A MAN found guilty of a horrific sex murder 25 years ago had his conviction overturned today.
A MAN found guilty of a horrific sex murder 25 years ago had his conviction overturned today.
Raymond Gilmour claimed he cracked under police pressure and made a false confession.
Gilmour, 45, had always protested his innocence of the rape and killing of schoolgirl Pamela Hastie.
And today his mum, Christina, 76, was at the Court of Criminal Appeal to see Lord Justice Clerk Lord Gill announce the judges' decision.
| CRUCIAL EVIDENCE THE evidence of a top clinical psychologist was vital in Gilmour's conviction being quashed. Gilmour's defence solicitor, Gordon Ritchie, called in Professor Gisli Gudjonsson, who told an earlier hearing that although there was no evidence Gilmour suffered from mental illness he was shy, immature and unlikely to cope well if pressured by police. Professor Gudjonsson made no judgment about Gilmour's claims he was threatened and assaulted. "Having studied this case in some detail I find it to be most worrying," he concluded. "I am far from satisfied that any reliance can be placed on the two confessions." The Professor was described in court as an internationally renowned expert on interrogation and confession, and the leading UK academic on the subject. Gilmour's defence team argued that this was "fresh evidence" which should free him. Lord Gill, sitting with Lord Abernethy and Lady Paton, ruled that the conviction should be quashed because of Professor Gudjonsson's evidence. |
"It's been a long wait but we got what we asked for," said Mrs Gilmour.
"It has been very tough all these years but I have never doubted he was innocent."
But Gilmour was returned to the cells after the ruling - because he is still serving a 30-month sentence for flashing, committed after he was released from his life sentence on parole.
A trial 25 years ago heard that on November 4, 1981, Pamela, 16, had been walking home through Rannoch Wood, Johnstone.
Her attacker strangled her with a length of twine after hitting her on the head with a piece of wood and dragging her into bushes. A post-mortem showed she was raped.
Loner Gilmour - a shy and sexually-disturbed teenager - quickly became a suspect.
He was known to use the woods area to expose himself. When quizzed by detectives he admitted flashing there the day before the murder.
A search uncovered porn magazines at the scene of the crime which matched others found in Gilmour's bedroom.
He was remanded in custody on a charge of indecent exposure and again questioned about the murder.
On the way back to his cell he began to cry and told police: "I can't go on like this. I'll have to talk."
He told them the schoolgirl had surprised him in the woods.
He said he knocked Pamela down and hit her with a branch. He went on to tell how he tried to have sex with her.
Gilmour told police: "That girl had a long life to live if I hadn't ended it. I'm sorry about it."
But he later told another officer: "I didn't kill the girl. I only made it up to please the other police. I couldn't take any more questioning."
Detective Superintendent James Brown thought the confession was a lie and Gilmour was released.
However, Detective Superintendent Charles Craig took over the case and Gilmour made a fresh confession to him in February 1982.
Trial judge Lord Dunpark told the jury in June 1982 that if they did not believe Gilmour's confessions had been voluntary they should acquit him.
The judge also said there was no scientific evidence linking Gilmour to the dead schoolgirl.
But the jury found Gilmour guilty. He was jailed for life and later lost an appeal.
Gilmour served 21 years before he was released on parole.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission took up the case and sent Gilmour back to the appeal court, noting the inconsistencies in the confessions outweighed the other evidence.
