The website I created many years ago to support my daughter Shirley McKie opens with these words: "This site is dedicated to the memory of Marion Ross who was murdered in her home in January 1997 and who has often been forgotten in the wake of the extraordinary chain of events that followed from her death".
The truth of this statement is reinforced by the Strathclyde Police Authority's challenge to the Chief Constable to have the Marion Ross murder investigation re-opened ( "Bid to reopen McKie row murder case", The Herald 20 April). Like the Chief Constable I have asked the Crown Office over the years to carry out a re-investigation but still I receive the same reply that "the murder of Marion Ross remains unresolved ... and will be subject to regular review by both COPFS and the police."
Many questions remain to be answered from the police inquiry and as an ex-police officer I have many reservations about the investigation. Given the revelations about the fingerprint inquiry, any evidence against David Asbury should now be treated with scepticism. The only established truth is that whenever we start to look at this murder again doubts flood in.
Few people realise that there were a number of suspects in this case who were quickly dropped when David Asbury's print was found. We are left to wonder why the Crown Office refuses to take any proactive action and its failure to respond to Chief Constable Stephen House reinforces the belief that it has something to hide. It is time for the Crown Office to settle these matters once and for all in an honest and open manner so that the memory of Marion Ross is honoured and there is no resting place for those who brutally ended her life.
Iain A J McKie,
27 Donnini Court , South Beach Road, Ayr.
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