Gilroy drops QC ahead of appeal

Senior News Reporter

Friday 3 August 2012

DAVID Gilroy has changed his legal representation ahead of a two-pronged bid to appeal his conviction of murdering Suzanne Pilley.

APPEAL: David Gilroy was convicted of killing Suzanne Pilley.

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BRIAN DONNELLY

Jack Davidson, QC, who defended Gilroy during his trial earlier this year, will not represent him in any forthcoming appeal and instead one of Scotland's newest Queen's Counsel, John Scott, will argue the case if the grounds of the challenge are accepted.

Gilroy was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh despite the fact Ms Pilley's body has not been found.A source close to the case said the appeal would be fought on points of law that arose during the trial which Lord Bracadale presided over, but also on a separate earlier hearing during which legal instructions were issued by the judge. The grounds of appeal were lodged shortly before the eight-week deadline after Gilroy's legal team indicated the move to challenge the conviction, but not the 18-year sentence he was given in March.Gilroy, who was married, was jailed for killing Ms Pilley, 38, after she ended their affair, before burying her body.Police believe Gilroy, 49, strangled the former bookkeeper in the basement of the offices they shared in Thistle Street, Edinburgh, before hiding her body in his car for 24 hours. He has always protested his innocence.After Gilroy, described as a "deceitful and controlling" individual by prosecutors, instructed lawyers at Edinburgh law firm Wardlaw Stephenson Allan to begin an appeal, notice of the move was given to the Court of Appeal.The source said: "Now the grounds of appeal are lodged, it will be considered whether leave to appeal will be granted."The grounds are based on points of law that arose during the trial and will also include a hearing before the trial where the judge made certain rulings."The family and friends of Ms Pilley appealed to Gilroy to end their torment and reveal the whereabouts of her body.When the verdict came, her parents, Rob Pilley, 68, and his wife Sylvia, 69, said: "Although the trial has ended, our ordeal goes on, and we hope one day we can lay our daughter to rest."It was revealed during the trial Gilroy had sent Ms Pilley 400 texts in the month before her disappearance, and these stopped instantly after she had vanished. While friends and family tried to contact her mobile phone, Gilroy did not.It is believed he dumped her body in a forest in Argyll.His family, who attended the trial, have supported Gilroy as he protested his innocence.Mr Scott is the current Criminal Lawyer of the Year, and the solicitor advocate was appointed QC last year. He acted in the Nat Fraser case this year.Mr Davidson, of the Connarty Advocates stable, has extensive experience in a wide range of mainstream criminal practice and was second senior counsel in the Lockerbie trial on behalf of the accused.

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Gilroy drops QC ahead of appeal

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