Murder Case

Tiona: My mum, like everybody just knew her for,

being, happy and funny, and...

Everybody's got a story with my mum,

like something funny that's happened...

I don't know what it was but she just

always had a way of making you feel good about yourself,

like, whenever you saw her

you just always left her feeling happier than what you were.

I think she had that impact on a lot of folk.

Since she went missing and stuff it's just been a big,

like, best way to describe it is like a cloud of smoke, like.

I don't want to,

to ever think that it's happening and it's real.

Morning folks.

Lots of familiar faces in this room,

which gives me the absolute confidence

that we will deal with what we are actually going to deal with here,

and this is what we're actually going to deal with.

Missing person, Julie Reilly.

And the bottom line is,

there's suspicious circumstances as to her currently being missing.

Our number one priority,

is if at all possible the safe recovery of Julie.

Find where she is

and attend to any needs that she may have.

So, what could have happened to Julie,

well, she could have voluntarily absented herself from her friends,

family, for whatever reason, we don't know.

She may have come to substantial harm or death,

at the hand of as yet known person.

We cannot discount that she's been held against her will,

unknown location for unknown reason.

If she has come to substantial harm or death then why has that occurred,

has she been murdered?

Potentially, she could have self-harmed

and she's in a place where we just cannot find her.

Stevie, give us a wee bit of background

just about Julie, will you, please?

Julie is a 47-year-old female who lives alone.

She's originally from Ayrshire.

She suffers from a hypoxic brain injury,

where she was in hospital for five months.

Over the period of her life,

she goes for periods without speaking to the family.

But she always then gets back in touch.

Have you ever seen the woman before?

No, no, that's fine.

The 6 February is a very significant date.

It's the last day she used her bus pass.

She's never been reported missing before,

albeit, she's gone long periods of time but she's always come back,

or there's always been some kind of contact.

The purpose of today is to try and engage with the local community,

gather information.

I'm looking at Julie's background,

I'm looking at how, as you would expect,

how someone lives their life.

There is nothing that I'm aware of

that would lead Julie to suddenly flee or leave the area.

I moved to major investigations in 2011.

And at the start of it

when I was probably younger in service,

a lot of it was around, the thrill of the chase

and getting that ten seconds of energy,

when you've got that key piece of information that you know that,

that's the bit,

that's the bit that proves this case.

And probably, if I'm honest, you become more mature in the job.

It's the difference that we can actually make

to the victims' families,

in their darkest moments.

How's things been the last couple of days?

Just weird. Too long.

Just getting longer, is it?

Bad. She's been upset this morning.

Is it just the length the of time

that's worrying you a wee bit now, is it?

I think, she aye,

and I think if she's,

if she's no alright how's she no been found.

And that's my question, my now is,

but if she's no alright she would have been found by now,

like who's all trying to find her,

she can, all the, police and the...

..And they can't find them, that's what makes me hope so much,

she's alright, that's my wee clinch to hold onto..

Sorry.

No, don't be daft lynne.

How have you been, Margaret? Not bad.

Tower of strength this woman.

The two of you bounce off the other well don't you,

if one of you is struggling the other one is there and...

Always. ..Staying so close together

is a Godsend at times like this and you're just across the road.

I just wish that she could be found, one way or another.

That's the position I'm here.

We feel the same

and our whole enquiry's focused on that, is finding Julie.

Finding out why she's missing... Aye.

..For whatever reason it may be.

I think is she lying somewhere, is she some, away abroad,

I think all these things.

It's a million and one things every single day

and they're different every single day.

It's hard because you, you're wanting answers

and you're waiting for answers,

and I know every time I'm phoning you,

your heart's going to skip a beat.

Aye, it is and it's another week,

but then also keep thinking to myself,

well, she's not been found, they would have found her by now,

the dogs, the helicopter, the divers,

somebody would definitely have found her by now.

So, she must be alright.

It's a nice picture. It is.

I gave her that wee scarf.

This diary, has been dated 2017.

First thing is mum's phone number, take that as mum.

Tuesday, the 25th, "due ESA.”

235 pound.

Which is Monday.

"Crisis centre."

"Put on 30 ml,

"(inaudible) Up to 40 ml."

My mum was quite ill, and she was in rehab

and she was in hospital for months.

And the entry for Sunday the 7th May says, "crisis centre."

She hadn't been to appointments and stuff that when I was like,

I just knew something was up, she would always go.

She had a routine,

she had to always do what she was supposed to be doing

she would, she just always did.

And it was weird that she wasn't going to the appointments

and, I just thought maybe she,

met a guy and he was in trouble or something,

and she'd run away with him

'cause she would do that kind of stuff like,

she was daft.

More notably started at 28th,

"mum coming, watch what you're doing with your..." Something.

"Money."

"Watch what you're doing with your money."

Have a seat. Oh, thank you very much.

Sure, no problem.

We looked through the diary,

the things that we're seeing all the time,

it confirms that she keeps a diary of everything,

her esa, her dla, that's in there weekly,

her canteen appointments are in there every week,

her doctor's appointments

and then, her diary is of what she does on a daily basis.

Everything's put in, just to remind her obviously,

because of her brain injury.

It sounds like then,

would you agree that's she's almost trying to,

re-learn how to do some of the basic things.

You're getting warnings to remind myself to do something

and then you're getting the actually date,

the 11 June, you're getting the fact that it is her mum's birthday,

it certainly corporates the fact that she, sort of,

she's family orientated.

Bottom line is, we can then answer the question that

there's nothing in the diary, that would cause us concern that,

or show, a plan, for her to disappear.

Absolutely not. 100%, no. None at all.

OK.

So, we're just going to be going to her house

at Shieldhall Road.

This is the house of the missing person,

and we're going to do a forensic examination on it.

We need to build up a picture of why she's missing

and how she's missing.

Maybe trying to establish if there has been

any violence in the house.

We need to go in there and make sure that there's nothing untoward.

For me to do my kind of mission at the moment

would be to identify any potential blood or what have you

and to get this place all photographed

and get that done

and then tomorrow, come up with a plan.

OK.

In a missing person's case,

you're looking to go and see what you can find,

that might have shown that they've been injured there.

Is there any blood patterns that show

there's been any kind of assault.

In that house I was on my hands and knees,

looking for any blood staining and I couldn't see anything at all.

But as you started to look closer,

I noticed some drop blood spots, which were dilute.

But it was all very disjointed

and it was very obvious if anything had happened here.

Haley has identified around the drum of the washing machine, blood,

but we're going to concentrate on there,

and there's a wee kind of coagulated bit of blood here.

I'm going to need the biologist to do all the source lighting,

which will give us a better idea of what we're looking at.

Aye definitely, so, alright thanks a lot Ali,

cheers bye. Bye.

There's almost sort of,