No joy, elation or closure for mum shattered by grief
Family life torn apart by Emma death
Emma was a much-loved daughter and sister, and when her life was cruelly taken nearly 19 years ago, her family’s lives were torn apart for ever.”
Mr Anwar went on: “The moment Emma went missing, Margaret’s life changed forever, she has thought about her, every minute, of every day.”
Emma had been living in a hostel in Glasgow when she was murdered.
She had turned to drugs and later prostitution to fund her habit following the loss of her sister Karen to cancer. The keen horse rider – described as having “a heart of gold” – had turned to heroin to cope with her grief, the court heard earlier this month.
Mr Anwar added: “Emma Caldwell mattered, the 25 women who spoke up mattered, six of whom are dead, and the many whose voices which were never heard in this court mattered – today we honour all of them.”
May 2015: Police ordered to reinvestigate Emma’s murder.
May 2015: It emerges that cops put all their energy into finding a mole who gave information to Gerry Gallacher – instead of trying to properly crack the case.
Nov 2015: The Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office (IOCCO) found the force breached the rules by spying on journalists’sources five times in a string of‘reckless failures’.
Aug 2016: Police Scotland ordered to pay Gerry Gallacher £10,000 in damages for intercepting his communications data.
April 2017: Detectives reveal they are carrying out new searches near where Emma’s body was found. Officers also reveal a potential new sighting in Glasgow on the last day she was seen alive.
June 2017: Police and Emma’s mum Margaret make a fresh appeal for information on BBC’s Crimewatch Roadshow.
June 2018: Detectives finally hand in a file naming Packer as official suspect.
Feb 2019: Packer unconvincingly tells BBC Disclosure documentary that he did not kill Emma.
March 2020: Packer is jailed for throttling his former partner at an address in Airdrie. The court hears of his string of convictions for attacking women.
July 2021: Margaret Caldwell meets new the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC – who admits mistakes were made.
Feb 2022: Packer is arrested over the murder of Emma and appears in court, where he denies the charge. Charges relating to other women follow in months ahead.
Feb 2024: After a trial lasting over four weeks weeks, Iain Packer is convicted of the murder of Emma Caldwell.
Margaret’s life changed forever, she has thought about her every minute of every day