McKie case: Fingerprint find was 'not critical' says ex-detective

Published on Tuesday 9 June 2009 21:32

A RETIRED detective involved in the Shirley McKie fingerprint case yesterday said he thought she overreacted when accused of leaving a print at a murder scene.

Stephen Heath told a public inquiry into the case that it was not necessarily of "critical" importance that a police officer's prints were found at a scene.

The former Detective Chief Inspector led the probe into the murder of Marion Ross at her home in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, in 1997.

Ms McKie, who denied entering the house, challenged the findings of fingerprint experts working for the Scottish Criminal Records Office, but was accused of perjury.

She was acquitted and later received a 750,000 out-of-court settlement from what was then the Scottish Executive.

The fingerprint in question was found on a doorframe of a bathroom where the body of the 51-year-old victim was discovered.

When the print was identified as that of former policewoman Ms McKie, Mr Heath asked a Detective Inspector McAllister to question her about the matter.

He told the inquiry he was surprised by her reaction, which he heard from his office along the corridor.

He said: "I heard loud discussions about the matter. I've known police officers to leave fingerprints at crime scenes and it's not a huge deal as such.

"It's not professional but at that stage it's not critical, so I wondered why all this fuss was going on. I just remember hearing a commotion that the print was not hers and she had not been in the house."

The inquiry continues.