Iain Packer found guilty of killing Emma Caldwell after podcast pinpoints him as prime suspect
A serial rapist has been found guilty of killing Emma Caldwell, a Glasgow sex worker, as part of a “ruthless” campaign of sexual violence that spanned more than a quarter of a century.
Iain Packer, 51, was convicted of the 2005 murder of the 27-year-old, as well as indecently assaulting her, following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
He was also found guilty by a jury of a string of other sex attacks on other women, over a period spanning between 1990 until 2016.
The verdict led to an apology from Police Scotland after the now defunct Strathclyde Police botched an initial investigation into Caldwell’s death.
Her body was discovered in Limefield Woods, near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, on May 8, 2005.
The investigation initially saw four Turkish men arrested and charged with Caldwell’s murder before the case against them collapsed.
Police were accused of a series of failures during the initial probe, which cost £4 million and involved an elaborate bugging operation in a café used by the Turkish suspects.
The case was reopened in 2015 following a campaign by Margaret Caldwell, the victim’s mother.
Packer had given statements to police in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and was interviewed twice for a BBC documentary which was screened in February 2019.
A BBC podcast series, released in 2021, had pinpointed Packer as the prime suspect and he was arrested the following year.
Packer remained impassive in the dock on Wednesday as he was told he had been found guilty of the murder, following days of deliberation by a jury.
In the public gallery, Mrs Caldwell, 76, wept and was comforted by relatives as her daughter’s killer was finally brought to justice. As she left court, she said: “Thank you everyone.”
Caldwell’s father, William, had also been part of the campaign for justice but did not live to see Packer convicted.
Three of the charges against Packer were not proven. A total of 33 came back guilty, relating to a period between 1990 and 2016.
Among the charges he was convicted of were three against a victim who was 14 or 15 at the time of the offences. This includes a charge of rape dating back to 1990.
Bex Smith, assistant chief constable for major crime and public protection, admitted Caldwell, her family and “many other victims” had been “let down by policing in 2005” and issued an apology.
“A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police,” she said.
“It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emma’s murder following the initial enquiry in 2005.
“The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.”
Ms Smith added that the reinvestigation had been “without doubt the largest police enquiry of recent times in Scotland”.
She added: “Iain Packer was a calculating sexual predator who targeted women over many years. It is hard to comprehend how anyone could carry out such despicable, ruthless acts.
“He took Emma’s life for his own gratification in the most appalling circumstances and cruelly left her body in remote woods hoping to cover his tracks.
“We have reflected and learnt from the initial investigation and subsequent re-investigation. Significant changes have been made in recent years to improve our organisational culture and our response, particularly in respect of investigative structures, victim care and processes to these types of crimes.”
