The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Suspected US killer is linked with cold cases
Details passed to Police Scotland in relation to Dundee murders
A dead American being investigated in two cold case murders in the United States could be behind two of the most notorious unsolved murders in Dundee history, it has been claimed.
Details of the suspect, who died four years ago, have reportedly been passed to police in Scotland in relation to the murders of Carol Lannen and Elizabeth McCabe, whose bodies were found in Templeton Woods in 1979 and 1980 respectively.
The claims were made in the Daily Record, which did not name the suspect but quoted unnamed family members who said they think he might have been the killer. The man, who was 72 at the time of his death, is being investigated in connection with “several cold cases” in the US.
Police Scotland have asked anyone with information to contact them.
Miss Lannen was found strangled in the woods in 1979. Miss McCabe had been missing for 15 days when her body was found in 1980, just 150 yards from where Miss Lannen’s was discovered.
The cases remain unsolved. Vincent Simpson was tried and found not guilty of Miss McCabe’s murder at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2007.
Family of the American man passed on details of his trips to Scotland in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
One relative told the Daily Record: “The police here don’t tell me much but they said the DNA link is still being investigated to rule him out or in, as the case may be.
“He hasn’t been cleared as a suspect yet. I’ve contacted Crimestoppers UK over my suspicions about him and his connections to Scotland.
“He had family connections there (Scotland) and was also in the military.
“He was extremely self-righteous. He was brought up in a strict Catholic family and would’ve disapproved of prostitutes and single mothers, like Carol Lannen. He wrote about his fascination of nurses, like Elizabeth McCabe.
“My theory is he was an organised serial killer who planned out and stalked his victims.
“Maybe he was overlooked by Scottish police because he was a tourist or they didn’t know about him? I’ve offered my DNA so they can do a familial link.”
Chief Inspector Suzanne Chow said : “All unresolved homicides are reviewed for opportunities presented by new information or advances in forensic science which will be acted on. Police Scotland never considers cases closed and the passage of time is no barrier to the investigation of unresolved homicide cases.”