Soil sample match in murder riddle

Hopes that the mystery of Louise Tiffney’s murder could finally be solved have risen after forensics made a breakthrough with soil samples.

A source told a Sunday newspaper that soil from the site where Ms Tiffney’s body was discovered in the grounds of Gosford House, Longniddry, in East Lothian, could lead to the case being solved 16 years after her murder. It is understood soil from the site has been matched conclusively to soil samples taken during the original investigation.

The source said: “When the case was first brought to trial, no body had been recovered. There was a compelling case, but without a body there will always be doubt.

“Now a body has been recovered which constitutes fresh evidence, but it has also provided opportunities that were not there before such as the possibility of recovering DNA from the victim’s clothing and the potential to match relevant soil samples with the deposition site.

“Forensic tests and other investigations are still being conducted, but detectives have reached the stage of informing the Crown of considerable progress and are seeking direction on what more they need to take the case for trial.”

Ms Tiffney, 43, vanished from her home in Edinburgh’s Dean Village in 2002. A cyclist stumbled across her remains on a patch of scrubland on the Gosford House estate on 2 April last year.