Emma Caldwell: Rapist Iain Packer found guilty of 2005 murder as Police Scotland apologises for 'failings'

A serial rapist has been sentenced to life for murdering sex worker Emma Caldwell almost 20 years ago and attacking multiple other women. Iain Packer, 51, was found guilty of murdering Miss Caldwell, 27, who went missing in Glasgow on April 4, 2005 and whose body was found in Limefield Woods, near Roberton, South Lanarkshire, the following month.

Following a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Packer has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 36 years. He was also convicted of 11 charges of rape against nine women among dozens of other offences.

Following the verdict, Police Scotland apologised to Miss Cardwell's family, for failings in the investigation into the murder. The force launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate, adding that further investigations should have been carried out into Miss Caldwell’s murder following the initial enquiry in 2005. 

Miss Caldwell vanished days after telling her mother Margaret about her hopes to kick a heroin addiction, which began following a family bereavement in her early 20s. She came from a close-knit family and saw both parents twice a week and spoke to them daily, and was reported missing after she failed to respond to attempts by them to change a planned meeting. A dog walker found Miss Caldwell’s body in woodland, with a “garotte” around her neck, on May 8, 2005.

During Packer’s trial, the court heard a soil sample taken in 2021 from the site where Miss Caldwell’s body was found was a “97% match” with soil found in his blue work van, and Packer was charged by police in February 2022. Packer denied all the charges – accusing all the women of lying – but admitted during evidence that he had indecently assaulted Miss Caldwell.

He said he was “ashamed” of his actions towards her, and described his behaviour towards another sex workers as “disgusting”. But he denied murdering Miss Caldwell in his evidence, telling the court: “It wasn’t me who killed her. It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything to her.”

The trial heard evidence from multiple women about Packer’s brutal attacks on them. Prosecutor Richard Goddard KC described Packer as a “violent” and “obsessive” user of sex workers with an “unhealthy addiction” to procuring their services.

Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime and Public Protection Bex Smith said: “Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.  A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police.    “Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate. It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emma’s murder following the initial enquiry in 2005. The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.     “It is the courage, resilience and determination shown by Emma’s family, in particular her parents William and Margaret, and all those who survived Iain Packer’s horrific catalogue of offending that got us to where we are today. William is, sadly, no longer here to see this day, but I hope this verdict gives Margaret and all those affected by this case, the justice they deserve.

“This was an extremely challenging re-investigation and without doubt the largest police enquiry of recent times in Scotland. Over seven years, a full review of the original enquiry by Strathclyde Police in 2005 was completed. More than 30,000 documents and statements were gathered and reviewed along with in excess of 23,000 productions. New forensic tests were carried out and new witnesses were identified and interviewed, leading to the convictions today.

“Iain Packer was a calculating sexual predator who targeted women over many years. It is hard to comprehend how anyone could carry out such despicable, ruthless acts. He took Emma’s life for his own gratification in the most appalling circumstances and cruelly left her body in remote woods hoping to cover his tracks.

“But time is no barrier to justice and I would urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence to please come forward and speak to us. You will be listened to and you will be supported – no matter when the offences took place."