Bartender slain, body then burned

A bartender whose scorched body was discovered in an industrial area in Ayrshire may have been the victim of a homophobic attack, Scottish police said Monday.Stuart Walker's body was discovered in Cumnock at about 5 a.m. Saturday, the Daily Record of Glasgow said. The body was partly clothed and Walker had been subjected to "an extremely violent and sustained attack."Chief Superintendent John Thomson said investigators had not determined whether Walker was sexually assaulted. He said the motive for the attack was unknown and the possibility Walker was killed because he was openly gay is being investigated.Walker was last seen at about 2:30 a.m., and Detective Inspector John Hogg said investigators were trying to track his movements after that, The Guardian reported. He appealed to anyone who might have seen Walker in his last hours to come forward."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, Hogg said. "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."