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The murder of Suzanne Pilley. Murder without a body.
Murder is described as a wilful act that causes the destruction of life. If someone is missing and no body has been found, how can someone be convicted of their murder? According to Scottish law, if no body can be found then there must be enough circumstantial evidence to show that the accused has killed the victim, that the intention of killing was present and that the accused has likely disposed of the body.
The murder of Suzanne Pilley and the conviction of her former lover David Gilroy is one example of a murder without a body and now an infamous case in Scotland.
Suzanne Pilley was a 38 year old book keeper who worked at Infrastructure Management in Thistle Street, Edinburgh. On the day of her disappearance at 08.36am on her way to work, Suzanne sent a cheerful, optimistic message to her mother about a potential new relationship. She was also seen at the Sainsburys on the corner of St Andrew’s Square and Rose Street before arriving at her work at 08.53am. CCTV images confirm she reached the ground floor entrance to the Thistle Street building but never made it to her desk on the second floor office. She was later reported missing by her parents and colleagues.
It was unusual for Suzanne not to turn up for work and this caused some concern amongst her colleagues who contacted her parents at 12.45pm…
