A TELEVISION director who made a documentary about the trial of Margaret Fleming's killers fears her loved ones and the public may never know the truth about her death.
Matt Pinder, director of the BAFTA and RTS award-winning Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Margaret Fleming, told the Greenock Telegraph he would be 'surprised' if killers Eddie Cairney and Avril Jones now came clean about what happened to the murdered teenager.
Matt also revealed the lengths that his team had to go to in order to access their trial - and the sophisticated set-up that the crew used to film it.
The programme focused on the trial of Cairney and Jones, who are both now serving life sentences for murdering 19-year-old Margaret at their filthy ramshackle cottage in Inverkip some time between December 1999 and January 2000.
The pair were Margaret's carers and covered up her killing for decades while continuing to claim her benefits.
Matt, of Firecrest Films, said: "We were filming with the major investigations team at Police Scotland for a series called 'Murder Case'.
"We were filming them on one of the other cases and Margaret's was being talked about.
"The case was coming up to trial and we wanted to see if we could get access to the High Court.
"Fortunately protocols were just in the process of being changed to allow filming in court."
But getting access was only the first hurdle for Matt and the crew.
Filming in a live courtroom was uncharted territory and they had to be careful not to disrupt proceedings.
Matt added: "The practical side of filming in a court was something I'd never had to deal with before.
"We were given incredible access but we were told in no uncertain terms we were not to be a distraction in the court room."
The team used eight tiny remote-controlled cameras, operating the small recording devices while watching the live feed from a room just outside of the court.
Once the trial ended with the guilty verdict, they were left with the task of distilling six weeks of footage down to a two part documentary.
Matt also revealed how the team came face to face with evil killer Cairney outside the court purely by chance.
He said: "We got lucky in a lot of ways, one day that we chanced our arm and knew that Edward Cairney was outside.
"It just so happened that he passed the prosecutor Iain McSporran QC and we were there to film it."
The crew spent time filming in and around Seacroft, Margaret's home in Inverkip and were appalled by the horrendous living conditions.
Matt said: "The house was unbelievable, I had never seen anything like that.
"The police officer said that it was exactly as they found it when they first turned up to the door.
"We couldn't believe people were living in that.
"The back of the house had just vanished, it was open to the elements."
The Firecrest crew talked to locals to try and understand the impact that Margaret's death had on the community.
Matt added: "We were speaking to locals and trying to get a sense of how things were perceived at the time.
"It was important for us to speak to witnesses after they'd given evidence to see how that felt.
"The whole area surrounding Seacroft is stunning and then amongst all of that you had these horrible things that were going on without anyone knowing.
The documentary ended with Jones and Cairney's conviction but many details about her death are still missing, with the twisted killers refusing to say what they did with Margaret's body.
Matt said: "Over the course of that whole production we spoke to many people and heard lots of different theories about what happened to Margaret.
"Trying to decipher all of that was impossible.
"It's in the hands of two people - maybe they'll find some of conscience and tell someone what they know.
"But there's no indication that'll happen as it is.
"I'll be amazed if it does, I'd be surprised.
"But until then I don't know if we'll have an answer."
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