UK - Lynda Spence, 27, tortured and murdered, West Kilbride, 2011 *still missing*

[Taskforce88]

Murder probe leads to Cowal

Edit: Lynda was 27 not 39.

Police probing a horrific 2011 Ayrshire murder have been continuing their cold case investigations in Cowal this week.

Locals spotted a large police presence on a track off the B836 Sandbank to Auchenbreck road, close to the Stronafian Community Forest, on Tuesday.

An incident van, scene of crime officers and other police vehicles were seen on the rough terrain, and locals spotted a small white tent being erected.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said on Tuesday evening: “We are following a line of enquiry relating to the murder of Lynda Spence in 2011 which is currently being assessed by officers.”
Lynda Spence was a businesswoman who was abducted, tortured for 13 days and killed in West Kilbride in 2011.

 

[Taskforce88]

'Unimaginable' suffering and death of Lynda Spence

'Unimaginable' suffering and death of Lynda Spence

The horror of Lynda Spence's slow death is almost unimaginable.

For two weeks she was tied to a chair and tortured.

But those 11 words cannot begin to describe the pain and fear she must have endured.

Although the exact details may never be known, the boasts of her killers and the confessions of their accomplices give a glimpse into her grim ordeal.

 

[Taskforce88]

Police update: Officers investigating the murder of Lynda Spence in 2011 are carrying out a detailed assessment of a remote area near Dunoon, Argyll. This is prior to potential search work being undertaken to establish if Lynda’s remains are in this area.

 

[dalsglen]

This Is just a few miles, and indeed on the way home for a rather interesting witness at the trial. Fancy that. Colintraive isn't where I'd bury a body but some folk aren't too smart....

 

[Taskforce88]

This Is just a few miles, and indeed on the way home for a rather interesting witness at the trial. Fancy that. Colintraive isn't where I'd bury a body but some folk aren't too smart....

Can you tell us more?

 

[dalsglen]

Can you tell us more?

Not sure I can without getting a T/O.

 

[Taskforce88]

Not sure I can without getting a T/O.

No worries

 

[dotr]

Lynda Spence: Cops search remote area for remains of Scots woman murdered 10 years ago (theworldnews.net)
''A crack team of experts will scour 8.7 hectares of rural moorland - an area roughly the size of 16 football pitches - at Auchenbreck, Dunoon, Argyll, over the coming weeks.

Soil scientists, geophysicists, drones, dogs and top detectives will assess the branch-strewn, molehill-like land which was sealed off by cops on Monday.

If a promising patch is identified, ground-penetrating radar may be brought in.

The site is next to a well-used B road and detectives hope the activity may jog the memories of potential witnesses to come forward.

The land was covered in thick forest until hundreds of trees were felled in 2016.

Detective Superintendent Suzanne Chow said: “Inquires carried out over a number of years led us here on Monday.

“We will be undertaking a complex and detailed expert-led assessment to focus our area of search. ''

Detectives to scour remote area in new hunt for remains of Lynda Spence (kentonline.co.uk)

The chair which Lynda Spence was taped to in an attic at a flat in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire (Crown Office/PA)
''On April 14, 2011, she was lured from her Glasgow flat and driven to a property in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire.
She was taped on to a chair and tortured for two weeks, and almost daily Coats and Wade would visit her.
Inside the flat she was held using a torture kit made up of garden loppers, bandages and surgical tape, which was used on her in a bid to extract financial information.
She was burned with an iron, hit with a golf club, her toes were crushed, her thumb was cut off and one of her fingers severed.
Coats was jailed for a minimum of 33 years while Wade was ordered to spend at least 30 years behind bars.''

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Bloody hell. Do we know what the "motives" were for this? "Financial information" is a little vague.

 

[Teignmouth 22]

I remember this case from back along. Awful way to die. She clearly did things she shouldn't have done but no way did she deserve to die or suffer the way she did. Definitely a case of getting involved with the wrong people.

JMO

 

[Taskforce88]

By the time of her disappearance Lynda was being investigated by Strathclyde Police for fraud but had also been recruited as an informant by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

'Unimaginable' suffering and death of Lynda Spence

"Confident, charming and generous, Lynda liked the high life: expensive champagne, fast cars and casinos.

The trouble was that too often she was spending other people's money.

In December 2008 she was declared bankrupt with debts of £39,716.75 but when those debts were written off a year later, she set up her own mortgage and lettings company, Fraser Properties, in Glasgow."

 

[bluebird69]

Police begin dig in search for murdered woman's remains

Wonder what led them to this specific spot

 

[Taskforce88]

Police begin dig in search for murdered woman's remains

Wonder what led them to this specific spot

As someone earlier pointed out this area is close to the home of a key witness at the trial.

 

[Taskforce88]

NOTAMs have been put in place from 13th June to 17th June 2022 within the search area of Auchenbreck, Argyll.

 

[Teignmouth 22]

Found this article interesting.

The torture and murder of a Glasgow financial adviser

In the newest episode of our crime podcast, we look back at the trial held after the abduction, torture and murder of Lynda Spence, which remains…

www.glasgowtimes.co.uk

It doesn't seem fair IMO that one of the killers was let out for his mother's funeral when he refuses to say where Lynda is. I feel for her parents. As the article says:

"One source close to the original police investigation told the Glasgow Times said: "Lynda may not have been an angel, but she did not deserve to die the way she did.

"To her parents, the nightmare can never be over until they finally have her body to lay to rest." "

 

[Taskforce88]

The four month forensic investigation carried out near Auchenbreck has concluded. Police teams are wrapping up the operation there.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Search of remote area for murdered woman's remains called off

Earlier this year authorities confirmed that they were assessing a remote area for the remains of Lynda Spence.

news.stv.tv

Police have called off the search for the remains of a Glasgow woman who was tortured and murdered in 2011 after being kidnapped.

“The final searches have now been completed and, unfortunately, we have not recovered Lynda’s remains or any new evidence"

 

[cestmoi]

Lynda Spence murder cops offered fresh information on where killer buried body

Officers investigating Lynda Spence's murder have been tipped off about where torture killer Colin Coats buried her.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

"Police have been offered new information about where torture killer Colin Coats buried tragic Lynda Spence.

"They have been approached by an investigator who claims to have identified a second potential site...

"A source said: 'Coats said he was confused over where he and Wade put Lynda. The area he previously picked out is close to the new site.'

"The source added: 'Coats has been shown more photographs of the fields including satellite images. He is confident this new area he has looked at is where Lynda is... There is pressure being put on Police Scotland but they’re taking a bit of time before they act. The parties behind this new information want permission to dig the area themselves if police won’t.'"

 

[dotr]

Lynda Spence killer Colin Coats told sleuths exact spot where he says he buried her

COPS are poised to launch a second search for tortured Lynda Spence’s remains. Killer Colin Coats pointed investigators to the exact spot where he claims he buried her — by describing two unusual b…

www.thescottishsun.co.uk

''Killer Colin Coats pointed investigators to the exact spot where he claims he buried her — by describing two unusual boulders.''

 

[Taskforce88]

I wonder why he finally admitted to killing and burying Lynda.