The mother of a murdered Glasgow woman has called for a criminal investigation into the handling of the case, after it took almost 19 years for her killer to face justice.
Iain Packer was jailed for life on Wednesday (February 28) after being found guilty of murdering 27-year-old Emma Caldwell in 2005.
Now her mother Margaret Caldwell is calling for a criminal investigation led by an outside police force to scrutinise how the authorities handled the case.
Read more: 'Gentle Emma': Emma Caldwell, a beloved daughter and bright young woman
The family has already called for a public inquiry into the failures of the investigation, which Ms Caldwell said could take years to set up.
Mrs Caldwell told The Sunday Post: “The only thing the Crown Office should have been announcing after the trial was an immediate and independent criminal investigation.
“It is not just my family that needs reassurance about our justice system. Everyone in Scotland needs that reassurance.”
Packer was also convicted of 11 rapes and 21 further charges including sexual assaults and abduction, involving multiple women, over 26 years.
The Crown Office said, following a full independent investigation, Crown Counsel concluded there was “insufficient evidence of criminality on the part of any police officer involved in the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder”.
However, the Crown reserved the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available, as in all cases.
First Minister Humza Yousaf has said a public inquiry into the investigation of Packer is “not off the table”.
He and Justice Secretary Angela Constance are due to meet Ms Caldwell this week and the Crown Office said the Lord Advocate is also due to meet with Miss Caldwell’s family and their solicitor this week.
Read more: 'Robbed of creating a lifetime of memories – there will never be any justice in that'
Police Scotland has apologised to the family of Miss Caldwell and Packer’s other victims, admitting they were “let down” by policing.
Miss Caldwell was reported missing by her family in April 2005 and her body was found the following month in Limefield Woods, near Biggar, South Lanarkshire.
In 2015 a Sunday Mail newspaper story branded Packer “the forgotten suspect” and Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case that year following instruction from the Lord Advocate.
Mrs Caldwell said her husband Willie died of cancer and “with a broken heart” in 2011 before seeing justice for his daughter.
She said her daughter always said she would come home and sort herself out, adding “every day it breaks my heart” that she never got the chance.
Read more: Humza Yousaf considering public inquiry into Emma Caldwell murder investigation failings
The mother previously said her daughter had been failed by a "toxic culture of misogyny and corruption".
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “This week the Lord Advocate will meet with Emma’s family and their solicitor to answer questions about the investigation and criminal proceedings.
“We feel that to respect this meeting it would not be appropriate to comment publicly on matters which should be discussed first with Emma’s family.
“However, we can confirm a previous statement that following a full independent investigation Crown Counsel concluded that there was insufficient evidence of criminality on the part of any police officer involved in the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder.
“As in all cases, the Crown reserved the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available.”
Read more: Emma Caldwell failed by police due to ‘misogyny and corruption’, family claim
After Packer’s conviction, Assistant Chief Constable for major crime and public protection Bex Smith said: “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 inquiry 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.”
Police Scotland has been asked for fresh comment.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel