POLICE are investigating possible links between the murder of a man in his own home and the suspected drugs death of a teenager in the same street.
Kevin MacKay, 40, was killed late on Thursday night at his home in the Dumfries and Galloway village of Ecclefechan, which has a population of about 750.
Two weeks ago, Jamie Abba, 18, was found dead in unexplained circumstances at an address in the cul-de-sac, Peacock Place.
His death is being treated as unexplained, but there are reports he may have taken fake "Green Rolex" Ecstasy tablets.
The pills have been recently linked to a number of deaths of young people across Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The funeral of Mr Abba, who lived locally, was earlier held on Thursday. The murder victim died despite the efforts of paramedics to save him at the scene.
Police Scotland said they are open-minded about a possible link.
A spokesman said more officers would be drafted into the village in an attempt to reassure people.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Kerr, the Senior Investigating Officer, said he understood the tensions to grip the village and appealed for anyone with information about Mr MacKay's death to come forward.
He said: "I fully appreciate and understand the tensions that are being felt in Ecclefechan at this time and I would encourage anyone who may have any information about the death of Kevin MacKay to come forward if they can help.
"I am asking the community to pull together at this time and help us bring those responsible for his death to account.
"Any information, no matter how small might be of assistance to us and I would urge those who think they can help to get in touch with Police Scotland through 101.
He added that for the "foreseeable future", Police Scotland will have an increased presence in the village while we carry out our investigations into this death.
DCI Kerr added: "The community should be reassured that this is a very rare type of crime in our part of the country and any one of our officers will be happy to speak to the community to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to bring this matter to a close and to offer advice as required."
Recent victims of Green Rolex fake tablets are thought to include Demi Campbell, 18, from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire and Nick Donnelly, 19, of Castlemilk, Glasgow.
Last week, in response to Mr Abba's death and the possibility of drugs being involved, Police Scotland said: "We're investigating the circumstances of this death and assure the public we'll take every opportunity to report persons responsible for supplying such a substance."
One villager said that rumours were circulating in the Annandale village, which is five miles south of Lockerbie, about a possible connection between Mr MacKay and the dead teenager.
Peacock Place is also only a few hundred yards from the local school, Hoddom Primary and local councillor Arch Dryburgh said the children had been affected by the impact of the deaths.
The Labour local authority member for Annandale East and Eskdale, said: "Obviously any death in a small village is unfortunate and having the two so close together is even more unfortunate and certainly unusual.
"There may or may not have been a connection between the two, but we won't know this until the Police complete their investigation.
"We know that the two deaths have affected the children in the primary school and there's been a lot of support from the teachers and I hope the villagers also pull together through this."
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