MUM MURDER SUSPECT WAS ‘LIKELY’ GUILTY
Tragic Louise’s son took own life before he could stand trial
A MAN who took his own life after he was accused of murdering his mum would likely have been convicted of the crime, senior judges ruled.
Sean Flynn was due in court last October to face a charge of killing his mother, Louise Tiffney, 43, but his body was found outside an apartment block in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Louise was last seen near her Edinburgh home on May 27, 2002. Her body was discovered in 2017 in a shallow grave by the entrance lodge to Gosford House in Longniddry, East Lothian.
It was alleged that Flynn, who was 37 when he died, snapped and killed his mum after arguing with her over his upcoming sentencing in a dangerous driving case and over his relationship with an older woman.
He walked free from court in 2005 after a jury found the charge that he had killed Louise not proven but Crown lawyers had successfully brought the case back to court after presenting new evidence against him. In her judgment,
Lady Dorrian, sitting with Lord Menzies and Lord Brodie said: “It is the cumulative effect of the evidence, the row, the screams, the fact that the respondent was the last person known to see the deceased, the blood, the CCTV, the telephony, and the finding of the remains in the location and condition shown by the evidence, together with the scientific evidence which must be considered as a whole.
“Having done so, we consider that the combination of evidence presents a compelling and persuasive case against the respondent such that a properly instructed jury, considering it all together, would have been likely to convict of the original offence.”