PAISLEY CARE WORKER WAS MURDERED BY ‘FRIEND’
Kibble staff told parents tragic Emma had not turned up for work
A man has been found guilty of murdering Paisley youth worker Emma Faulds.
The 39- year- old was reported missing by her parents when she didn’t turn up for work at the Kibble Education Centre in Paisley in April 2019.
Ross Willox (left), 41, killed Emma at his home in Ayrshire, on April 28, 2019.
Two days later she was reported missing by her parents Margaret and Ian and a police investigation began.
Willox did nothing to help in the search of his friend of 18 years.
He instead had earlier driven Emma’s body in the boot of a car before dumping the naked remains at the end of a remote track
in Glentrool Forest, Dumfries and
Galloway.
It was weeks after Willox was charged with the killing that Emma’s badly decomposed corpse was uncovered.
The recruiting of a world renowned soil expert was crucial in snaring Willox as earth found in a pair of boots linked him to the scene.
His legal team argued it had not been proven Emma had actually been killed.
But, jurors yesterday convicted Willox of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice after a six week trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Emma’s emotiona l parents and sisters Miriam and Sarah were present to hear the verdict.
Lord Mulholland told Willox: “You know what the sentence for murder is - it will be life imprisonment.
“Be under no misapprehension, this was a foul crime on a young woman loved by her family.
“You would have visited upon them a lifetime of wondering if she was still alive had her body not been recovered as a result of the sterling work by the police and experts.
“It was in such a remote place and you had intended her body would never be recovered.”
Willox showed no emotion as he lead handcuffed back to the cells.
Emma had gone to Willox’s home in Fairfield Park, Monkton for drinks on the night of the killing.
It is at the house prosecutors stated Emma was then murdered by means unknown. Little is known as to what exactly happened there.
But, on Tuesday, April 30, her mum got a call from the Kibble Education Centre in Paisley that she had not turned up for work.
Margaret told jurors: “We were concerned because it was totally out of character.
“She was in touch every day. We knew something was wrong.”
Police eventually forced their way into Emma’s home in Kilmarnock that day finding only her beloved Westie dog Maverick unusually alone.
A nationwide appeal was launched to try and find her.
On May 6, 2019, detectives announced they had fears Emma had come to harm.
Four days later, Willox appeared in court charged with her murder – even though, at that time, no body had been found.
He appeared in the dock despite the “extreme lengths” he had gone to in a bid to cover up the crime.
But, Prosecutor Paul Kearney told jurors “good police work” uncovered “a trail of evidence” pointing to his guilt.
This included Willox’s Mercedes SUV being spotted on CCTV the day after the killing heading towards the area where Emma’s body was eventually discovered.
His DNA was also discovered on a lever in
Emma’s BMW 1 series - described by a friend as appearing “abandoned” at her home.
Police also discovered Willox had bought four bottles of bleach and rubber gloves at a local bargain store after the killing.
A Jaguar car driven by Willox was also examined by a police dog trained in the scent of dead bodies.
Willox had also made searches of a friend’s iPad including for “can police track your car’ and for “blood”.
Emma’s naked remains were found hidden in an area of Glentrool Forest someone “would not normally walk through” on June 12.
The court was told Willox had knowledge of the area from his work as a wind farm project manager.
Jur o r s we r e t o ld Emma’s body was so badly decomposed, a pathologist could not state what caused her death although she had an apparent injury on her neck.