JUSTICE AT LAST FOR MUM
SERIAL RAPIST CONVICTED OVER KILLING OF MOTHER IN 1984 Daughter didn’t believe police had the right man for Mary’s brutal murder.. but then DNA proved crucial in nailing monster
TRAGIC Mary McLaughlin’s daughter Gina McGavin has told that before the one-in-a-billion DNA evidence was revealed in court, she was convinced the wrong man was in the dock.
Gina, who has relentlessly pursued the answers to her mum’s death for more than 35 years, said: “Until the DNA evidence was heard, I was still doubtful the police had the right man.”
Speaking exclusively to the Record, the 67-year-old said: “I have to accept the evidence and it shows that Graham McGill killed my mum.
“I am so glad that after all those years of heartache and pain, finally we have justice for my mother.”
McGill was found guilty of murdering Mary at her home in Partick in October 1984.
Gina, who wrote a book about her mum’s death, said: “I was so shocked when they arrested McGill. He wasn’t a name that was familiar to me at all.
“Until the trial this week, I knew nothing about him. I was sceptical but after hearing about the knot and the DNA from him on the cord, I now realise that police had the right person after all.
“I’m relieved not just for myself and my family but for my mother. She deserved justice, especially after so long.”
Great-grandmother Gina was so tormented by Mary’s death she made a promise to herself to never stop looking for answers.
She regularly contacted police for updates and badgered officers to keep the case under review. She said: “My mum was a happy-go-lucky person who didn’t deserve that kind of ending.
“She never took life seriously and always had a smile on her face. She was always making jokes and was never judgmental. My children called her ‘Funny Granny’ as she was always cracking jokes with them.
“She was a kind soul, so full of life and never harmed a soul. She would speak to anyone and give people the time of day. He [McGill] must have taken advantage of that.”
Gina added: “When I think of my poor mum and her life, I think she didn’t deserve to die like that.
“I feel sad for her and that her life ended the way it did.
“She hadn’t had the best life. Her own mother died when she was five and she was passed from pillar to post. She never stood a chance in life and he robbed her of what should have been the rest of her natural life.
“It makes me feel sad, but I don’t hate him.
“I don’t have it in me to hate anyone – that’s a cancer that eats you up and swells into bitterness. You can dislike intensely what someone has done without it becoming hate
“My mum was the same. She
didn’t have a hateful bone in her body but I’m glad that after 36 years, my mum has finally got justice.”
Gina said she doesn’t regret “pestering” police to keep looking at Mary’s case in the hope new evidence would come to light.
She said: “I’m grateful to the scientists who decided to look at the evidence again. I don’t regret keeping on at the police to make sure they didn’t forget Mary and I’m glad I’ve spoken out about my mum to keep it in the public eye. I was determined to keep pushing and nothing was going to stop me.”
Gina struggled to come to terms with the brutality of Mary’s final moments and wrote a book in a bid to move on.
She added: “But it’s not about me, the book was written to keep my mum’s memory alive.
“I visit her grave often and I always said one day I would be able to visit and tell her that justice has been done. It has taken 36 years but finally my mum can rest in peace.
“I remember the last time I saw her. It was a couple of weeks before she was last seen alive and we had a lovely personal conversation. It was the most personal one I’d ever had with her. I’m glad we were able to have that.
“I will always miss her but now this is over I’m going to move forward and try to enjoy what I have left of my own life and retirement.
“Mum never held a grudge and neither do I. But, at long last, we have justice for Wee Mary.”