Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Murder case ‘isn’t closed’
Police respond to criticism
POLICE have responded to claims that they “failed” the family of a murdered Dundee man whose killer remains at large five years after his death.
John McMurchie, a former security guard and a dad-of-five, was on a night out to celebrate his birthday with friends and wife, Donna, in Fintry when tragedy struck.
John was found lying on the street in August 2012 by two members of the public in Fintry Drive with a stab wound to the heart.
He later died in Ninewells Hospital. At the time, police arrested a man in his sixties in connection with the murder investigation, but after two days, he was released without charge.
John’s killer has never been caught, despite police taking nearly 1,000 witness statements.
The Tele previously revealed John’s brother Bruce, 59, from Lochee, is planning to hire a private investigator in a bid to discover the truth – stating that police “let his killer get away”.
But Detective Chief Inspector Mark Bell, of Police Scotland’s Homicide Governance and Review, said “the passage of time is no barrier to the investigation of unresolved murder cases” and “these cases are never closed”.
He added: “Homicide Governance and Review keeps all unsolved and unresolved homicides under review and regularly meets with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in an attempt to review these cases and pursue resolution.
“Police Scotland, along with our partners i n t he Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services, continue to relentlessly pursue advances in technology and investigative approaches which help bring those responsible for serious and violent crimes to justice and provide answers for families of the victims.
“Scientific and forensic developments, combined with information from the public and determined investigative work can yield new opportunities in such cases. If anyone has any new information, please call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”