Family's delight as cleared 'chloroform killer' walks free after seven years

Published on Thursday 2 April 2009 09:52

A MAN who spent seven years in prison for murdering his partner with chloroform was today enjoying his first full day of freedom after appeal judges ruled he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

The Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh heard Craig McCreight was the victim of "bad science" at his original trial.

McCreight, 37, was found guilty of murdering mother-of-three Yvonne Davidson at their West Lothian home in 2002 and was jailed for life, with a judge ordering he should serve a minimum of 18 years in jail. But Lord Nimmo Smith, sitting with Lord Clarke and Lord Hardie, ruled yesterday that his conviction must be quashed.

The three appeal judges also held on a majority decision that they would refuse a Crown motion to grant authority for a fresh prosecution against McCreight.

Lord Nimmo Smith told McCreight: "The consequence is that so far as the court is concerned the appellant is free to go."

The senior appeal judge said they were "entirely satisfied" that new evidence produced was of such significance that it was reasonable to conclude that the verdict of the jury amounted to a miscarriage of justice.

McCreight's mother Sylvia, 64, said afterwards: "I am just happy he is free. His legal team has been brilliant."

McCreight had denied murdering his partner at the home they shared at Fairinsfell, Broxburn, during his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2002.

The Crown alleged that he placed chloroform at her mouth and nose and caused her to inhale the poisonous chemical, rendering her unconscious before placing her in a neighbouring garden.

The trial judge told the jury that if they were satisfied that Ms Davidson, 34, also known as Yvonne Bessant, had swallowed the chloroform rather than inhaled it, they should acquit.

During McCreight's appeal fresh evidence was led which challenged the expert testimony at his trial.

Evidence produced at the trial showed the dead woman's liver contained 1064mg of chloroform per kilo on analysis, but the appeal heard the concentration of the chemical had been overstated 1000 times following an arithmetical error. The true result showed 1.064mg of chloroform per kilo was present.

Further stomach contents analysis also revealed a level of chloroform consistent with ingestion.

Pathologist Paul Fineron, who gave evidence at the trial, had also altered his position that the poison was corrosive and now agreed that the signs found were consistent with the chloroform having been swallowed.

Lord Clarke said: "We have now had a procession of experts who say the science was bad."

McCreight's solicitor advocate, Jim Keegan, told appeal judges that the evidence given at the original trial was based on "gross error".

It had been suggested that a possible reason for taking the chemical might be to help a person sleep.

A family member last night said McCreight was very happy with the decision but it was too early to comment on his future plans.

BODY DISCOVERED IN GARDEN

FOR more than a year, police believed the death of Yvonne Davidson was a tragic accident after she was found lying dead in a neighbouring garden.

Her body was discovered on February 8, 1999, after being exposed to freezing temperatures, and her death was put down to hypothermia and amphetamine use.

Ms Davidson had run a pub, the Clifton Arms, and already had a son and daughter when she gave birth to a baby girl, Abbi, to Craig McCreight in 1997.

He told police that she had gone out the previous night to visit a friend and he went to bed before her return, but months later a former friend of her partner claimed that he had complained about "getting grief at home" over another woman. He said Yvonne was doing his head in and he needed to get rid of her, it was alleged.

McCreight, dubbed "The Chloroform Killer", was jailed on April 18, 2002, and was ordered to spend at least 18 years in prison.