Emma Caldwell: Murder victim's mother to meet new Lord Advocate in search for justice

The mother of Emma Caldwell is to meet the new Lord Advocate in her continuing fight for justice 16 years after her daughter’s murder.

The 27-year-old was working as a prostitute when her body was found in woods near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, in May 2005.

She had turned to drugs, then became a sex worker to fund her habit, following the death of her sister.

In 2015, the then lord advocate ordered Police Scotland to re-investigate the unresolved case following consideration by senior lawyers in the Crown Office and tireless campaigning by her mother, Margaret Caldwell.

Scotland’s most senior law officer, Lord Advocate James Wolffe, stepped down from the role earlier this year and Dorothy Bain QC has been appointed as his replacement.

Ms Bain, who secured the first murder conviction against serial killer Peter Tobin, will meet Mrs Caldwell and her solicitor, Aamer Anwar, on Monday morning.

A statement from the lawyer said: “She will not be asking for very much, just real hope and a recognition that justice for Emma can no longer be delayed.

“Emma Caldwell at the age of 27 was brutally murdered in 2005 and her family felt betrayed by the failed original investigation.

A family handout photo of Emma Caldwell (R) whose body was discovered in woodland near Biggar, South Lanarkshire in 2005. Margaret Caldwell (L), Emma's mother, is to meet the new Lord Advocate in her continuing fight for justice 16 years after her daughter's murder picture: PA

“It is inevitable that other women will have suffered at the hands of this killer.

“When the killer took Emma’s life, he tore apart her family’s lives forever, they were unable to bury Emma for some two years, her mother Margaret has never been able to grieve and when William, Emma’s father, died from cancer in 2011 he made his family promise they would never give up fighting for justice.”

“Former lord advocates tried to reassure the family that this was a painstaking complex investigation, but as the years passed by the family became tired of the excuses.

“I had only recently accused the Crown Office under its former Lord Advocate of unbelievable cruelty to a mother who increasingly lost hope.

“The new Lord Advocate is widely regarded for her independence and integrity, but the one quality that gives hope is her absolute compassion and empathy for victims.”

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