THE man controversially cleared of murdering 19-year-old student Amanda Duffy 25 years ago has died.

Francis Auld, 45, had stood trial accused of killing the teenager in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, but walked free from court after a jury returned a not proven verdict.

Last year, the Crown failed in a bid to make him face a re-trial over the death under double jeopardy legislation.

That was thrown out after judge Lady Dorrian said new evidence presented against him was inadmissible and the case could not proceed.

Auld died on Saturday in a hospice in Torquay, Devon, following a suspected battle against pancreatic cancer.

The death of the prime suspect in the case means the heartbroken Duffy family are now never likely to see justice for their daughter.

Speaking at his home, Amanda's father Joe, 68, said Auld played no part in their lives and that his death has left them unsure of where the unsolved case can go from here.

He added: "I have absolutely no personal connection with him whatsoever.

"It is always sad when someone dies, and people somewhere will probably be sad for him, but that will never bring my daughter back.

"As for the case, I don't know where this all leaves it but hopefully we will hear something soon."

Motherwell College drama student Amanda's body was found on waste ground in May 1992 and Auld was tried with seemingly overwhelming evidence suggesting he was the killer but he was cleared by jurors.

She was last seen alive in Auld's company.

Prosecutors added the timing of a bite on her breast, which was described by examiners as "excruciatingly painful" and which Auld admitted inflicting, indicated she had still been in his company shortly before she was killed.

The discovery of 20 hairs at the scene, consistent with having come from Auld, meant that they could only reasonably have come from the perpetrator of the crime, prosecutors claimed.

Auld claimed he had lost a denim jacket he was wearing on the night of Amanda's murder but the Crown alleged he had disposed of it.

Items found in his possession were also found to have traces of human blood on them, consistent with attempts having been made to clean them.

Auld's defence suggested she had gone off with a man called Mark but no such person was ever traced.

In 1994, he was convicted of making threatening phone calls to former friends, telling them: "You thought Amanda was the last - you're next."

A year later, the Duffy family sued Auld for £50,000.

Judge Lord Morrison agreed he was to blame for Amanda's death but the family did not receive a penny.

A change to Scotland's double jeopardy laws in 2011 meant Auld could be re-tried over Amanda's death if new evidence emerged.

Police and prosecutors spent around two years trying to build a new case against him but it collapsed after new evidence was ruled inadmissible.

In 2014, Auld married fiance Portia Doble at a luxury castle near St Ives, Cornwall.