Amanda Duffy inquiry shifts to England 20 years after her murder

Detectives were understood to be carrying out inquiries in Surrey, yesterday, in relation to the killing.

Francis Auld was initially arrested and charged with the murder.

But in November 1992, the case against Mr Auld, who was then 20, was found not proven at the High Court in Glasgow.

Police and prosecutors have requested media restraint in reporting of the initial investigation and trial.

It is almost exactly 20 years since the murder and the new investigation has been led by the Crown Office’s cold case unit, headed by Solicitor General Lesley Thomson.

It is not clear if it has been motivated by the new double jeopardy law, which came into force last year.

Miss Duffy’s body was found in wasteground in Miller Street, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in the early hours of Saturday, 30 May, 1992.

Twigs and branches had been violently thrust into her nostrils, mouth and other parts of her body and her face was almost completely destroyed.

A pathologist, Dr Marie Therese Cassidy, said the body had been badly mutilated. Her injuries were such that police were unable to say if she had been beaten by an instrument or with bare fists.

Police are keen to deliver justice to her family and believe some people are withholding vital information.

The victim’s mother, Kathleen Duffy, collapsed and was treated by paramedics before being taken by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, when the original case against Mr Auld was found not proven.

Detective Superintendent Alan Buchanan said: “It is now 20 years since the appalling murder of Amanda and every day her family have to live with the knowledge that the person responsible for the murder of their daughter has never been brought to justice.

“I believe that certain people have information in relation to Amanda’s murder that they are withholding, perhaps from a sense of misguided loyalty, and may be reluctant to come forward with that information.

“I now need those people to look at their consciences and think of Amanda’s family and friends who have been through the worst experience imaginable in losing a loved one in the most horrific way.”

Prosecutors relaunch investigations into historic crimes where they believe advancements in forensics, such as the use of DNA, could give them an edge that was not available previously. A Crown Office spokesman said: “The Solicitor General, Lesley Thomson QC, is leading a Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) review programme of unresolved homicides. This review programme is being carried out by the COPFS Cold Case Review Unit.

“The instruction to reinvestigate results from a review of this murder by the unit.

“There is a risk of prejudicing prosecutions by commenting further on individual cases or providing details on how a particular case is being dealt with.

“It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Police have also set up a dedicated e-mail address and have urged anyone with information to send it to [email protected].