Scottish police forces to investigate series of linked murders

Scottish police have confirmed that three forces will team up to investigate the murders of seven young women.

Detectives believe that the series of murders, which took place over a four-year period from 1977 to 1980, are related.

Police said that the integrated inquiry is a result of a "significant scientific breakthrough" in DNA techniques and confirmed the new information had produced "a positive line of inquiry".

The investigation will be led by Deputy Chief Constable Tom Wood of Lothian and Borders Police and will involve officers from Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde and Tayside forces who work together on the cases.

DCC Wood said: "The advances in DNA have given us information we could never have imagined in the past. Whereas we had suspicions that these cases might be connected, we could not be certain. Now we believe that they may be and that gives us a clear route to follow with the strong hope that we will track down the killer(s) of these women, even though almost 30 years have passed."

The renewed inquiry will look at the murders of the seven young women: Anna Kenny in August 1977; Hilda McAuley in October 1977; Helen Scott and Christine Eadie in October 1977; Agnes Cooney in December 1977; Carol Lannan in March 1979; and Elizabeth McCabe in March 1980.

Teams of officers from each force have begun a major analysis of all the information gathered in connection with the seven murder cases.

However, police said it is expected to be some time before the "painstaking process" is completed.

(SP)