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.
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