PHOTOGRAPHS of a man with his arm around murdered Glasgow prostitute Tracy Wylde, taken from CCTV cameras in Glasgow's red light district, have been issued by detectives with the blessing of the Crown Office.
The pictures clearly show the man's face and the timing, close to 3.30am on November 24, indicates that he could possibly be the last client Ms Wylde saw before her death.
The computer-enhanced stills were taken from city-centre TV installations, some by City Watch and others by private cameras on business premises, which recorded the last known movements of the murdered woman.
Issue of the pictures provoked adverse response from civil libertarians but opposition was rejected by detectives hunting Ms Wylde's murderer. Detective Chief Inspector John Sherry, in charge of the hunt, said: ''It's the murder of a 21-year-old girl we are speaking about.'' He refused to speculate further on the identity of the man.
The stills show the man with Ms Wylde in Wellington Street in the city centre, walking with his right arm over her shoulder. He is wearing casual jacket and trousers and she is seen in dark trousers and jacket, carrying a shoulder bag and holding a coloured umbrella against the rain.
Police issued two further pictures of a similar-looking man taken two or three hours earlier in the same area and said it was possible he may be the same man seen with Ms Wylde.
Mr Sherry said some of the area's prostitutes believed they recognise the man but did not know his name.
Ms Wylde, whose mother earlier told a press conference she had not known her daughter was a prostitute, was found dead at her home in Torryburn Road in Glasgow's Barmulloch district hours after the CCTV pictures were taken. She had arrived home in the early hours of the morning with an unidentified man.
Detectives have interviewed more than 200 known clients of prostitutes in the area and are still trying to trace between 300 and 400 others.
Mr Sherry said a prostitute's ''minder'', who took registration numbers of men's cars as a security precaution for the women, had come forward after an earlier appeal. His list of 40 registration numbers are being investigated by police and, within the last 24 hours, around 15 of the men had come forward.
A fresh appeal was issued by Mr Sherry to clients of Glasgow prostitutes to make themselves known. He said: ''A large number have done so. Some of them are very worried but we have treated these men sensitively and tried our best not to cause them embarrassment.''
Progress is also being made on DNA testing, with analyses completed of around 200 samples given by prostitutes' clients. More tests have still to be completed and others will be taken.
''We have tried to be as discreet as possible in interviewing men who use the services of these prostitutes,'' Mr Sherry said.
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