Police announce major development in George Murdoch 'Cheesewire murder' case

Police have announced a significant development into the case surrounding the murder of an Aberdeen taxi driver who was killed 41 years ago.

Officers have been investigating the murder of 58-year-old George Murdoch, who was killed as he turned into the Pitfoldels Station Road area of the city on the evening of Thursday, September 29, 1983.

A cheesewire was used in the attack, with his killing dubbed the 'cheesewire murder' and becoming one of Scotland's longest unsolved cases.

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In a public appeal last year, Police Scotland revealed that advancements in forensic science had led to a DNA profile from the scene being identified.

They have since confirmed this profile has been further enhanced to allow officers to search for anyone related to the DNA sample, known as familial DNA.

Police said: "It involves a search of the National DNA Database to identify potential close relatives of an individual when their DNA profile is not on the database.

"Familial DNA searching is based upon the principle that DNA is inherited and all members of a family share certain aspects of their DNA.

"Children share half their DNA from their father and half with their mother. The extent to which siblings share their DNA is variable, but they will tend to share more DNA than unrelated people.

"Working with our partners at the National Crime Agency, an initial list of 200 possible genetic matches to the profile from the scene has been compiled. Officers will now attempt to contact these people to establish any family link."

Police are also continuing their efforts to identify a man who was seen wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt in Wilson’s Sports Bar on Market Street in Aberdeen in 2015.

Detective Inspector James Callander said: "This new DNA data is significant and will help take us a step closer to getting justice for Mr Murdoch’s family.

"The familial DNA links identified will assist in tracing people who can help with our enquiries. I want to make clear, these individuals are not suspects, but we hope they may be able to help with our ongoing investigation.

"I would ask everyone to think back to when George was murdered. If you have any concerns at all from around that time, please don’t dismiss them and contact us.

"The solving of this horrific crime requires the help of the public. I would urge anyone with information to please come forward. We want to give George’s family some much needed closure."

No-one has ever been arrested in connection with Mr Murdoch’s murder, who was affectionately known as ‘Dod’ by loved ones, and Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team continue to investigate the case.

In a statement, his family said: "This latest development with the familial DNA is a huge leap forward and we thank the police for their continued endeavour in getting to this stage.

"It is very encouraging and refreshes our hope that we can finally identify who is responsible for Dod’s murder."

Police Scotland can be contacted via 101 or e-mailed through the force's dedicated inbox at SCDHOLMESAberdeen@scotland.pnn.police.uk.