The investigation of murder can be complicated – but it is highly unusual for police to wait for so long to disclose that one has taken place.
The area where it happened is popular with tourists and it has to be acknowledged that asking for help ten days after the incident risks losing vital eyewitness testimony.
So why on earth was there such a lengthy delay in this case?
The police generally attend every unexplained death. If it appears non-suspicious, it will be a uniform police matter, and a sergeant should attend to ensure everything is in order after the first constables have arrived.
If it is a suspicious death, a drugs death or a suicide, a detective will take charge.
From here, more senior detectives and scenes of crime officers will become involved when needed. Scotland is well-served in terms of detectives assigned to major crime, and particularly suspicious deaths.
An individual has been charged for every murder committed since Police Scotland’s inception in 2013. That is 605 murders – and not one murderer is unidentified.
A suspicious death is generally only regarded as a murder after a post-mortem, and following agreement between the procurator fiscal and the police. I had a case where an individual was beaten repeatedly, hit over the head with objects and ultimately had their throat cut.
No murder charge was libelled as the pathologists could not identify any injury as ultimately being fatal. Then you have cases where one punch is delivered after a drunken argument in the street, the person drops dead and you have a murder.
I can’t recall a case in all my service where the police withheld information for ten days in respect of a murder having been committed, other than when homicide has not been identified as the cause of death at the outset.
The police know that incidents such as this attract public interest and disquiet.
Although it might seem obvious that if someone has been shot the police will immediately identify this on their arrival, unfortunately this is not always the case.
Wounds can close over or injuries can be missed due to the victim’s clothing.
Obviously, if you have a witness speaking of hearing a gunshot, this makes for a different approach from the outset.
However, if you are in a rural location in a generally crime-free area and no member of the public reports suspicious circumstances, then injuries can be missed.
If a body has been moved without a crime scene being photographed and preserved for examination, the issues for the police on identification of the murder are significant – but not insurmountable.
- Martin Gallagher is a former superintendent with Police Scotland, who served as area commander of Paisley
