VIDEO. Murder possibly staged to look like a gay crime..
stvfootagesales.tv
''Detectives investigating the murder of Robert Higgins, 35, now suspect he was lured to his death with the promise of sex before a mystery couple attacked him.
The vital new evidence emerged after Lothian and Borders police called in a Cracker-style psychologist from the State Hospital at Carstairs to investigate one of Scotland's most baffling murders.''
He confirmed the expert analysis of Gerry Rooney, a criminal psychologist at Carstairs, had thrown up new leads.
The expert in criminal motives and methods suspects both a man and a woman were involved in Robert's death.
He believed the wounds inflicted on his body with a short steel knife were made by two people. And detectives now believe one may have been female.
One source said: "Robert had not been home for several days, but was clean-shaven when he was killed.
"He was staying with someone and was getting something there that made him want to hang around.
"The new analysis would suggest that something was sex."
''Rumours in the close-knit community have been rife in the five years since Robert died. Money-lenders, jealous husbands and professional hitmen have all been blamed for the death.
Police have even looked at the possibility that Laurel and Hardy fans, attending a convention at a nearby hotel at the time of the murder, could have been involved.''
2007
A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found a murder charge against William Arthurs, 34, not proven after a three-week trial.
''He had denied murdering Robert Higgins at Craigs Quarry, Kirkliston, in West Lothian between April and May 1995.
Mr Arthurs was brought to trial with the Crown relying on advances in DNA evidence and alleged statements.
Mr Arthurs, from Kirkliston, was interviewed along with hundreds of others, in the months after Mr Higgins' body was found, as potential witnesses.
In a statement he gave in September 1995 he said: "I heard about the murder on the telly. I have never met or seen Robert Higgins before."
One witness told the court of an incident where Mr Arthurs had said "he did it."
But he added: "He was blind drunk. He used to say a lot of stupid things when he was drunk."
2000
www.heraldscotland.com
''Bachelor Robert Higgins, 35, was stabbed to death and his body was found in a quarry outside Kirkliston, just a few hundred yards from the home he shared with his pensioner mother, on May 1, 1995.
Officers at Lothian and Border Police said yesterday they were relaunching the investigation in the hope of finding fresh witnesses.
The factory worker was a popular figure in Dalmeny, South Queensferry, and the community has raised more than #5000 as a reward for information leading to the identity of his killer.''
''Searches at the murder scene at the time failed to find the knife, but it turned up weeks later in a pensioner's kitchen.
The 71-year-old woman found it in the ground a few yards from where Mr Higgins was discovered and took it home. She had cleaned it and had been using it to chop vegetables before realising it could be connected to the killing. Any forensic clues were washed away.''
''On the weekend he died he is thought to have gone drinking with friends after work. But he failed to come home and, uncharacteristically, did not telephone his mother, Agnes, to say he was staying out''
2000
www.heraldscotland.com
''Shortly after his death, the family received two telephone calls from a woman who said she knew the killer, but police have been unable to trace her.
Mr Higgins' sister, Mrs Brenda Walker, said the family were haunted by the thought someone knew who had committed the terrible crime and was doing nothing.
She said: ''The woman said something and hung up, she gave us a name but nothing has ever come of it.''
new CCTV footage shows the victim at 0300 GMT with a mystery man on the night he was last seen alive.
The footage shows Mr Higgins walking along Main Street, Kirkliston, with another man - someone police have not yet been able to trace.
The last confirmed sightings of Mr Higgins were on Thursday 27 April when he left the home he shared with his mother in Dalmeny, to travel to South Queensferry.
Mr Higgins, described as a loner, spent the afternoon and early evening in several pubs in South Queensferry before moving on to Kirkliston, where he spent the rest of the evening with a group of other locals in the Kirklands public house in Main Street.
Det Ch Insp Keith Anderson, who is leading the enquiry, said there was a reward of £5,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Robert's killer or killers.
He said: "Tracing the mystery man is crucial to the enquiry and we hope that the re-interviewing of witnesses who were in the Kirkliston area that evening may yield further information to help trace Robert's killer.
"Although there were unconfirmed sightings of Robert over the weekend, the last confirmed sighting we have is on the Thursday night and the early hours of the Friday morning.''
A Staged Murder Scene
Police believe the murder scene of Robert Higgins was staged to look like a homosexual attack
stvfootagesales.tv
WIFE SWAPPING CLUE TO MURDER; Victim may have fallen for sex trap. - Free Online Library
Free Online Library: WIFE SWAPPING CLUE TO MURDER; Victim may have fallen for sex trap.(News) by "Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland)"; News, opinion and commentary General interest
www.thefreelibrary.com
The vital new evidence emerged after Lothian and Borders police called in a Cracker-style psychologist from the State Hospital at Carstairs to investigate one of Scotland's most baffling murders.''
He confirmed the expert analysis of Gerry Rooney, a criminal psychologist at Carstairs, had thrown up new leads.
The expert in criminal motives and methods suspects both a man and a woman were involved in Robert's death.
He believed the wounds inflicted on his body with a short steel knife were made by two people. And detectives now believe one may have been female.
One source said: "Robert had not been home for several days, but was clean-shaven when he was killed.
"He was staying with someone and was getting something there that made him want to hang around.
"The new analysis would suggest that something was sex."
''Rumours in the close-knit community have been rife in the five years since Robert died. Money-lenders, jealous husbands and professional hitmen have all been blamed for the death.
Police have even looked at the possibility that Laurel and Hardy fans, attending a convention at a nearby hotel at the time of the murder, could have been involved.''
2007
A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found a murder charge against William Arthurs, 34, not proven after a three-week trial.
''He had denied murdering Robert Higgins at Craigs Quarry, Kirkliston, in West Lothian between April and May 1995.
Mr Arthurs was brought to trial with the Crown relying on advances in DNA evidence and alleged statements.
Mr Arthurs, from Kirkliston, was interviewed along with hundreds of others, in the months after Mr Higgins' body was found, as potential witnesses.
In a statement he gave in September 1995 he said: "I heard about the murder on the telly. I have never met or seen Robert Higgins before."
One witness told the court of an incident where Mr Arthurs had said "he did it."
But he added: "He was blind drunk. He used to say a lot of stupid things when he was drunk."
2000
Detectives relaunch murder inquiry
AN investigation into the murder of a gentle giant beside a lovers lane in West Lothian, five years ago, is being relaunched by detectives.
Officers at Lothian and Border Police said yesterday they were relaunching the investigation in the hope of finding fresh witnesses.
The factory worker was a popular figure in Dalmeny, South Queensferry, and the community has raised more than #5000 as a reward for information leading to the identity of his killer.''
''Searches at the murder scene at the time failed to find the knife, but it turned up weeks later in a pensioner's kitchen.
The 71-year-old woman found it in the ground a few yards from where Mr Higgins was discovered and took it home. She had cleaned it and had been using it to chop vegetables before realising it could be connected to the killing. Any forensic clues were washed away.''
''On the weekend he died he is thought to have gone drinking with friends after work. But he failed to come home and, uncharacteristically, did not telephone his mother, Agnes, to say he was staying out''
2000
Detectives relaunch murder inquiry
AN investigation into the murder of a gentle giant beside a lovers lane in West Lothian, five years ago, is being relaunched by detectives.
Mr Higgins' sister, Mrs Brenda Walker, said the family were haunted by the thought someone knew who had committed the terrible crime and was doing nothing.
She said: ''The woman said something and hung up, she gave us a name but nothing has ever come of it.''
new CCTV footage shows the victim at 0300 GMT with a mystery man on the night he was last seen alive.
The footage shows Mr Higgins walking along Main Street, Kirkliston, with another man - someone police have not yet been able to trace.
The last confirmed sightings of Mr Higgins were on Thursday 27 April when he left the home he shared with his mother in Dalmeny, to travel to South Queensferry.
CCTV footage shows Robert Higgins with the unknown man |
Mr Higgins, described as a loner, spent the afternoon and early evening in several pubs in South Queensferry before moving on to Kirkliston, where he spent the rest of the evening with a group of other locals in the Kirklands public house in Main Street.
Det Ch Insp Keith Anderson, who is leading the enquiry, said there was a reward of £5,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Robert's killer or killers.
He said: "Tracing the mystery man is crucial to the enquiry and we hope that the re-interviewing of witnesses who were in the Kirkliston area that evening may yield further information to help trace Robert's killer.
"Although there were unconfirmed sightings of Robert over the weekend, the last confirmed sighting we have is on the Thursday night and the early hours of the Friday morning.''
