The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Murderer’s family upset over evidence
Justice: Gilroy was jailed for 18 years
The family of a man convicted of one of Scotland’s most notorious murders has hit out at moves to destroy evidence linked to the crime. David Gilroy was jailed for 18 years for the death of former lover Suzanne Pilley – whose body has never been recovered but is believed to be hidden somewhere in Argyll.
The family of a man convicted of a notorious Scottish murder criticised moves to destroy evidence linked to the crime.
David Gilroy was jailed for 18 years for the death of former lover Suzanne Pilley – whose body is believed to be hidden in Argyll.
Book-keeper Miss Pilley, 38, disappeared in 2010, only yards from the offices in central Edinburgh where she and Gilroy worked. Detectives carried out searches across hundreds of square miles of remote mountains in Argyll.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has announced plans to ditch the rest of the evidence used to convict him. But Gilroy’s relatives say they will never be able to prove his innocence if prosecutors get rid of the evidence used in his trial.
His stepmother Linda Gilroy said: “To get rid of evidence at this stage denies David the chance to commission experts to show how badly some of the key evidence used to convict him is wrong.
“Scotland seems to be out of line with England and Wales and other modern jurisdictions in getting rid of evidence at such an early point in a sentence.
“How many other Scottish prisoners have been, or will be, robbed of the chance to prove that they have been wrongfully convicted?”
Sentencing Gilroy at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2012, Lord Bracadale said he acted with “quite chilling calmness” when he was disposing of the body.
Gilroy, who was told he would serve at least 18 years in prison, now hopes to seek expert opinions on key evidence in the case.
COPFS claims it is impractical to continue to store such evidence and there is no need.
A spokeswoman said: “David Gilroy was convicted of murder and his appeal and application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission were unsuccessful..”
“Scotland seems to be out of line with England and Wales”