The infamous World’s End murders might have been solved seven years earlier if detectives had understood the implications of a DNA breakthrough, according to the officer who helped snare serial killer Angus Sinclair. Ex-Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, Tom Wood, revealed that DNA analysis from evidence collected in 1997, taken from the 1977 murders of Christine Eadie and Helen Scott, showed traces of the DNA of two men. Unfortunately, this crucial information was not fully realized until much later.
The Tragic Murders
Christine Eadie and Helen Scott, both aged 17, died after meeting Angus Sinclair and his brother-in-law Gordon Hamilton in the World’s End pub in Edinburgh. The next day, Christine’s body was found in Gosford Bay, East Lothian, while six miles away, Helen’s body was discovered in a cornstubble field. Both young women had been gagged, beaten, tied up, raped, and strangled.
Missed Opportunities
Wood admits that the failure to understand new scientific procedures likely delayed justice for the families of Christine and Helen. In 1997, there was the potential for two new DNA profiles, but due to scientists not explaining the results thoroughly enough and the detectives’ ignorance of this new science, the findings were overlooked. Had they been aware of the presence of two profiles, further examination might have identified Sinclair seven years earlier.
The second identifiable sample, although smaller, had been there all along, masked by the more prevalent profile. This second sample, which was semen, was from Angus Sinclair. While this revelation would not have prevented him from murdering again (as he was already serving a life sentence and his accomplice had died in 1996), it would have put investigators on his trail earlier. Additionally, the Toyota caravanette used in their crimes would still have been available with all its forensic secrets. Unfortunately, the caravanette was destroyed just six months before Operation Trinity launched in the spring of 2004.
Wood is convinced that the vehicle would have yielded more evidence against Sinclair for the murders of three young women in Glasgow in 1977. Opportunities were missed in 1981 and 1997, but also in 2001 when Sinclair was arrested for the 1978 murder of Mary Gallagher. Despite suspicions by members of the Gallagher team, this suspicion wasn’t acted upon or shared.
Wood emphasizes that Sinclair’s capture was not solely due to the actions of one detective but rather decades of team effort by police officers. The tragic World’s End murders serve as a reminder of the importance of understanding and leveraging scientific advancements in criminal investigations.
