We need justice for sex workers
»»Killers never been traced after four women are slain »»Police are accused of not taking the crimes seriously
THE calls in today’s Record for a full review of the unsolved cases of murdered Glasgow sex workers should be heeded.
Emma Caldwell’s killer, the evil Iain Packer, was finally brought to justice but there are other murderers out there who have never been caught.
The bodies of Diane McInally, Karen McGregor, Leona McGovern and Jacqueline Gallagher were all discovered within five years of each other in and around Glasgow in the 1990s.
It’s horrifying to think prejudice against sex workers may have caused these cases not to have been as thoroughly investigated as they should have been.
Just like Emma, these women had hopes and dreams and families and friends who loved them.
They and their loved ones deserve justice and to know everything possible has been done to find their killers.
Police could reopen these investigations because, as lawyer Aamer Anwar says, there is no limit on justice.
With advances in DNA and forensic science raising hope convictions in some of these cold cases could finally be made, there’s no time to lose.
Police Scotland rightly apologised for the original inquiry into Emma’s killing, which let down her family as well as Packer’s many other victims.
Now attention has turned to these cold cases of four other vulnerable victims still awaiting justice, cops have an opportunity to make some degree of amends.
It’s heartening to see the force saying it will never consider these cases closed until their killers are caught.
But there should be a full review with no stone left unturned to bring those responsible to justice.
CALLS to review the unsolved cases of a string of murdered sex workers have been made after Emma Caldwell’s killer was finally brought to justice.
The lawyer for Emma’s family and a retired detective whose work “solved” the 2005 murder have called on police to refocus on the murders of four other vulnerable victims whose killers have never been traced.
The bodies of Diane McInally, Karen McGregor, Leona McGovern and Jacqueline Gallagher were all discovered within five years of each other in and around Glasgow in the 1990s.
Lawyer Aamer Anwar and former detective Gerry Gallacher yesterday said they all deserve a fresh chance at justice following the long-overdue conviction of Emma’s killer Iain Packer.
Anwar, who has demanded a public inquiry into the handling of Emma’s case, said: “There was a toxic culture at the time of these unsolved murders.
“It was a toxic mix of corruption, criminality and sexism that meant sex workers were not treated as human beings. The crimes that were committed against them weren’t taken seriously.
“I very much want Police Scotland, a public inquiry and the Crown Office to consider what was happening at the time.
“We have always said there is no time limit on justice and that applies to these cases. There has never been any justice for them, their families and their friends.”
Emma, 27, vanished from Glasgow city centre in April 2005 and her body was found in woods near Biggar, Lanarkshire, more than five weeks later. In 2007, detectives arrested and charged four Turkish men but the case against them collapsed the following year.
Eight years later the Sunday Mail newspaper named Packer as a “forgotten suspect” in the case.
Packer, 51, was finally convicted of Emma’s murder after a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow last week – along with a catalogue of other charges against 22 women, including more than a dozen sex workers.
Sentencing him to a minimum of 36 years in prison, judge Lord Beckett said the father of three had “pursued a campaign of violence and appalling sexual mistreatment” to satisfy his “pathologically selfish and brutal sexual desires”.
Police Scotland apologised for how the original inquiry into Emma’s killing was handled by what was then Strathclyde Police, saying “her family and many other victims were let down by policing in 2005”.
Now attention has turned to the cold cases of four other vulnerable victims still awaiting justice.
The body of Diane McInally was discovered in Pollok Park, Glasgow, in October 1991. The 23-year-old had been beaten and strangled. Two men were later arrested in connection with her death but they were never charged.
Karen McGregor’s body was found in bushes in the car park of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow in April 1993.
A man – who has since died – stood trial for the 26-year-old’s murder but a jury returned a verdict of not proven at the High Court in Glasgow.
In June 1995, Leona McGovern was throttled and stabbed.
The 25-year-old’s body was found near Glasgow’s red light district in Anderston. A 51-yearold man went on trial for her murder but was found not guilty.
Jacqueline Gallagher’s body was discovered near a bus stop in Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, in June 1996.
The 26-year-old, of Paisley, had suffered more than a hundred injuries.
A 55-year-old man who had been a frequent client of the sex worker stood trial for her murder but was found not guilty.
Police Scotland yesterday said it remains committed to catching their killers and the cases will never be closed.
But former detective
Gallacher, whose probe into Emma’s death led to her family being informed about Packer as a potential suspect, said fresh scientific evidence in the case – and a soil sample linking the murder accused’s van to the scene where Emma’s body was found – could spell new hope for the four unsolved cases.
Gallacher said: “Given advances in DNA and forensic science, it may be worthwhile looking at the others to see if they can glean anything which will help them.
“The soil sample analysis at the time in 2005 when Packer’s van was examined and his footwear taken wasn’t sophisticated enough to provide the result that was subsequently given in court by the dirt expert.
“Given there has been a tremendous leap forward in various aspects of forensic science, then that may well be worth a consideration.
“In a similar way to how the soil sample analysis was a crucial port of the Crown’s case in pinpointing Packer to the deposition site, we may just be able to identify new possibilities.”
Det Supt Graeme Lannigan said unresolved murders are “never closed” and Police Scotland is “fully committed to identifying those people responsible for all such cases”.
He said: “Police Scotland’s homicide and governance review team and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service work together to review outstanding undetected and unresolved homicides to maximise the ability to deliver justice for grieving families, irrespective of the passage of time.
“Any new information received on any of our unresolved cases will be fully investigated.”