Man alleged to have posed as victim to get Viagra prescription after killing him in Fife

A suspect is accused of murdering a man and trying to set fire to his body – before posing as him to get Viagra.

David Barnes allegedly killed Ean Coutts, 60, on September 3, 2019.

Prosecutors list a number of locations the murder may have happened – Kinglassie and Lochgelly, both Fife, or elsewhere in Scotland.

Ean – also known as Ian – is said to have been attacked by “means unknown”.

Barnes, 32, faces a separate charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

It is said he removed the body of Ean inside a wheelie bin from a property in Kinglassie before dumping the remains at an abandoned industrial unit in Glenrothes, Fife.

Barnes is accused of then attempting to burn the corpse in a bid to avoid detection for the alleged crime.

Among the 36 charges Barnes faces there are a series of fraud allegations in connection with Ean.

It is said on October 24, 2019, he pretended to staff at a medical centre in Cardenden, Fife that he was Ean.

He allegedly applied for a “repeat prescription” of Viagra and nicotine patches before getting them.

The indictment earlier states Barnes stole a Nationwide bank card in Ean’s name days before the alleged killing.

There a number of places listed he is accused of using the card including at a McDonalds in Glenrothes on September 6, 2019 for £15.50 of “goods”.

It is also said to have allowed him to withdraw a total of £5,610.

Among the other places he allegedly committed fraud was to make a £1.18 purchase at a Poundstretchers discount shop, to buy tickets for an “entertainment show” at Rothes Hall in Glenrothes and at a leisure centre in Dunfermline, Fife.

Barnes also allegedly applied for a credit card in Ean’s name stating he was a £56,000-a-year self-employed forklift driver.

The final charge claims Barnes contacted the Department of Work and Pensions on February 10, 2020 again claiming to be Ean.

He said is to have stated he was now living in a caravan in England, had no access to the internet and no longer needed benefits.

Prosecutors claim this was to “induce” the DWP that Ean was still alive.

Ean’s remains were discovered at Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes in September 2020, but it was only later that he was identified.

The case against Barnes called for a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow.

His legal team pled not guilty on his behalf and a trial was fixed for November 2023.