The family of a man convicted of killing his former lover despite no body being found are challenging the evidence against him publicly for the first time.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates post-appeal cases to establish whether a miscarriage of justice has been done, confirmed it is continuing its probe into the Gilroy claims beyond the expected eight-month schedule.
The 52-year-old from Silverknowes, Edinburgh, was convicted without witness or forensic evidence and has always maintained his innocence over the killing of the bookkeeper.
But the case against Gilroy was compelling, first to a jury and then to an appeal court.
Judge Lord Bracadale told Gilroy when he was convicted that he hoped he would one day say where he abandoned the victim's body.
The evidence that convicted Gilroy included CCTV images from locations between Princes Street and Thistle Street which placed Ms Pilley within 30ft of her office on the morning she disappeared.
However, it is claimed a witness who saw Ms Pilley heading in a different direction shortly after her last alleged sighting at a location where CCTV would have been available has not given testimony.
They claim there is a “missing” mobile phone belonging to Gilroy which would include pictorial evidence that would question the police timings on the journey during which he was said to have buried Ms Pilley's body.
They have questioned availability of reports on damage and vegetation on Gilroy's car said to have pointed towards off-road driving.
Gilroy's stepmother, former Plymouth MP Linda Gilroy, said: “The make-up was fake tan which David had tried out when out shopping with his family in Sainsbury’s in Craigleith on the day before the alleged murder."
She said this should have been available on CCTV and argued that aspects of concern about the police dog’s training have not been explained.
It is also claimed a small blue car caught on CCTV being driven out of Thistle Street on the morning Ms Pilley disappeared is unaccounted for.
The wife, parents and children of Gilroy, who is three years into a life sentence with a minimum of 18 years in prison for the murder of his bookkeeper colleague Ms Pilley, are supporting his appeal.
Following Gilroy's conviction the Pilley family urged Gilroy to end the pain and tell them where he had buried her body.
The Pilley family declined to comment.
However, Ms Pilley's parents, Robert, 73, and Sylvia, 72, said earlier they could not have closure without knowing where their daughter is and said after the last appeal: "It puts us through hell."
A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “David Gilroy was sentenced to life imprisonment having been found guilty by a jury after trial.
“The Crown has a duty of disclosure throughout proceedings, which was fulfilled.”
Police Scotland said it cannot comment as the case is still under review.
The SCCRC confirmed the review is continuing.
After Lord Bracadale's sentencing, Lord Carloway, Lord Brodie and Lord Wheatley rejected Gilroy's appeal saying that the police acted legally when dealing with him and that Lord Bracadale acted correctly during his trial.
The Gilroys claim there are elements of evidence that have yet to be tested in open court.
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