Taxi Driver Online

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IDFIMH

Police find DNA lead in 1983 Aberdeen taxi driver murder

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... d-66954306

Forty years on from the murder of an Aberdeen taxi driver, police say they have made their most significant development in the case to date.

George Murdoch, also known as Dod, was found dead beside his taxi in Pitfodels Station Road in Aberdeen on 29 September, 1983.

A cheese wire had been used as a garrotte during the attack.

Police have revealed they now have what they believe is the DNA profile of the 58-year-old's killer.

Det Insp James Callander said they are using the DNA to check "persons of interest" that have emerged over the four decades..

"The forensic scientists have managed to develop this profile from various crime scene material. A lot of names came to the fore over those 40 years. Obviously never a suspect but people we would class as persons of interest," he said.

"We've been able to eliminate most people that have come into the inquiry. It's now at a natural time where we need the public's help."

The DNA profile is male but police warn that it alone will not solve the crime. They need to find a match to the sample and are now appealing for help from the public, including people who may suspect they were related to the murderer.

Det Insp Callander said: "Forty years on the chances are the male responsible could be dead, so we're looking at sons and daughters who maybe had suspicions over the years that their father was responsible to come forward.

"We can take a simple DNA swab and we can compare that to give peace of mind to the family to say your father isn't responsible."

George Murdoch picked up a passenger in Aberdeen's west end at 20:35 on Thursday 29 September 1983. He told his control room he was heading to Culter, on the western edge of the city.

About two miles into the journey he turned off onto Pitfodels Station Road, where the attack took place. Two young cyclists saw him being attacked by a man and raised the alarm, but when police officers arrived it was too late. They found the cheese wire garotte nearby.

His wife, Jessie, died in 2004 but his family have never given up hope that his killer will be caught.

His nephew, Alex McKay, told BBC Scotland News his uncle was a "hardworking, happy, normal man."

He said: "Forty years is a long time to go without all of the answers to what happened to him, but it's never too late to see justice served and we urge anyone with any information that could assist the investigation, no matter what it is, to contact police," he said.

Family appeal

Appealing to anyone who may have information, he said: "We desperately need you to come forward. We know that's hard and we recognise that but you know it's what you feel in your own heart, how you're going to live with yourself. I don't think you could go to your own grave holding on to information like that."

Mr McKay added he "genuinely" believes the case will be solved.

Earlier this year, police made an appeal to find a man seen in Wilson's Sports Bar on Market Street in Aberdeen in September 2015.

He was wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt and is described as being small, stocky, in his 60 or 70s and local to Aberdeen.

Police have confirmed the man is not a suspect but simply someone who may have "significant information".

A £50,000 reward is being offered for any information in relation to the case.

Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland.

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IDFIMH

Looks like the police are getting nearer to obtaining a DNA match.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk- ... -outdoors/

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IDFIMH

that article looked like just a rehash as nice as it would be for this killer to be found I doubt they ever will

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I'm not so sure.

The police wouldn't be spending time and resources unless they had a good chance of getting a decent match, even if it's a via family match that narrows things down.

Hopefully there is someone out there getting very nervous.

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IDFIMH

Or long since been buried or cremated hence trying to get a familial match

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

If the suspect was late 20s-early 30s in 1983, they'd be late 60s-early 70s now. Could still be alive.

Familial DNA can identify relatives of the profile the cops already have, so children/siblings/cousins etc. If it gets to a close match, anything/everything near to it it will likely get tested. They'll exhume a body if it comes to it.

Channel 5 documentary on Mon 21 -

https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/pr-coldcaseforensics-5

Aberdeen cheese wire murder detective desperate to catch killer before retiring

https://www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aber ... e-10358920

A top detective who is leading the investigation into one of Aberdeen's longest-running cold cases has revealed he is desperate to catch the killer before he retires.

Detective Inspector James Callander of Police Scotland's major investigation team has been leading efforts to catch the elusive 'cheese wire killer'.

Taxi driver George 'Dod' Murdoch was found strangled to death in his vehicle having just picked up a fare on the night of September 29, 1983.

A cheese wire, believed to have been used as the murder weapon, was found near Pitfodels Station Road in the Cults area of the city, reports the Daily Record.

However, his killer has remained untraced for more than four decades, with a new spotlight set to be put on the cold case as a two-part documentary is set to be aired on Channel 5 next week.

Presented by Kirsty Wark, Cold Case Unit: The Cheesewire Murder will feature new interviews with some of George's closest friends and relatives as well as follow the decades-long hunt for the killer.

DI Callander has been in charge of the case since 2021. The seasoned crime investigator hopes to crack the case before handing in his badge to retire.

He said: "It's hugely important to me to solve this murder. I'm nearing the end of my time as a police officer and there's nothing I'd like more than to detect this before I retire.

"We've got real hope that we can finally get there - I think we're close. Science is on our side, this is probably the best chance police have ever had of solving it.

"Cold cases never close, we don't stop - we keep going."

There have been a number of major forensic breakthroughs in recent years.

Police have found possible DNA matches and hope to establish any family link to a profile from the scene - with the family urging anyone to come forward to rule out possibly deceased family members.

The documentary reveals that out of 1,000 possible matches around a quarter have now been eliminated - meaning the net could soon be closing in.

Adam Gregory, behavioural advisor, at the National Crime Agency, has assisted with the case.

He said: To be suddenly presented with a DNA breakthrough, it becomes really exciting.

"The George Murdoch murder could become the first familial DNA success in Scotland and it feels like a genuine opportunity to solve a case which has been undetected for 40 plus years.

"I don't think this individual needs to be dead, they just disappear- they go quiet, they stop offending or they start offending in ways, which for whatever reason, doesn't ID them in the interim.

"We have every reason to think they are still alive."

George's nephew Alec McKay and his wife Robina, are leading the campaign for justice and hope the documentary will encourage people to come forward.

Robina said: "Often the suspect names we hear have already been excluded from DNA profiling, but that's OK. One day, we might get one which turns out to belong to the real killer."

Appealing to anyone with information on the killer, she added: "Loyalty to this person must be commended, but it is misplaced.

"You've had to carry this weight of their guilt around for a long time, but as the years slip by, do you not owe it to yourself now to be rid of it?"

Rewards of £50,000 are available for information that will lead to a conviction and £10,000 for any matching family DNA.

Police Scotland's Major Investigation Team, previously told the Daily Record: "George Murdoch’s family have dealt with his loss with a great deal of dignity over the years since his senseless murder.

"They deserve answers about what happened to him."

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IDFIMH

Just watched the latest Channel 5 programme about this horrible murder and have to say the police are really doing their best to find the killer, even after 40 odd years.

Defo 10 out of 10.

The lead detective is a credit to Police Scotland.

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IDFIMH

DI Callander seems to be the right person for a cold case. Police can be relentless if they've got something to work with, and it looks like they have.

Interestingly, the behavioural adviser thought the 'suspect' seen with injured hands in a chip shop was probably a coincidence or a mistake - another P&J article says likewise. And DNA eliminated the 'deli-man' suspect I think.

I'm guessing this documentary/publicity/reward is to make the real suspect (or someone who knows them) wobble and possibly give something away.

Without DNA this case would have been put to bed decades ago.

With DNA they can pursue this matter forever.

Even if they don’t find a 100% match directly, they can find it indirectly via his wider family.

If the killer isn’t already dead then he should be waiting for that knock on the door sometime in the future.

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IDFIMH