Af ter 25yrs, bid to win justice for Amanda is thrown out
PROSECUTORS are set to throw out a father’s bid to continue his fight for justice for his murdered daughter following the death of her alleged killer.
The Mail revealed yesterday that Joe Duffy wants the campaign to go on despite the death of Francis Auld, the suspected killer of Mr Duffy’s daughter Amanda.
But it is understood that the Crown Office will tell the Duffy family that the fight is over, as it is not possible to indict someone after their death.
The disclosure is a blow for the Duffys as they prepare to meet police today to discuss their options in the aftermath of Auld’s death.
Miss Duffy, then 19, was found beaten to death on waste ground in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, in May 1992.
Mr Duffy cited the case of missing Coatbridge schoolgirl Moira Anderson, who vanished in 1957, whose case remained under investigation following the death in 2006 of her alleged killer Alexander Gartshore.
But it is understood that prosecutors believe this is a false comparison as Gartshore had never faced trial, while Auld was acquitted of murdering Miss Duffy, on a not proven verdict.
There was also an unsuccessful attempt by the Crown last year to reindict Auld after the law on double jeopardy was changed, allowing fresh trial following acquittals where new evidence has emerged, which could have led to a new trial.
The Crown Office declined to comment last night but the Mail understands it believes there are no further legal options open – meaning it is likely no one will ever be brought to justice over Miss Duffy’s murder. Last night a Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘The murder of Amanda Duffy remains open as an unresolved case. We continue to ask people with any information which could assist the inquiry to contact police.
‘Any new information or evidence will be thoroughly investigated.’
Auld stood trial in 1992 for the murder of Miss Duffy but walked free from court. Then an unemployed mechanic, he was acquitted on a not proven verdict.
In 1994, he was convicted of making threatening phone calls to former friends, telling them: ‘You thought Amanda was the last – you’re next.’
A year later, the Duffy family successfully sued Auld for £50,000. The family did not receive a penny.
The change to Scotland’s double jeopardy laws in 2011 meant Auld could be retried over Miss Duffy’s death.
Police and prosecutors spent around two years trying to build a new case against him but it collapsed after new evidence was ruled inadmissible.
Auld, 45, who was believed to have been battling pancreatic cancer, died last Saturday in a hospice in Torquay, Devon.
Earlier this week, Mr Duffy, 68, told the Mail his fight for justice was ‘not finished’, adding: ‘There is no question of who I think killed her, I have never been in any doubt.’
Asked if he believed Auld was the killer, Mr Duffy said: ‘If anyone was responsible, it was him.’
‘My fight for justice is not finished