the man jailed for murdering Suzanne Pilley has been told his appeal will begin just before Christmas.
Appeal Court judges yesterday informed solicitors acting for David Gilroy, 50, the bid to have his conviction quashed will begin on December 20.
Gilroy, of Silverknowes, Edinburgh, was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh in April of murdering his former lover Ms Pilley. He was sentenced to life and must serve at least 18 years.
It was claimed he killed the divorcee at her place of work in Edinburgh in May 2010 then dumped her remains in a shallow grave near the Rest and Be Thankful beauty spot in Argyll. Her body has never been found.
Gilroy's defence lawyers lodged an appeal against the conviction in July 2012. They were given permission to argue that police should have told Gilroy he was suspected of committing a crime when officers interviewed him days after Ms Pilley went missing.
They say detectives are supposed to tell people who are suspected of committing a crime that they are being spoken to as a suspect in a criminal investigation.
The defence team says information Gilroy gave during his police interviews was used by the prosecution illegally in the trial.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh earlier this month, his lawyers were told they could also argue that the judge at the murder trial, Lord Bracadale, acted wrongly during proceedings. During the trial, the jury was supposed to be shown an edited report which was composed by pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary. But instead members were wrongly given copies of Dr Cary's unedited text.
Gilroy's defence QC, Jack Davidson, said the unedited text contained information which could not be proven – and that this information could lead the jury to form false opinions about his client.
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