A retired detective who “solved” the Emma Caldwell murder case nine years ago has told how he was driven by a policeman’s natural instinct to seek justice.
Gerry Gallacher, who served in the force for 30 years, made his own exhaustive inquiry into Emma's death over 18 months as he worked on a book on the case.
His work led to Emma's family being informed about Iain Packer as a potential suspect - after years of a group of Turkish men being falsely accused - when his book was revealed in the Sunday Mail in 2015.
His findings eventually resulted in the Crown Office ordering Police Scotland to reinvestigate Emma’s murder that same year.
Gallacher explained that the more he dug, the more compelled he became to crack the case - not just for himself, but for Emma’s distraught and traumatised family.
Speaking exclusively to the Record upon Packer's conviction, he said: "I can’t say that I feel a huge sense of self satisfaction, but the whole reason I got so deep into this was for the Caldwell family.
"At least they now know the truth about how Emma met her end and by whose hand.
“Emma’s parents had already suffered losing their eldest daughter to cancer, which is unimaginable.
"My wife and daughter used to ask why I was getting involved, even after I was retired, but the answer is, God forbid, if it was my own family I would want to be getting justice."
Emma was found strangled in Limefield Woods, near Roberton, South Lanarkshire, almost two decades ago. She vanished from Glasgow on the night of April 4, 2005.
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Her death was unsolved for 19 years until Iain Packer was arrested by Police Scotland in 2022. Two years later after a lengthy trial at Glasgow High Court he was convicted of her murder.
The 51-year-old faced a total of 36 charges involving offences against 25 women. He denied all the charges during the trial which lasted over four weeks.
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