THE family of a man convicted of killing his former lover despite no body being found have insisted he is innocent and the case against him was flawed.

 

David Gilroy, three years into an 18-year life sentence for the murder of bookkeeper colleague Suzanne Pilley, was convicted without witness or forensic evidence.

A circumstantial case was enough to convince the majority of a jury that an early morning encounter between the two had ended in married father-of-two Gilroy, 52, throttling, in a jealous rage, the woman who spurned him.

Prosecutors argued that he concealed her body in the basement of the offices where they worked and then the boot of his car before disposing of her remains next day in a 'lonely grave' somewhere in the Argyll forest.

Gilroy, of Silverknowes, Edinburgh, has always maintained his innocence, and his wife Andrea, and family have stood loyally by him.

His stepmother, former Plymouth MP Linda Gilroy, said: "We were shocked and devastated by the verdict.

"We found ourselves in the middle of a living nightmare.

"When the appeals were rejected the Judges said that the case was in any event overwhelming.

"We do not believe this was so."

She added: "The more we have looked into the case the stronger becomes our belief that David's trial was far from fair and full of gaps in evidence that should have been put before the court.

"The jury heard, as we did, that for all but a maximum of some five to seven minutes of the period when the crime was supposed to have happened David was seen three floors above where the crime was supposed to have happened.

"We were puzzled that only five of the 30-plus witnesses whom the defence had prepared to give evidence were called.

"But overall we thought that David's QC had done enough."

There has been no trace of Ms Pilley since her grainy image was last caught on CCTV near her Thistle Street workplace at 8.55am on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, after a bank holiday weekend.

The Gilroy family, including his wife Andrea, 45, his two teenage children, father Bernard, stepmother Linda and mother Grace, have put their own case together.

They are challenging the Crown Office over the disclosure of information including CCTV footage from various locations which they say would give answers that would either prove or disprove their case.

Gilroy has lost two appeals but his case is currently being examined by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission which could lead to a new appeal being heard.

The family are making claims against the circumstantial case which included CCTV that placed Ms Pilley on her way to work, that Gilroy had scratches and bruising argued to be consistent with strangulation and that he tried to cover them up, that he took too long on a work trip to Argyll he didn't have to make, that his car had been damaged by off-road driving, that a police cadaver dog had reacted to the car and basement and he had made numerous calls and texts to Ms Pilley which ceased immediately she disappeared,.

Their claims include that there is some CCTV footage that should have been examined publicly but has not been, that some footage that should have been captured may not have been and that there is existing information and witnesses not yet publicly or judicially tested.

Until now the Gilroy family has only released statements supporting their belief in his innocence at key milestones in the appeal process.

But Mrs Gilroy said: "How likely is it that a murder which involved a sustained struggle such as to cause injuries, could have been committed and covered up without leaving forensic traces, in a maximum of six to seven minutes?"

A Crown Office spokesman 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."

A spokesman for Police Scotland said officers could not comment as the case is subject to SCCRC review.

Gilroy's lawyer Jim Wardlaw, now retired, defence QC Jack Davidson and appeal QC John Scott declined to comment.

The SCCRC is expected to report its conclusion in August.

Mysterious disappearance sparked huge search but body never found

The Pilley family said they are aware of the ongoing legal action but also declined to comment. Following Gilroy's conviction they urged him to end their agony and tell them where he had buried the body.

Ms Pilley's parents, Robert, 73, and Sylvia, 72, said at the last appeal: "It puts us through hell."

The evidence used to convict Gilroy

CCTV images from locations between Princes Street and Thistle Street placed Suzanne Pilley within 30ft of her office on the morning she vanished.

Gilroy had cuts and bruises on his hands which the trial heard were consistent with defence of strangulation. Gilroy said they came from gardening and clearance of dense undergrowth and a 20ft hedge. Gilroy tried to cover up the injuries with make-up before a police interview.

Gilroy drove to Lochgilphead for work the day after Ms Pilley went missing, but the journey took around two hours longer than usual. Analysis of fuel consumption suggested that 124 miles of Mr Gilroy's journey were unaccounted. He also collected black bin bags from Lochgilphead.

An examination of Gilroy's car revealed vegetation and soli on the underside, said to be consistent with driving off-road.

Gilroy made 49 calls and sent 400 texts in a month to Ms Pilley. But they stopped on the morning she disappeared suggesting he knew she was dead.

A specialist cadaver dog picked up the scent of a body in the boot of his silver Vauxhall Vectra despite it appearing to have been sprayed with air freshener which Gilroy bought on the lunchtime of the day Ms Pilley went missing.