The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mother tells of impact of murder
The Dundee mother of a woman murdered in a Glasgow public park 12 years ago has shared her private journals for the first time in a BBC Scotland documentary dedicated to her memory.
Beatrice Jones’ daughter Moira was abducted, raped and murdered in Queen’s Park on May 28 2008.
Moira, 40, had lived in a flat overlooking the park in Glasgow’s south side and was dragged from the street just yards from her front door before being subjected to a horrific ordeal lasting up to three hours.
The sales executive, whose screams were dismissed by passersby, was found the following day by a park ranger behind a privet hedge in the 148-acre park.
The subsequent murder investigation eventually led to Slovakian ex-soldier Marek Harcar being ordered to serve at least 25 years behind bars.
In the feature-length documentary The Dark Shadow Of Murder, to be shown tomorrow, Dundonian Beatrice, 79, shares her private journals to reveal the heartache her family endured.
She says: “I will never find the words to describe our trauma, devastation and despair, the horror of how Moira died.
“Shortly after, to try to cope better, I started to write my inner turmoil.
“Much later, I thought that this could also help other people.”
The words in Beatrice’s journals, revealed in the programme, are an enduring tribute to her daughter.
In one entry she wrote: “Maybe my pain will be eased if, as I write of my desolation and despair, I also write of my lovely Moira.”
In another, she recalls her daugher as “a joy, always loving, always loved”.
The Dark Shadow Of Murder, which is dedicated to Moira’s memory, highlights Beatrice’s tireless campaigning to offer the families of murder victims in Scotland much-needed support.