15 years on Witnesses quizzed in Emma Caldwell murder probe
Witnesses in the Emma Caldwell murder case have been interviewed by Crown Office lawyers as part of a reopened investigation – 15 years after her death. Lawyers under the instruction of the Lord Advocate, Scotland’s leading prosecutor, have spoken to key potential witnesses identified by the second police probe into 27-year-old Emma’s death.
The interviews have taken place as the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service lay the groundwork for a potential court case.
A police report on the murder, following a renewed four-year investigation, was filed to the Crown last year.
A source said: “The new police investigation was painstaking as it re-examined all the avenues of investigation from the original case plus some significant new lines of inquiry.
“The time it has taken will not have been easy for the family but there is a determination that this investigation will be water tight.” Emma, from Erskine, Renfrewshire, went missing in March 2005 from the hostel where she lived in the south side of Glasgow. Her body was found in woods near Roberton, in South Lanarkshire several weeks later.
A murder inquiry resulted in four Turkish nationals being accused of Emma’s murder but charges were dropped as a crucial translation of recorded audio evidence was found to be botched.
In 2015, reporters identified a forgotten suspect who previously admitted taking Emma to the woodland and repeatedly changed his story during six police interviews. He cannot now be named for legal reasons.
Later that year, then Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland ordered the murder inquiry be reopened.
In August 2018, we revealed a major new inquiry into unsolved historic crimes on the back of the reopened murder probe.
That investigation, which is ongoing, is looking at mainly sexual offences that emerged after a re-examination of 1,000 statements given to the original inquiry. Emma’s mum Margaret has frequently spoken of her frustration at the long wait for justice.
In an interview 14 months ago, she said: “Above all, I would like to see justice for Emma but I would be happy if the inquiry into her death might also give justice to other women and victims.”
Chief Superintendent David Mclaren said: “The investigation into Emma Caldwell’s murder remains open and a team of detectives continue to examine the circumstances of her death.” A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “This is a live investigation and it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.”