Trial of pair accused of missing Margaret’s murder collapses
THE trial of two carers accused of murdering a woman who has been missing for at least 18 years collapsed yesterday.
Edward Cairney and Avril Jones had been on trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
They were accused of murdering Margaret Fleming when she was 19. The crime was alleged to have taken place at Seacroft, the home they shared in Inverkip, Renfrewshire, between December 1999 and January 2000.
Miss Fleming was reported missing in 2016, and it was alleged she had not been seen for 18 years before that.
Both her carers were charged following an intensive police search at their property and an excavation of its grounds lasting several months, as part of a probe into the disappearance of Miss Fleming.
Cairney, 76, and Jones, 58, were also accused of fraudulently claiming £182,000 in benefits by claiming Miss Fleming was still alive. The couple denied all charges against them.
Yesterday the trial, which was in its third week, was halted.
Judge Lord Matthews announced that he was abandoning the trial ‘pro loco et tempore’, meaning it can be held again at another time.
No explanation was given in court for the trial collapsing, but Lord Matthews said that it was not the fault of either the prosecution or the defence counsel.
He told the court: ‘I will desert the trial pro loco et tempore. As a result of circumstances we can’t proceed.
‘It is highly unfortunate all this has arisen.’
Prosecutor Iain McSporran, QC, said: ‘I move for the trial to be deserted and for a fresh preliminary hearing and fresh trial to be set. I also think a brand new indictment.’
Defence QC Thomas Ross applied for bail for his client Cairney, which will be decided in court today.
Cairney was also accused of assaulting Margaret Cruikshanks on November 26, 1997, at Seacroft.
It was alleged that he pushed her against furniture, knocked her to the ground, placed his hands round her neck, compressed her throat, threatened her with violence and repeatedly spat on her face.