THE shattered family of Marjorie Roberts has been left devastated after learning the cops' probe into her death has been dropped.

 

Her daughter, Kerry Porter, 23, and sister, Elizabeth Roberts, 51, say they cannot understand why - two decades on - police have decided Marjorie wasn't murdered.

Last night, the Evening Times revealed police have dropped the inquiry into the mother-of-three's death after they concluded "no criminality has been established".

The 34-year-old's body was found in the River Clyde, near Jamaica Bridge in August 1995.

Elizabeth, from Cardonald, said: "My sister was murdered and the man who killed her is out there, laughing at us, thinking he has got away with it.

"The man who did this is a beast and a monster.

"He robbed three young children of their mum and took away my sister.

"We want justice. We want answers. We deserve it - for Maj."

At the time of Marjorie's death, detectives said it was unclear what had happened to the mother-of-three, but a major probe was launched.

CCTV footage showed her with a man on the Broomielaw hours before her body was found.

Weeks later, the same man was accused of trying to push a prostitute into the river.

The victim managed to get away and flagged down a taxi driver, but she didn't want to take any action over the incident.

Kerry - who has two young children of her own - was just a toddler when her mum died.

She had no idea about the circumstances surrounding her death until two years ago, when she discovered a newspaper cutting in her grandmother's home.

Elizabeth added: "Kerry spent so long in the dark, but now she knows about the man who robbed her of her mother and her children of their grandmother."

Despite a lengthy investigation, police failed to determine whether Marjorie had fallen into the water or was pushed.

Elizabeth said: "I cannot understand why the investigation into my sister's death can be closed when there are so many unanswered questions.

"The man that Maj was last seen with in Calton Place was questioned but he denied knowing my sister or her husband.

"And that was a lie.

"Her handbag was never found.

"Police divers went into the River Clyde and couldn't find her bag and it never washed up anywhere either.

"We believe her handbag was stolen by her killer.

"And for him to be accused of a similar incident not long after my sister died, I mean, what are the chances?

"The case should never have been dropped."

It is understood there were no marks on Marjorie's body when she pulled from the river.

"She would never have gone into that water willingly", Elizabeth added.

"She hated the water, she wouldn't even put her head near the water if she was in the bath, she was afraid of the water.

"So there's no way Maj would have gone into the river, there's no way she would have left her children behind."

Marjorie had only recently started to become involved in prostitution when she died.

She had been working as a machinist in Glasgow but was paid off after eight years.

During the 1990s, there was a spate of sex worker killings in the city.

Police were even forced to deny fears there was a serial killer targeting vice girls.

In 1991, Diane McInally, 23 was found battered to death in Pollok Park.

Two years later, Karen McGregor, a 26-year-old mother-of-two, was beaten and throttled. Her body was found in bushes near the SECC.

In June 1995, Leona McGovern, 25, was throttled and stabbed.

The following year, Jacqueline Gallagher's body was found in Bowling, West Dunbartonshire.

The 26-year-old was last seen alive in the early hours on June 24, 1996 in Glasgow city centre.

Elizabeth said: "Maj was a quiet girl, married the second boyfriend she ever had and stayed with him for years, she loved her kids, she was the sensible one.

"She took her redundancy and then she needed more cash.

"She developed a habit for drugs and that's she needed extra money, which is why she started to work up the town."

Elizabeth and Kerry hope the case will be re-opened and they can finally get the answers the family have waited 20 years for.

The 51-year-old added: "Maj was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"But we still want justice.

"The killer is out there, thinking he's got away with murder."