours have claimed the victim had previously had his car tyres slashed by a group of young Asian men, but DCI Gailey said there was nothing to suggest the attack was racially motivated, although they have refused to rule it out at this stage.
He added there was no suggestion that a weapon was used in the attack or that the labourer had been robbed.
Admin worker Lisa Pascoe, who was staying with her partner at a neighbouring flat, has told police she spotted the two suspects after returning from a night out after midnight.
The 28-year-old, who was visiting from London, said: "We got out of the taxi and I thought 'oh this is a bit rough'.
"There was a bit of aggression from two Asian boys and we decided to give them a wide berth. They were making a bit of noise, shouting and acting aggressively. It's scary to think that we could have been there just two or three minutes before it might have happened. We never saw the victim at that point and it's really frustrating to think that we might have been able to change what happened if we were just a few minutes later.
"The next day when I saw all the police, I thought it was one of the Asian boys that had been murdered, but then we found out it was another man."
Local shopkeeper Mohammed Jamil, 53, added: "William was a very nice man, he came into my shop every day to buy something and he was always very friendly."
Anyone with information should call Cathcart Police Office on 0141 532 4943 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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