POLICE hunting the killer of a quiet, churchgoing Motherwell teacher

say she may have known her assailant.

Mary McKinlay, a 50-year-old spinster and a devout Jehovah's Witness,

was found stabbed to death in the living-room of her high-rise flat on

Sunday.

Miss McKinlay was known to be security conscious and there were no

signs of forced entry to the flat on the eighth floor of Glen Tower in

Range Road, Motherwell. Her body was discovered by two friends who had

called round before the service at the nearby Kingdom Hall where she

worshipped regularly.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Dunn of Motherwell CID, who is leading

the murder inquiry, said Miss McKinlay had been the victim of a vicious

attack but there was no sign that she struggled with her killer or that

her tidy flat had been disturbed. He refused to say whether she had been

sexually assaulted.

''She was particularly security conscious and she would not allow

strangers into her home. . . there is that possibility that she may have

known her assailant,'' said Mr Dunn.

Following a post-mortem examination, police estimate the time of death

as late Saturday night, early Sunday morning.

A team of 40 officers are working on the case with priority being

given to piecing together Miss McKinlay's last known movements. She was

last seen alive around 10.15 am on Saturday, talking to four or five

women friends.

Yesterday morning as police in masks and boiler suits sifted through

rubbish outside the flats, neighbours described Miss McKinlay as a

quiet, friendly woman.

Caretaker Archie Clelland, 61, who had known her for 25 years, said:

''She was like a sister, very affectionate and friendly. ''

Mr Clelland said the flats had a good security system with a buzzer at

the main door and peepholes in each flat.

Neighbour John Cook, who has lived in the block for 19 years, said

many of the residents were terrified. He claimed there had been another

incident around five years ago in the same block of flats when an

elderly woman had been sexually assaulted.

At Duncanrig Secondary School in East Kilbride, where Miss McKinlay

was head teacher of English, staff withheld news of the murder until a

French Standard Grade exam was over.

Then headmaster David Forrest held a special assembly to announce the

news to pupils. Mr Forrest said later: 'Everyone at the school is very

shocked and saddened by the death of Mary who was a well-loved and

dedicated teacher.''

Miss McKinlay joined the school in 1977. An honours graduate from

Glasgow, she started her teaching career at Lanark Grammar in 1973.