UK UK- Pamela Hastie,16, schoolgirl, raped & strangled with twine, body found in woods, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1981 "Fresh Initiative*

[dotr]

March 14 2023 rbbm.
By Marcello Mega

Brutal rape and murder of Scots schoolgirl probed by cold case cops

Pamela Hastie was just 16 years old when she was killed while walking home from school in in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in 1981.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

''Cold case experts are set to launch a fresh probe into the case of teenager Pamela Hastie in an attempt to discover who raped and murdered her more than 41 years ago. The 16-year-old was strangled as she walked home from school in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in 1981 in a crime that shocked Scotland.

Local man Raymond Gilmour, then 19, was tried and convicted of the crime in 1982 but his conviction was quashed on appeal after he served 20 years in jail. A meticulous re-examination of her case was ordered by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, who is understood to be determined to make unsolved murders of women a priority while she is Scotland’s senior prosecutor.


A review of the case revealed that her body could still yield evidence not gathered at the time and it is understood detectives are considering exhuming her body. A source close to the case said: “This has been under discussion for a while and is being driven by the Crown Office, with the Lord Advocate determined to push at any door that might lead to a solution.''

“If there is evidence from the body, the answer will never emerge if it is not re-examined through the eyes of forensic scientists using the latest advances they have in 2023. No one would underestimate how harrowing this will be for Pamela’s loved ones, and it will be demanding for all concerned, but if it cleared up the murder of a young girl it would be worth all of that.”

Since doubts arose about the safety of Gilmour’s conviction, there has been speculation linking all of Scotland’s most notorious contemporary serial killers – Robert Black, Angus Sinclair and Peter Tobin – with Pamela’s murder. A source said: “If there is male DNA among Pamela’s remains, it would obviously be compared with the national database.''

 

[dotr]

March 14 2023 by Marcello Mega rbbm

Grave of schoolgirl raped and murdered could be exhumed by cold case cops

It is understood that Scotland's most senior prosecutor has ordered a re-examination of Pamela Hastie's murder 41 years after she was attacked walking home from school.

www.glasgowlive.co.uk

''The rape and murder of a Renfrewshire schoolgirl is to be re-examined 41 years after her death.
Pamela Hastie was strangled as she walked home from school in 1981 and her body found in Johnstone's Rannoch Woods.
Then 19-year-old Raymond Gilmour was tried and convicted of the crime a year later, but this was overturned on appeal after he served 21 years in prison, the Daily Record reports.

Scotland's senior prosecutor, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has ordered a re-examination of the case, and it is understood she wants to make unsolved female murders a priority.

Now it is hoped that Pamela's body could still yield vital evidence using modern forensic techniques and her family has been told that experts are considering if exhumation of her Paisley grave is an option.


A source told the Record: "This has been under discussion for a while and is being driven by the Crown Office, with the Lord Advocate determined to push at any door that might lead to a solution.

"If there is evidence from the body, the answer will never emerge if it is not re-examined through the eyes of forensic scientists using the latest advances they have in 2023. No one would underestimate how harrowing this will be for Pamela's loved ones, and it will be demanding for all concerned, but if it cleared up the murder of a young girl it would be worth all of that."

The case was one of Scotland's biggest miscarriages of justice, with Gilmour convicted despite retracting confessions he made while being questioned by police.''