Police investigating the disappearance of a vulnerable woman two decades ago have appealed to her supposed carers for information on where her body is.
Margaret Fleming, who had learning difficulties, vanished from “the face of the Earth” around December 1999 but it did not become apparent she was missing until October 2016.
In July, Edward Cairney, 77, and Avril Jones, 59, were found guilty of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years.
Ms Fleming’s body has never been found, and on Friday she would have celebrated her 39th birthday.
Detective Superintendent Paul Livingstone, senior investigating officer, marked the occasion by again appealing to the pair for information, and has offered to meet them to discuss the issue.
He said: “I would like to appeal directly to Edward Cairney and Avril Jones, on what would have been Margaret’s 39th birthday.
“If you have a shred of decency, you will answer the questions Margaret’s family have to allow them to put her to rest.
“I have lodged formal requests with both lawyers, asking for information and reiterating an offer to meet me to discuss in person.
“Margaret was a very vulnerable young woman when she was abused, neglected, manipulated and murdered.
“It’s only right that her family and friends get the opportunity to pay their final respects.
Avril Jones and Edward Cairney were sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Margaret Fleming (Police Scotland/PA)
“Whilst there has been a conviction for her murder and two people are in prison, it doesn’t mean that we will no longer act on information we receive about where her body is.
“It’s very important that she is given the funeral she deserves and for her family to be able to pay their respects to her.
“I would say again to Eddie Cairney and Avril Jones – your lies have caught up with you, so now do the decent thing and let Margaret’s family know what has happened to her.
“If anyone has any information they think could help us to locate her body, please don’t hesitate to contact 101, or alternatively, anonymously through the charity Crimestoppers.”
The house where Margaret Fleming lived with Cairney and Jones (Crown Office/PA)
A week after their sentencing, the Scottish Court Service confirmed Cairney submitted an intimation of intent to appeal against his conviction and sentence, but it was understood Jones had not.
Jurors found the couple murdered Ms Fleming by unknown means between December 18, 1999 and January 5, 2000 at their home in Inverkip, Inverclyde, or elsewhere in Scotland, and then tried to cover up the crime for almost 18 years.
During their trial, which began in April this year, prosecutors described Ms Fleming as a “friendless and lonely” young woman with significant difficulties.
Jones was also convicted unanimously of fraudulently claiming £182,000 in benefits by pretending Ms Fleming was alive and the couple were both convicted of perverting the course of justice.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here