NO SYMPATHY FOR VICTIM
Joe tells how killer enjoyed wedding and hols as Duffy family grieved
JOE DUFFY says his family went through hell to bring daughter Amanda’s murderer to justice, only to see him walk away again.
In his letter to Lord Advocate James Wolfe, he writes: “We were transported back to a time which should never have to be revisited – all with the promise of: ‘This time we’ll get it right.’
“We were subjected to hours of interviews looking for bits of evidence, the re-examining and handing back of lots of Amanda’s stuff, the reopening of wounds, like picking at scabs.”
Joe claims that while this agonising process was being played out, killer Francis Auld was simply left to get on with life as a free man.
He tells Wolfe: “The commonly held belief by the public was that Auld was being re-interviewed and harassed. Unfortunately, this was certainly not the case.”
Joe believes that throughout the harrowing years after the murder, the system treated Auld with kid gloves while Amanda’s family were forced to suffer.
And he claims that attitude still persists even after Auld’s death at 45 from pancreatic cancer this month.
The family wanted police to talk to Auld’s relatives to see if he said anything in his final days about Amanda’s murder. They wondered about the possibility of a last-minute attack of conscience, perhaps even a deathbed confession.
But the Crown flatly refused to consider even asking the question.
Joe writes: “Unfortunately, all our suggestions were dismissed emphatically by the Crown. They believed this course of action could/ would be viewed as ‘harassment’.”
The Duffy family believe it was a typical response from a system more concerned for the killer than the
The public believed that Auld was being harassed. This was not the case JOE’S LETTER
victim. Joe writes: “With every process we have been involved with in the criminal justice system regarding justice for Amanda since 1992, the one over-riding truth is this...
“Amanda has not, and will never now receive, the justice she deserves.
“It is remarkable, because it is clear to everyone who ever looked at this case that we all know who the guilty party is.
“The damning indictment on the Scottish justice system is that they failed Amanda at every level. And it appears they continue to do so.”
Joe says the Crown left Auld on the loose despite DNA evidence linking
him to the murder scene which should have put him back in the dock.
He adds: “It seems they were happy to allow him to walk the streets knowing he had the capability to perform the same devastation.
“How many others are there like that?”
The Record revealed in March last year that Auld, who moved south after the murder, had married fiancee Portia Doble in a lavish ceremony at a castle in Cornwall.
The couple enjoyed expensive holidays including a trip to China. Portia supported Auld through his final illness.
Joe writes: “Auld had children and married twice. He was welltravelled. Although some might argue he died young, he had opportunities he robbed Amanda of.
“His wife and family had time to make their peace and say goodbye, and he was treated with dignity in death by our wonderful NHS.”
Joe contrasts Auld’s peaceful death with the ordeal suffered by Amanda and her family.
He writes: “None of us were afforded this luxury – not because of some unforeseen accident or illness, but because of the actions of one man who did not show any remorse or suffer any consequence.”