Iain Packer has been convicted of the murder of Emma Caldwell in April 2005 at the High Court in Glasgow.

Packer, 51, was facing 36 charges of physical and sexual violence against 25 women and was accused of murdering Ms Caldwell in April 2005 and hiding her body.

Her body was discovered in Limefield Woods in South Lanarkshire in May 2005 following her disappearance from Glasgow City Centre five weeks earlier.

Mr Packer admitted having indecently assaulted Ms Caldwell and having paid her for a sex act in August 2004, but denied her murder.

He was found guilty of three charges, including one of rape, against a teenager, Magdalene Robertson, dating back to 1990 when she was 14 and 15.

Mr Packer was further found guilty of a sexual assault on Ms Caldwell, which he had admitted, before the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the murder charge.

Following several hours of legal direction, Lord Beckett sent the jury out to consider its verdict on Friday morning.

After breaking for the weekend, it continued deliberating on Monday and Tuesday.


Read More: Mother tells of last meeting with daughter at Emma Caldwell murder trial


On Wednesday morning it retired for a fourth day to continue doing so, with the jury returning on Wednesday afternoon to deliver the verdict.

Mr Packer was found guilty on 33 of the charges he faced, with the other three returned as not proven.

The victim's mother was in the public gallery as the verdicts were returned and was comforted by relatives.

A dog walker found Miss Caldwell’s body in woodland, with a “garotte” around her neck, on May 8, 2005.

During Packer’s trial, the court heard a soil sample taken in 2021 from the site where Ms Caldwell’s body was found was a “97% match” with soil found in his blue work van, and Packer was charged by police in February 2022.


Read more: Emma Caldwell murder: Justice but robbed of memories


Mr Packer denied all the charges – accusing all the women of lying – but admitted during evidence that he indecently assaulted Ms Caldwell.

He said he was “ashamed” of his actions towards her, and described his behaviour towards another sex workers as “disgusting”.

But he denied murdering Ms Caldwell in his evidence, telling the court: “It wasn’t me who killed her. It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything to her.”

The trial heard evidence from multiple women about Mr Packer’s brutal attacks on them. He was convicted of raping 11 women as part of the 33 charges he was found guilty for.

Prosecutor Richard Goddard KC described Mr Packer as a “violent” and “obsessive” user of sex workers with an “unhealthy addiction” to procuring their services.

Following the verdict, Police Scotland admitted it had let down Ms Caldwell, her family and the other victims.

The Herald: Iain Packer, who has been found guilty of the murder of Emma CaldwellIain Packer, who has been found guilty of the murder of Emma Caldwell (Image: Iain Packer (Image provided by Police Scotland))

Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime and Public Protection Bex Smith said: “Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.  
 
“A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police. 
 
“Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.  
 
“It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emma’s murder following the initial enquiry in 2005. 
 
“The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.  
 
“It is the courage, resilience and determination shown by Emma’s family, in particular her parents William and Margaret, and all those who survived Iain Packer’s horrific catalogue of offending that got us to where we are today. 
 
“William is, sadly, no longer here to see this day, but I hope this verdict gives Margaret and all those affected by this case, the justice they deserve."