FOR decades, some of Scotland’s most haunting murder mysteries turned cold, leaving families desperate for closure.
However, through relentless police efforts, advances in forensic science, and an unyielding determination to uncover the truth, justice has finally caught up with those responsible.
These are the stories of some of Scotland‘s most infamous cold cases that have been solved, with the perpetrators finally being brought to justice.
Dr Brenda Page: A Brilliant Scientist’s Life Cut Short
Dr Brenda Page was a brilliant geneticist whose life was tragically cut short in 1978.
On July 13, she left the laboratory at the University of Aberdeen — where she ran the genetics department — and headed out for dinner with two rich businessmen at a hotel in the city.
Dr Brenda Page was a brilliant scientist who was brutally murdered in her Aberdeen flat[/caption]
The 32-year-old was found murdered in her Aberdeen flat, having suffered multiple head injuries.
Brenda’s bloodied and battered body was discovered sprawled across her bed in her flat by colleagues who went to check on her after she failed to turn up for work the next morning.
Ipswich-born Dr Page had been beaten to death in a frenzied attack with a blunt instrument.
The murder weapon had never been found.
A damaged window suggested the property had been broken into, but nothing was stolen.
Despite a huge police investigation and a reopening of the cold case in 2015 — giving her family fresh hope — her killer was never brought to justice.
It took cops more than 40 years to make an arrest on the killing, which became one of Britain’s longest-running unsolved murders.
Christopher Harrisson, 82, who was found guilty at the High Court in Aberdeen for murdering his ex-wife, fellow academic Brenda Page.[/caption]
Throughout those four decades, her former husband, Christopher Harrisson, was suspected of the crime, but a lack of evidence meant he remained free.
Brenda had endured years of domestic abuse before leaving Harrisson in 1976, but he continued to stalk and harass her.
To make ends meet, she took on work as an escort, possibly as a way to meet new people while still under the shadow of her ex-husband’s control.
Despite police believing Harrisson was responsible, it wasn’t until advances in forensic science uncovered crucial DNA evidence on Brenda’s duvet that the case was reopened.
Detectives spent years gathering new statements and examining past evidence, ultimately securing Harrisson’s conviction in 2023.
Sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, he showed no remorse.
The judge told him: “As a result of your senseless act you have brought the life of Brenda Page to a brutal and premature end.”
Christopher Harrisson leaves court in custody after being found guilty of Brenda Page’s murder over forty years later[/caption]
Dr Page’s tragic story was the subject of an award-winning Scottish Sun true-crime seven-episode podcast by journalist Ruth Warrander.
Murder in the Granite City can be streamed or downloaded on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Renee and Andrew MacRae: A Mother and Son Vanish
In November 1976, 36-year-old Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son Andrew disappeared from their home in Inverness.
Her blue BMW was later found burned out in a layby at Dalmagarry, south of Inverness.
For years, their fate remained unknown, but cops never gave up.
Investigators long suspected Renee’s lover, William MacDowell, who was her husband Gordon MacRae’s company secretary.
Renee had told her friends she was going to meet MacDowell as they had planned to spend a weekend together in the days running up to her disappearance.
Renee and Andrew’s bodies were never found[/caption]
MacDowell was believed to have killed them to cover up their affair, but without bodies or conclusive evidence, the case went cold.
Funds to continue the search ran out before a source could be found.
Over the decades, investigators drained quarries and excavated land, searching for the bodies, but they were never found.
Detective Inspector Brian Geddes at the emptied Leanach Quarry near Inverness[/caption]
In October 2018, on what would have been Andrew’s 45th birthday, police made a new appeal for help and released an image of the pram that his mother would push him around in as a baby.
Eight months later, Leanach quarry was drained of an estimated 13 million litres of water and over 100,000 tonnes of earth, silt and other materials were removed.
Investigators found 50 vehicles dumped at the site, and parts of a pram that was found were sent for forensic examination.
In 2019, MacDowell was arrested and charged with their murders.
William MacDowell was convicted following a trial at the High Court in Inverness for the murder of Renee and Andrew MacRae in the Highlands in 1976.[/caption]
A photofit released at the time bared resemblance toe evil MacDowell[/caption]
In 2022, he was found guilty after trial and sentenced to life in prison aged 80.
Five months later, evil MacDowell died behind bars, taking the secret of Renee and Andrew’s final resting place with him.
MacDowell was sentenced to life in prison with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 30 years for killing Renee and Andrew MacRae in November 1976 – he died five months later[/caption]
Caroline Glachan: Justice After 27 Years
Schoolgirl Caroline Glachan was just 14 years old when she was brutally murdered on August 25, 1996.
Her body was found face down in the River Leven in Dumbartonshire, and the case remained unsolved for nearly three decades.
Schoolgirl Caroline Glachan was brutally murdered in 1996[/caption]
Caroline’s shattered family had to wait three decades to see justice [pictured, mother Margaret McKeich][/caption]
Her murder had remained unsolved until cold case detectives reopened a probe and charged the three suspects in 2021.
Caroline had been in a troubled relationship with 18-year-old Robert O’Brien, a man known for being violent towards her.
He was also involved with another woman, Donna Marie Brand, who was pregnant with his child then.
Investigators believe Caroline was lured to the river under pretenses before being attacked and left to drown.
Her murder had remained unsolved until cold case detectives reopened a probe in 2019 and charged the three suspects in 2021.
A two-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard 10 days of evidence, including from a crucial witness, a four-year-old boy, now an adult, who had been with the killers that night.
Scumbag Robbie O’Brien was found guilty of her murder in 2023[/caption]
Andrew Kelly was also convicted for her murder[/caption]
Donna Brand was found guilty of her murder three decades on[/caption]
His testimony, along with new forensic evidence, led to the conviction of O’Brien 46, Brand, 45, and Andrew Kelly, 45, in December 2023.
They were sentenced to life, with minimum terms of 22, 18, and 17 years, respectively.
Caroline’s family spoke to the press outside the court after the depraved trio were convicted[/caption]
A jury found them guilty of murdering Caroline who was found dead in a river near Dumbarton[/caption]
Emma Caldwell: Her Killer, A Predator in Plain Sight
Emma Caldwell’s tragic journey began with heartbreak after her sister died in 1998, which led her down a path of addiction.
She was one of three children born to Margaret and William Caldwell who lived in Erskine, Renfrewshire.
Emma Caldwell’s murder was left unsolved for nearly 20 years[/caption]
She was close to brother Jamie and sister Karen and was a high achieving and happy pupil who left school with seven Standard Grades and four Highers.
Emma was also passionate about horse riding and as a youngster was never happier attending Brownies and enjoying drama classes.
But Emma’s heart was broken when Karen passed away in May 1998, aged 31, after a cancer battle.
The younger sister struggled to cope and soon after began taking drugs which developed into a serious habit that would lead her down a troubled path.
By 2005, she had fallen into a dangerous life that forced her into prostitution, and on April 4, she left her hostel in Glasgow‘s Govanhill, never to return.
Her parents were frantic with worry when they could not contact or locate Emma – who was last seen in the city’s Butterbiggins Road around 11pm on Friday, April 4.
The 27-year-old’s body was found weeks later in Limefield Woods, near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, 40 miles away from Glasgow.
Initially, police arrested four Turkish men based on faulty translations of bugged conversations, but the case collapsed in 2008.
A Grampian police officer, who is of Turkish origin, claimed the men spoke about killing Emma and disposing of her body in a carpet.
But two other specialists said they heard no mention of murder on the tapes.
Emma with her family William Caldwell ( Emma’s dad) Jamie Caldwell (Emma’s Brother) Karen Caldwell (Emma’s Sister), and Margaret Caldwell (Emma’s Mum)[/caption]
Emma was also passionate about horse riding and as a youngster was never happier attending Brownies and enjoying drama classes[/caption]
The real killer, Iain Packer, had been overlooked despite a history of violence against women and sex workers in particular.
He was first interviewed by cops in 2005 but was released due to lack of evidence.
Packer even admitted to the cops he knew Emma and had taken her to the woods previously.
Years later, investigative journalists and a BBC documentary exposed flaws in the initial inquiry.
Beast Packer even appeared in a BBC documentary about her murder[/caption]
After a botched investigation, they pulled in the real killer Iain Packer in 2022 following a BBC documentary[/caption]
This reignited the investigation, leading to Packer’s 2022 arrest.
He denied the murder charge but was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of the killing and a string of rapes and sex attacks on 22 women over several years.
In total, Packer was convicted of carrying out 10 rapes.
The court visited the scene where Emma Caldwell’s body was found[/caption]
Mother of Emma Caldwell, Margaret Caldwell and Lawyer Aamer Anwar make a statement to the media after Iain Packer is found guilty of the murder Of Emma Caldwell at Glasgow High Court on February 28, 2024[/caption]
In February 2024, he was finally convicted of Emma’s murder, along with multiple assaults on other women.
Evidence included testimony from five survivors who all gave statements to police about the predator but died before they could testify against him in person.
He was also found guilty of a total of 12 sex assaults, including attacking Emma, while three other sex attacks were found not proven.
Packer was further convicted of two indecent assaults, two counts of abduction, two assaults and two attempted rapes.
He was also found guilty of one charge of lewd and libidinous behaviour.
Beast Packer has been sentenced to 36 years before he can apply for parole[/caption]
Judge Lord Beckett described his offending as an “extraordinary campaign of sexual violence”.
On the murder of Emma, he said it was a “truly terrifying” crime and he had been “undone by his arrogance”.
Beast Packer, now 52, was jailed for 36 years.
