Iain Packer has been convicted following a 5 week trial at Glasgow High Court. 

The investigation was reopened in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.

He was facing 36 charges against 25 women. He was convicted of 33 charges including 2 indecent assaults, two sexual assaults, and 11 rapes against a total of 22 victims after a 5 day deliberation period by the jury. Two charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault were found not proven.

Packer was accused of murdering Ms Caldwell, 27, after she disappeared in Glasgow in 2005. She was last seen on CCTV walking alone in the Southside of Glasgow on the 4th April 2005 around 11pm. Her body was found in nearby woods one month later.

Packer denied all of the charges although he admitted during evidence that he did in fact indecently assault Miss Caldwell. He stated that he was ashamed of his action but maintained that he did not kill her. 

It transpires that Packer was interviewed one month after the death of Emma. He committed a further 19 offences after being released from this interview. 

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 has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years. 

Police Scotland have faced backlash for the time that the case went unsolved with the mother of Emma Caldwell stating she felt ‘betrayed’ by the initial investigation. A public inquiry into the initial investigation has been requested. Police Scotland have apologised for their failings and time wasted in investigating the incorrect suspects. £4 million was spent on investigation four Turkish men.