Police investigating Ronnie Simpson murder trawling through 1,000 hours of CCTV

By CHRISTINE LAVELLE
Published on 19/10/2012 15:04

DETECTIVES investigating the brutal murder of a frail pensioner in his own home are trawling through more than 1,000 hours of CCTV footage.

• Robert Simpson, known as Ronnie, was found dead in an Armadale house on October 6th, and had sustained serious head injuries

• Police had earlier been called to a disturbance at his home but left due to there being ‘no signs of anything untoward’

• More than 40 officers are working on the case, with more than 40 hours of CCTV already viewed

• Police have 245 pieces of evidence, 170 witness statements and 366 questionnaires from locals

Detectives investigating the brutal murder of a frail pensioner in his home are trawling through more than 1,000 hours of CCTV footage.

Robert Simpson, known as Ronnie, suffered serious head injuries in the attack at Mayfield Drive, Armadale, West Lothian. He was found dead at the property at about 9pm on 6 October.

Police were called to a disturbance at the 67-year-old’s home at about 10pm the night before, after were reports of shouting coming from within the property. Officers found it in darkness, with no answer and “no signs of anything untoward”.

Two weeks on, Lothian & Borders Police have renewed their appeal for information, and said they are still trying to establish a motive for the murder.

It emerged that Mr Simpson’s son Ross, 31, was the victim of an attack in nearby Polbeth the night before his father was found dead. Two men appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court on assault charges last week. Police said that, while there was no apparent link between the attacks, nothing had been ruled out.