A woman’s murderer was convicted last week after a two-year campaign for justice, with her mother calling for a criminal investigation into the mishandling of the case.
Iain Packer was sentenced to life at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday for the 2005 murder of Emma Caldwell, 11 counts of rape and 21 other charges including sexual assault and kidnapping Imprisonment, with a minimum sentence of 36 years.
During the trial it emerged that Parker had been accused of raping and violently assaulting dozens of women as early as 1990, but police failed to act, particularly because many of the victims were sex workers.
Caldwell was just 27 when he was found dead in woodland 44 miles from his home in Glasgow. Her family are calling for a public inquiry into authorities’ failures in investigating her murder.
Her mother, Margaret Caldwell, has also called for a criminal investigation to be led by an external police force and directed by an independent prosecutor to review the conduct of the authorities involved.
She told the Mail on Sunday: “The only thing the Crown Office should announce after the trial is an immediate independent criminal investigation. It’s not just my family who need reassurance about our justice system. Everyone in Scotland needs this reassurance .”
The Crown Office, which met with Caldwell’s family this week, said a comprehensive independent inquiry into the handling of the case found “insufficient evidence of guilt by any of the officers involved in the investigation”.
Chief Minister Humza Yusuf said a public inquiry into Parker’s investigation was “not impossible”.
Margaret Caldwell, who is also meeting with Yusuf and Scotland’s Justice Secretary Angela Constance, welcomed the possibility of a public inquiry but said it could not be delayed any longer.
She said: “I was 57 when Emma died and now I am 78. How long do I have to wait to find out exactly who failed Emma and why? I have no patience for more talk and empty promises. Now there is only Actions are what count.”
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 Mail on Sunday report labeled Parker a “forgotten suspect” and Police Scotland reinvestigated the case that year on instructions from the Attorney General.
Police Scotland has apologized to the families of Caldwell and Parker’s other victims, admitting officers were “let down” by them and that “it was clear that, following the initial investigation in 2005, Emma’s murder should be investigated further.” “.
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