Suzanne Pilley's ex says his house was broken into

A FORMER lover of missing Suzanne Pilley claimed his home was broken into today.

David Gilroy said a laptop and mobile phone were among the items stolen.

Uniformed officers arrived in a marked police car at the address in Silverknowes before 9am after they were alerted about the alleged break in.

Dressed in brown trousers and wearing a casual, short sleeved blue and striped shirt, he showed a WPC various possible points of entry to the detached property.

Two forensic officers also showed up at the address in an unmarked white van, carrying crime scene kits to search for evidence.

Mr Gilroy, who was seen phoning his insurers afterwards, said he had discovered several items stolen from his property.

Mr Gilroy said: "My house was broken into about 6am. The police are looking into it now.

"They have stolen possessions – a Wii, phone, lap top, various things from the house.

"When my wife got up this morning the back door had been broken in.

"We heard a small noise but nothing major."

When asked if the break-in had anything to do with Ms Pilley's disappearance he replied: "I don't know."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We are investigating following a report of a housebreaking at a property in Silverknowes Brae Edinburgh.

"The incident happened around 6am today and anyone who saw anything suspicious or who has information that can assist with our enquiries is asked to contact police immediately."

Mr Gilroy, who was having an affair with Ms Pilley, works at the same firm as his bookkeeper colleague – Infrastructure Managers – and spent six hours voluntarily helping police with their inquiries on Friday.

He later returned home to deny any involvement in her disappearance.

Suzanne 'rowed with lover 48 hours before vanishing'

POLICE were today continuing their hunt in a remote beauty spot for clues to the suspected murder of Suzanne Pilley, as reports claimed she had a bust-up with her married lover 48 hours before she disappeared.

Over the weekend, detectives appealed to tourists enjoying the warm weather in Argyll and Bute for help in finding the body of the 38-year-old.

Locals reported officers were searching an area known as Hell's Glen, near the small village of Lochgoilhead.

The plea came amid reports that David Gilroy, the married work colleague who had a year-long affair with Ms Pilley, owned a property in Argyll and had taken her on walking holidays there.

Mr Gilroy, 47, broke his silence on Friday to deny any involvement in the bookkeeper's disappearance after being interviewed by police. He said their relationship had ended in January, but reports today claimed they had started seeing each other again and had a row on Sunday, 2 May after she said she was breaking off the affair for good.

Detectives believe Ms Pilley, from Stenhouse, was murdered in the basement of her workplace some time after arriving for work on 4 May. Her arrival at around 8:50am was caught on CCTV footage found later by officers.

Officers arrived at Mr Gilroy's home in Silverknowes Brae on Friday morning to escort him to a police station. He answered questions on a voluntary basis and was not arrested by police.

Speaking from his home after seven hours spent with police, he said: "Suzanne and I had a relationship until January of this year when I moved back to the family home with my wife and children. That's when the relationship ended."

Police have also revealed a number of sightings of a silver car they believe was used to dump the woman's body.

The saloon had been spotted on roads around Callander, Tyndrum, Lochgilphead and Inveraray, police said.

DCI Gary Flannigan, the detective leading the inquiry, said: "I would like to stress again that I am interested in a silver family saloon car that was seen in the Argyll area on 5 May.

"Sightings in and around the small roads from Callander, Tyndrum and the Argyll Forest and Lochilphead to Inverary will allow me and my team to continue our investigation.

" People who live and work around these places will, I'm sure, remember seeing a silver family saloon car on a quiet stretch of country road.

Ms Pilley's parents, Robert and Sylvia, have been told to expect the worst and are being kept up to date with developments.