Iain Packer is guilty of the murder of Emma Caldwell in 2005 (Picture: BBC/PA)
A serial rapist has been found guilty of murdering a woman whose body was found in woodland a month after she went missing in 2005.
Iain Packer, 51, had been on trial at the High Court in Glasgow over the death of 27-year-old Emma Caldwell in South Lanarkshire.
He was also found guilty of indecently assaulting her, and committing a string of sex attacks on multiple other women.
Miss Caldwell was reported missing on April 4, 2005, and her body was discovered weeks later in Limefield Woods near the village of Roberton.
A few days earlier, she had told her mum Margaret about her ambition to kick a heroin addiction that had started after a family bereavement in her early twenties.
She was close to her parents, and her disappearance was quickly reported to police after she failed to respond to their attempts to change a planned meeting.
On May 8, a dog walker found her body with a ‘garotte’ around her neck.
Packer was not charged by police until February 2022.
Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Bex Smith said: ‘Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.
‘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.’
Emma Caldwell was part of a close-knit family (Picture: PA)
During evidence, the defendant admitted indecently assaulting Miss Caldwell.
However, he continued to deny all the charges, including charges of raping 11 women. He accused all of them of lying.
Packer, who faced a total of 36 charges involving offences against 25 women, described his behaviour towards sex workers as ‘disgusting’ and told the court he was ‘ashamed’ of his actions towards Miss Caldwell.
He denied murdering her in his evidence, telling the court: ‘It wasn’t me who killed her. It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything to her.’
During the six-week trial, the jury heard from multiple women who described Packer’s brutal attacks on them.
Police Scotland’s full statement
Following the conviction, Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime and Public Protection Bex Smith of Police Scotland released a lengthy statement apologising for failures in the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s death.
She said: ‘Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.
‘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.
‘Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.
‘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.
‘It is the courage, resilience and determination shown by Emma’s family, in particular her parents William and Margaret, and all those who survived Iain Packer’s horrific catalogue of offending that got us to where we are today.
‘William is, sadly, no longer here to see this day, but I hope this verdict gives Margaret and all those affected by this case, the justice they deserve.
‘This was an extremely challenging re-investigation and without doubt the largest police enquiry of recent times in Scotland.
‘Over seven years, a full review of the original enquiry by Strathclyde Police in 2005 was completed.
‘More than 30,000 documents and statements were gathered and reviewed along with in excess of 23,000 productions. New forensic tests were carried out and new witnesses were identified and interviewed, leading to the convictions today.
‘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.
‘But time is no barrier to justice and I would urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence to please come forward and speak to us.
‘You will be listened to and you will be supported – no matter when the offences took place.
‘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.
‘Our Violence against Women and Girls Strategy demonstrates our absolute commitment to tackling the violence and abuse that disproportionately affects women and girls.
‘What shone through to the enquiry team throughout the investigations into Emma’s life was her gentle personality, and I want to finish by saying that our thoughts remain with Emma, her family and all those affected by this terrible case.’
They also heard a soil sample taken in 2021 from the site where Miss Caldwell’s body was found was a ‘97% match’ with soil found in his blue work van.
Prosecutor Richard Goddard KC described Packer as a ‘violent’ and ‘obsessive’ user of sex workers who had an ‘unhealthy addiction’ to procuring their services.
He will be sentenced later today.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.