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A barman who was tied to a lamppost, burned and brutally murdered could have been targeted because he was gay, police believe.

Stuart Walker, 28, was found with "horrific injuries" on an industrial estate just two and a half hours after leaving a house party in the early hours of the morning.

There were scorch marks on his body from being set alight and he had been severely beaten.

Strathclyde police said of the attack, near Mr Walker's home town of Cumnock, Ayrshire: "We can't rule out that he was targeted because he was gay."

Heartbroken cousin John Mullen said last night: "Stuart was the best guy ever."

His body was discovered at 5am on Saturday. He was due to attend his gran's 80th birthday party that day.

Yesterday, she left flowers near the scene with the note: "Love you always. Sleep tight." Police are trying to trace his final movements.

The local MSP said the attack has shaken the community.

Adam Ingram told BBC Radio Scotland: "People are shocked and horrified.

"Stuart was a very nice young man, very popular and well-known within the Cumnock community, and their thoughts and hearts are going out to the family at the moment.

"It's shocking and horrifying, and it's come completely out of the blue. It's clearly shaken the local community."

Mr Ingram, the SNP MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, said he understood that vigils have been taking place in the area.

He told the Good Morning Scotland programme: "Stuart was very well-known and popular in the area, and I understand there have been many visits to the family home."

Mr Ingram said he would not speculate on the motive for the attack, saying police were not releasing many details about the case at this stage.

He added: "Clearly they're looking for local people who might know anything at all about what happened late on Friday night/Saturday morning to come forward and help them with their inquiries."

Detectives are also checking CCTV footage and making door-to-door inquiries in a bid to trace his last movements.

Detective Inspector John Hogg, of Strathclyde Police, said Mr Walker was last seen alive about two hours before he was killed.

He said: "Stuart had been out with friends in the Cumnock area earlier during the night and was last seen alive by a family friend near to the fire station in Glaisnock Street around 2.30am on Saturday morning - nearly two-and-a-half hours before he was found.

"It is imperative that we find out where he was between 2.30am and 4.50am, who he was with and why this happened to him.

"From our inquiries so far, we understand that there may have been a number of house parties in the nearby Netherthird housing estate in the early hours of the morning.

"At this time we do not know if these parties are linked to our investigation or not, so, again, any information on that is important."

Hundreds of tributes were left on Facebook pages set up to honour the former Royal Hotel worker.

A post from Karen Nicol on a page called RIP Stuart Walker, which almost 4,500 people joined, read: "Life is so unfair. A genuine guy who always had a smile, a wave or a big cheery hello for everyone. Cumnock an emptier place without you for lots of people."

Anne Dunnachie wrote: "Every once in a while we are lucky enough to have known someone like you Stuart. A very special person...the world lost a wonderful person yesterday."

