Breakthrough in the hunt for tragic Emma’s killer as man’s DNA is found
DETECTIVES are a step closer to identifying the man who murdered Emma Caldwell after a DNA breakthrough.
Her naked body was found near Roberton, Lanarkshire, in 2005. She had been strangled.
The 27-year-old prostitute from Glasgow went missing in April that year and a dog walker found her body a month later.
Yesterday it emerged that detectives, who renewed the investigation into her murder two years ago, have pinpointed the DNA of a man on samples taken from her body during the original inquiry.
The breakthrough is understood to have been made using a stateof-the-art DNA profiling technique known as Y-STR and only introduced by Police Scotland six months ago.
The technique was used in 2013 by scientists in the United States to identify the Boston Strangler, who murdered 13 women between 1962 and 1964. It works by isolating male chromosomes in samples containing a high proportion of female DNA.
It is hoped that in narrowing down the search to a single man, the new DNA evidence will be key to closing the net on Miss Caldwell’s killer.
The murder inquiry team are also investigating a string of serious sex attacks, including one alleged to have been carried out by a man questioned by detectives as part of the original inquiry.
Details of the DNA discovery were disclosed following a week of activity by 20 officers at two sites, including a pond in the woods where the body was found.
Police said they were trying to find her clothing, a large bag and other personal effects. Officers are also keen to speak to other women who were taken to the area.
Detective Superintendent David McLaren, who is leading the inquiry, said: ‘How does a girl from Glasgow walking into the city centre end up so far from home, 41 miles away, on a remote road? That is why it is so important that other women from the city who ended up there talk to us.’
Lawyer Aamer Anwar, who acts for the Caldwell family, including Miss Caldwell’s mother Margaret, said: ‘After 12 years, the net is closing in around the man responsible for Emma’s murder. I would urge anyone who has carried the burden of knowing what happened to Emma to come forward.’
It is believed Miss Caldwell entered a black car, possibly a BMW, on Glasgow’s Argyle Street on the night she disappeared.
A Police Scotland spokesman said it would ‘not be appropriate’ to comment on a live investigation.
‘Net closing on man responsible’