‘We had to tell Stephen’s little sister that he’d been murdered. She’s six’

A MOTHER whose son was “brutally” murdered days before Christmas said the family will never get over their loss.Stephen Pollock, 21, was found dead at a friend’s house in Weaver Terrace, Paisley, at about 11:15pm on Wednesday.

Detectives said there was no apparent motive for the shooting.

The abattoir worker was last seen alive at his family’s home, about ten minutes’ walk from the scene, at around 3:30pm that day, and police are trying to piece together where he was in the hours between.

His mother, Nancy, yesterday appealed for information which could help catch whoever is responsible for her son’s death. She said: “Stephen was a great son and much loved by all the family. I can’t believe that he has been so brutally murdered and won’t be here for Christmas. This should be such a happy time for every family.

“We had to break the news to his wee sister, who is only six, this morning and she is absolutely heartbroken and she asked me if she won’t be her brother’s girl any more.

“Our lives will never be the same and we will never get over not only losing Stephen, but losing him in such a horrific and tragic way – no family should ever have to put up with what we have suffered.”

She added: “If anyone has any information that may help police, please, please come forward.”

Mr Pollock’s middle sister, Stacey, accompanied her mother, who made the appeal at Strathclyde Police headquarters in Glasgow.

It is not yet known whether Mr Pollock, who suffered one gunshot wound, was shot inside the house or elsewhere. Detective Superintendent Alan Buchanan said: “We believe he died very quickly after being shot and would not have been able to go any great distance.

“We believe the furthest he would have been able to go would probably have been from the front immediately outside the house.

“We don’t have any members of the public who reported hearing a shot being fired.”

He would not say where on the body Mr Pollock was injured.

Police said that while they have no motive for the 21-year-old’s murder, such attacks tend not to be random.

Det Supt Buchanan appealed for information from anyone who saw Mr Pollock during the course of the afternoon or evening.

He said: “Clearly, the family are devastated by the circumstances. It’s two days until Christmas Day and they are not going to have their son there. Somebody will have information that can assist us.

“The people responsible will either have confided or boasted to someone that they were responsible.

“We would ask anybody with any information, regardless of how insignificant they think it may be, to come forward and allow us to bring the people responsible to justice and to give Stephen’s family some peace over Christmas.”