Emma Caldwell cases sparks calls to review unsolved murders of other sex workers

05 March 2024 , 09:30

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Emma Caldwell was murdered in 2005 but it took nearly 20 years for her family to get justice (Image: PA)

The murder cases of a string of other sex workers could be investigated again after Emma Caldwell's killer was finally brought to justice.

The killers of four other vulnerable victims - Diane McInally, Karen McGregor, Leona McGovern and Jacqueline Gallagher - have never been traced after their bodies were discovered across Glasgow in the 1990s. Ms Caldwell's murder went unsolved for nearly two decades until, last week, Iain Packer was jailed for life. Detectives had found Packer had also committed 30 other charges, mostly sexual in nature, involving at least 22 women.

Now, lawyer Aamer Anwar and former detective Gerry Gallagher say the justice gives fresh hope to the families of the other women, also all sex workers. Calling for a public inquiry into the handling of Miss Caldwell’s case, Mr Anwar said: "There was a toxic culture at the time of these unsolved murders. It was a toxic mix of corruption, criminality, and sexism that meant sex workers were not treated as human beings. The crimes that were committed against them weren’t taken seriously."

Packer, 51, was finally convicted of Emma’s murder after a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Judge Lord Beckett said the father of three had “pursued a campaign of violence and appalling sexual mistreatment” to satisfy his “pathologically selfish and brutal sexual desires”. Miss Caldwell, 27, had vanished from Glasgow city centre in April 2005 and her body was found in woods near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, more than five weeks later.

“I very much want scotland>Police Scotland, a public inquiry and the Crown Office to consider what was happening at the time. We have always said there is no time limit on justice and that applies to these cases (those of Diane McInally, Karen McGregor, Leona McGovern and Jacqueline Gallagher). There has never been any justice for them, their families and their friends," Mr Anwar added.

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Jaqueline Gallagher was murdered in June 1996

Gerry Gallagher, who is now retired, helped in the case to snag Packer, after other detectives had arrested and charged four Turkish men in 2007. The case against them collapsed the following year.

Packer was then named - eight years later - as a “forgotten suspect” in the case by the Sunday Mail and, last week, 19 years after the killing, he was sentenced. After which though, Mr Gallagher said several of his former colleagues should be “ashamed of themselves” for what he described as years of incompetence.

Police Scotland apologised for how the original inquiry into Emma’s killing was handled by what was then Strathclyde Police, saying “her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005”.

Diane McInally was beaten and strangled to death in a park in 1991

Now attention has turned to the cold cases of four other vulnerable victims still awaiting justice, reports Daily Record. The body of Diane McInally, was discovered in Pollok Park, Glasgow, in October 1991. The 23-year-old had been beaten and strangled. Two men were later arrested in connection with her death but they were never charged.

Karen McGregor’s body was found in bushes in the car park of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow in April 1993. A man - who has since died - stood trial for the 26-year-old’s murder but a jury returned a verdict of not proven at the High Court in Glasgow.

In June 1995 Leona McGovern was throttled and stabbed. The 25-year-old’s body was found near Glasgow’s red light district in Anderston. A 51-year-old man went on trial for her murder but was found not guilty.

Jaqueline Gallagher’s body was discovered near a bus stop in Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, in June 1996. The 26-year-old, of Paisley, had suffered more than 100 injuries. A 55-year-old man who had been a frequent client of the sex worker stood trial for her murder but was found not guilty.

Iain Packer was found guilty of murdering Miss Caldwell and was jailed last week (PA)

Police Scotland yesterday said it remains committed to catching their killers and the cases will never be closed. Former detective Mr Gallagher, who launched his own probe into Emma’s death which led to her family being informed about Packer as a potential suspect, said fresh scientific evidence in the case - and a soil sample linking the murderer's van to the scene where Emma’s body was found - could spell new hope for the four unsolved cases.

Mr Gallagher said: “Given advances in DNA and forensic science, it may be worthwhile looking at the others to see if they can glean anything which will help them.

“The soil sample analysis at the time in 2005 when Packer’s van was examined and his footwear taken wasn’t sophisticated enough to provide the result that was subsequently given in court by the dirt expert. Given there has been a tremendous leap forward in various aspects of forensic science then that may well be worth a consideration.

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“In a similar way to how the soil sample analysis was a crucial part of the Crown’s case in pinpointing Packer to the deposition site, we may just be able to identify new possibilities.”

Det Supt Graeme Lannigan said unresolved murders are “never closed” and Police Scotland is “fully committed to identifying those people responsible for all such cases”.

He said: “Police Scotland’s homicide and governance review team and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service work together to review outstanding undetected and unresolved homicides to maximise the ability to deliver justice for grieving families, irrespective of the passage of time. Any new information received on any of our unresolved cases will be fully investigated.”

Sally Hind