Killer's former home stripped bare

Published on Wednesday 6 June 2007 01:10

POLICE yesterday continued a detailed search of the former home of a convicted killer as part of an investigation into the disappearance of a teenage girl 16 years ago.

Vicky Hamilton, 15, went missing from Bathgate in West Lothian in 1991. Police believe it is likely she was abducted and murdered.

Peter Tobin, 60, who was convicted last month of the rape and murder of Polish student Angelika Kluk, lived in Bathgate when Vicky disappeared. His former home in Robertson Avenue is only a mile from the town centre, where she was last seen.

She was travelling from Livingston to her home near Falkirk and was changing buses when she disappeared.

More than 30 people are involved in the two-week investigation at Tobin's former home.

On Monday, the furniture of a family of three living at the house was removed, and yesterday the house was stripped to a bare shell, with wallpaper and floor coverings taken out.

Police officers are using a sniffer dog from South Yorkshire Police which can detect traces of blood, as well as Strathclyde Police dogs, as they search the house and surrounding area.

Yesterday, the whole of Robertson Avenue remained closed off, as was part of a nature reserve.

Forensic workers were at the scene in the afternoon, along with several police officers equipped with walking sticks used for combing grassland. Police officers also guarded the entrance to the semi-detached property, which is being treated as a potential crime scene.

Lothian and Borders Police said they had not yet spoken to Tobin in relation to the investigation, but may do so.

An underwater unit from Central Scotland Police has also been involved in the operation and divers were expected to finish the search of a nearby pond.