World's End families set to sue to prove Sinclair's guilt

Published on Tuesday 18 September 2007 12:18

THE families of World's End victims Helen Scott and Christine Eadie are considering suing the man accused of their murder in a bid to prove his guilt.

Relatives of the teenagers are planning to turn to the civil courts in their fight for justice after the trial of convicted double killer and rapist Angus Sinclair collapsed at Edinburgh High Court.

Unlike in the criminal courts where the prosecution has to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, a conviction would rely only on establishing guilt on the balance of probabilities.

The families of Ms Scott and Ms Eadie were meeting with Solicitor General Frank Mulholland today, and have also scheduled a sit-down with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

Taking civil action against Sinclair would give them the chance to claim compensation for the distress the murders have caused, but more significantly, would offer the opportunity of closure after three decades without justice.

Helen's brother Kevin, 41, reportedly said: "We have discussed the possibility of a civil case and that is not something we could discount at this stage."

The Scotts are understood to have spoken with the Eadie family about raising the action.

Sinclair, 62, is currently serving a life sentence for the 1978 murder of Mary Gallagher, in Glasgow. If he continues to deny killing Miss Scott and Miss Eadie he would face trial in the civil court. Accepting responsibility for their deaths would be seen as a tacit admission of guilt and bring to an end one of Scotland's most famous unsolved crimes.

Controversy has surrounded the World's End murder case since its collapse just over a week ago.

Prosecutor Alan Mackay went missing before the judge's ruling, eventually turning up in the north of England, and arguments have raged about the DNA evidence presented in court and the way the case was handled.

If the Scott and Eadie families turn to the civil courts, it will not be without precedent in the Scotland. In 1995, a successful civil action was taken by the family of a teenager against the man acquitted of killing her.

Amanda Duffy's badly-mutilated body was found near her home in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, in 1992.

A bite mark on her body was a perfect match for Francis Auld's teeth. However, he claimed it was a love bite and that the 19-year-old drama student had walked off with another man.

The Duffys successfully sued for 50,000 at the Court of Session and have since called for an end to the double jeopardy law that prevents someone from being tried twice for the same offence - a move some have been calling for since Sinclair's case collapsed.