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Glasgow Herald Brian Donnelly 28th September 2015
Man convicted of killing Suzanne Pilley has claims against police upheld
A man convicted of killing his former lover despite no body being found has had a series of complaints raised against the police upheld by a watchdog as he continues to challenge the process leading to his conviction. David Gilroy made 15 complaints to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) related to the way the then Lothian and Borders Police handled his case before his trial and conviction before a jury. Five were upheld and in total Pirc made six recommendations to Police Scotland.
Pirc and Police Scotland said these recommendations, the details of which have not yet been made public, had been implemented in full. It is understood the complaints related to the collection of evidence for the trial. A fresh complaint from Gilroy about how Pirc followed up its recommendations has been lodged by Gilroy with Pirc in the first instance.
A spokesman for Pirc said the watchdog will respond to this in due course. He said: “The Pirc can confirm that various issues have been raised by Mr Gilroy regarding a complaint handling review issued to him more than two years ago.
“The commissioner stands firmly by the findings made in the review, with five of Mr Gilroy’s 15 complaints assessed as not being dealt with properly by the then Lothian and Borders Police. “Of the six recommendations made, they have all been implemented by Police Scotland.
“A response will be issued to Mr Gilroy directly in relation to the most recent issues he has raised with the Pirc. “It would not be appropriate at this time to comment further on these issues.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Following the Case Handling Review recommendations we received from the Pirc, we have complied in full and responded directly to Mr Gilroy. “ The Gilroy family is pushing for the release of CCTV footage which they believe can prove his innocence but the Crown Office has said this was already available to the defence before the trial. The move by the Gilroy family comes as a review into his conviction for killing colleague Suzanne Pilley - who was 38 when she disappeared in 2010 - continues.
The wife, parents and children of Gilroy, who is three years into a life sentence with a minimum of 18 years in prison for the murder of his bookkeeper colleague Ms Pilley in the basement of their office, are supporting his appeal.
They are questioning key aspects of the case including the critical CCTV recordings that placed Ms Pilley within minutes of her workplace on the day she disappeared and have claimed a small blue car seen near their Thistle Street office on the same morning has never been found.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates post-appeal cases to establish claims of potential miscarriages of justice, is probing the Gilroy claims. The 52-year-old from Silverknowes, Edinburgh, has always maintained his innocence over the killing of the bookkeeper. He was convicted without witness or forensic evidence but he was convicted by a jury, whose verdict was later backed up by the appeal court.
Judge Lord Bracadale told Gilroy when he was convicted that he hoped he would one day say where he abandoned his victim's body. Following Gilroy's conviction the Pilley family urged Gilroy to end the pain and tell them where he had buried her body.
Monday 7th September 2015 Herald Scotland Article
Family of David Gilroy challenge evidence against him in Suzanne Pilley murder case
Brian Donnelly, Senior News Reporter / Monday 7 September 2015 / News
The family of a man convicted of killing his former lover despite no body being found are challenging the evidence against him publicly for the first time.
The move by David Gilroy’s family comes as a review into his conviction for killing colleague Suzanne Pilley - who was 38 when she disappeared in 2010 - reaches a new stage.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates post-appeal cases to establish whether a miscarriage of justice has been done, confirmed it is continuing its probe into the Gilroy claims beyond the expected eight-month schedule.
While key evidence remains confidential as the review process continues, the family said aspects of their case should be made public.
The 52-year-old from Silverknowes, Edinburgh, was convicted without witness or forensic evidence and has always maintained his innocence over the killing of the bookkeeper.
But the case against Gilroy was compelling, first to a jury and then to an appeal court.
Judge Lord Bracadale told Gilroy when he was convicted that he hoped he would one day say where he abandoned the victim's body.
The evidence that convicted Gilroy included CCTV images from locations between Princes Street and Thistle Street which placed Ms Pilley within 30ft of her office on the morning she disappeared.
However, it is claimed a witness who saw Ms Pilley heading in a different direction shortly after her last alleged sighting at a location where CCTV would have been available has not given testimony.
They claim there is a “missing” mobile phone belonging to Gilroy which would include pictorial evidence that would question the police timings on the journey during which he was said to have buried Ms Pilley's body.
They have questioned availability of reports on damage and vegetation on Gilroy's car said to have pointed towards off-road driving.
Gilroy's stepmother, former Plymouth MP Linda Gilroy, said: “The make-up was fake tan which David had tried out when out shopping with his family in Sainsbury’s in Craigleith on the day before the alleged murder."
She said this should have been available on CCTV and argued that aspects of concern about the police dog’s training have not been explained.
Archive
Monday 7th September 2015 Herald Scotland Article - Continued
Family of David Gilroy challenge evidence against him in Suzanne Pilley murder case
Brian Donnelly, Senior News Reporter / Monday 7 September 2015 / News
It is also claimed a small blue car caught on CCTV being driven out of Thistle Street on the morning Ms Pilley disappeared is unaccounted for.
The wife, parents and children of Gilroy, who is three years into a life sentence with a minimum of 18 years in prison for the murder of his bookkeeper colleague Ms Pilley, are supporting his appeal.
Following Gilroy's conviction the Pilley family urged Gilroy to end the pain and tell them where he had buried her body.
The Pilley family declined to comment.
However, Ms Pilley's parents, Robert, 73, and Sylvia, 72, said earlier they could not have closure without knowing where their daughter is and said after the last appeal: "It puts us through hell."
A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “David Gilroy was sentenced to life imprisonment having been found guilty by a jury after trial.
The Crown has a duty of disclosure throughout proceedings, which was fulfilled.”
Police Scotland said it cannot comment as the case is still under review.
The SCCRC confirmed the review is continuing.
The evidence that convicted Gilroy included CCTV images from locations between Princes Street and Thistle Street which placed Ms Pilley within 30ft of her office on the morning she disappeared.
After Lord Bracadale's sentencing, Lord Carloway, Lord Brodie and Lord Wheatley rejected Gilroy's appeal saying that the police acted legally when dealing with him and that Lord Bracadale acted correctly during his trial.
The Gilroys claim there are elements of evidence that have yet to be tested in open court.
Thursday 15th March 2012
We are devastated about the verdict.
The family has always believed in David’s innocence and continues to do so.
We would ask that the family’s privacy is respected now that the case has been concluded. There will be no further statement or comments from the family at this time.
Wednesday 18th April 2012
As we said on March 15th our family is devastated by the verdict.
We continue to believe that David is not guilty of the charges of which he was convicted by a majority decision.
At this stage we will not be making any further statement regarding any aspect of the case and we ask the media to continue to respect our privacy.
Thursday 15th January 2014
This statement is being issued to all media to confirm that David Gilroy submitted an application to the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission in November 2014. The Commission has now agreed to review David’s conviction.
The application is substantial. It raises issues about:
• the gathering of evidence
• disclosure practices
• non-disclosure of evidence
• evidence not used by the defence team at the trial
• evidence not available at the trial
• trial and appeal procedures
The family remain supportive of David in his work to bring to the attention of the justice system the significant flaws in the case brought against him. He has now spent nearly three years in prison wrongly convicted of a crime which he did not commit. The family is concerned at the time which it is taking to get recognition of what they believe to be a serious miscarriage of justice involving faults by all parts of the justice system.
David Gilroy’s family and friends hope that 2015 will see significant steps taken towards quashing his conviction and ending this protracted period of appalling injustice in all their lives. The family will have nothing further to say at this time and ask that the media continue to respect their privacy.
The Scotsman Article Friday 26th June 2015
The Herald Article Saturday 27th June 2015
Scottish Legal Article Monday 29th June 2015