Why did it take police 19 years to find Emma Caldwell's murderer?

It took until 2022 for Iain Packer to be arrested for the murder of Emma Caldwell, ITV News' Louise Scott reports

The murder of Emma Caldwell has been one of Scotland’s longest unsolved cases.

After 19 years, her killer was found guilty on Wednesday.

Iain Packer, 51, is a prolific sex attacker and was found guilty of rape and abuse against more than 20 women.

He was even interviewed by police in 2005 following the discovery of Emma Caldwell’s body in remote woodland.

So how did it take until 2024 to find him guilty?

What happened in the initial investigation? Following a catalogue of cases where sex workers had gone missing in Glasgow in the early 2000s, the then-Strathclyde Police were under mounting pressure to find 27-year-old Emma Caldwell.

Emma’s family also put pressure on the police ensuring she had a voice, unlike many of the other missing woman.

Five weeks after she was reported missing, Emma’s naked body was found in remote woodland an hour south of Glasgow by a dog walker. She had been strangled.

A murder inquiry commenced and soon police were pursuing four Turkish men.

The last phone call received by Emma’s phone on the night she went missing was from a man called Abubekir Oncu.

The investigators looked at a nearby Turkish cafe, where sex workers spoke of being taken after hours.

Women told police about their visits to the cafe at night, with some of them speaking of sexual assault and rape.

Video and audio recording devices were planted in and around the cafe to try to pick up any admissions of guilt.

Strathclyde Police officers who understood Turkish were tasked with transcribing the recordings, but they weren’t fluent.

They reported hearing the men speak about Emma, and blamed one of the men for killing her.

The four men were arrested in August 2007 and a case was brought to the prosecutor.

But it didn’t take long for what was described as an "ironclad case" to collapse.

When a Turkish translator checked the recordings, none of the apparent admissions were heard.

They had instead been incorrectly translated or taken out of context.

In 2008, three years after Emma’s murder, the case collapsed.

Why was Iain Packer not found earlier?

While one team of officers pursued the Turkish men, another team was interviewing men known to have frequently engaged with sex workers.

One of those was Iain Packer.

Between 2005 and 2007, Packer was in fact interviewed by police on six occasions.

Evidence from Packer's police statements, read to the court, showed he lied to officers about knowing Miss Caldwell.

He initially told police he had only seen Miss Caldwell three or four times, but then later

admitted he had been with her "no more than 15 times".

During one of the interviews Packer told officers that he’d taken women to the woods in South Lanarkshire before. That included Emma Caldwell.

He was even able to direct officers to the remote woodland.

One of the officers who was present during the interview was expecting to make him an official suspect.

On phoning his superior, former detective Davie Barr recalled being told: “I’ve told you, he isn’t going to be an accused".

Multiple women also spoke to police about a particular man being rough with them and taking them to the woods. He was Iain Packer.

But Strathclyde Police believed they had their suspects, and still continued to charge the four Turkish men. The investigation had cost millions.

It took until 2022 for Iain Packer to be arrested for the murder of Emma Caldwell.

A soil sample taken in 2021 from the site of her body was a 97% match with soil found in his work van.

He was also charged with more than 35 other offences, including 11 rapes over a 26-year period lasting until 2016.

What was the impact on Emma's family?

Emma Caldwell’s father passed away in 2011 and asked his wife to ensure she continued the fight for justice.

Margaret Caldwell has been a fierce campaigner, determined to put her daughter’s killer behind bars.

But the length of time the case has taken has been a huge toll on the 76-year-old.

Ms Caldwell said: “My life's not been great. I've had to have medications for sleep, anxiety, depression. And if it wasn't for my grandchildren. I don't know where I'd be. They have been massively important to me.”

She gave evidence during the trial and listened to the testimony of the various women who had been sexually assaulted by Packer.

One woman said that giving evidence about what had happened to her was hard, but she felt she had to do it for Emma.

"It wasn't something that I could ignore and watch for a distance because I felt every word said could give Emma's mum the peace she deserves and the justice that Emma deserves.

"That's important to me because my mum still sees her daughter walking through the door and there's a mum that wishes she had that.“

Ms Caldwell is still finding it difficult to comprehend how it has taken so long to get to this point - why it took until 2022 for Packer to be arrested, despite having been interviewed by police at the time of Emma’s murder.

Ms Caldwell said she "couldn't believe" what she heard during the trial.

"It's been awful because he knew. The police knew from 2006 that this was the man, yet they did nothing about it. Why? Why didn't they investigate more? I’m really disappointed.”

The Caldwell’s family lawyer Aamer Anwar told ITV News that this is just the first step in their quest for justice and answers.

“What about those original police officers that falsely accused four men of murder? That, as a result, allowed a rapist and a killer to carry on abusing, torturing and assaulting women year after year after year?" Mr Anwar said.

"This family could have had justice. Margaret’s husband could have seen justice."

"The question arises now for police Scotland, for the criminal justice system in this country: when will they be held to account for their actions?”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…