Pilley Murder Case Review Granted

15 January 2015, 11:03 | Updated: 15 January 2015, 11:05

A man jailed for life for murdering his former lover whose body has never found has been granted a review of his case.

David Gilroy was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering Suzanne Pilley and attempting to defeat the ends of justice in May 2010.

Ms Pilley had set off on her usual journey to work in Edinburgh city centre but never arrived.

Gilroy went on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in February 2012 and was convicted of murder in March that year.

Previous appeals have been rejected but the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is undertaking a review of his case after receiving an initial application, a spokesman said.

Experts will study the grounds for the review over the next eight months before deciding if it should be referred back to the High Court.

The jury in Gilroy's trial heard he was driven by jealousy, maintained a front of normality and embarked on a series of acts to cover up his crime.

He took 38-year-old Ms Pilley's body to a secret grave, believed to be in remote Argyll.

Married Gilroy, 52, has protested his innocence since the day Ms Pilley vanished. Last year, the Supreme Court in London refused his application to have his case reviewed.

The case made legal history when Gilroy became the first convicted killer to have his sentencing filmed for British TV.

Judge Lord Bracadale told him when he was convicted that he hoped he would one day say where he abandoned the victim's body.