The Murder of Amanda Duffy
Amanda Duffy was a 19-year-old college student from Scotland, UK.
Amanda had recently been called to audition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, on 29th May 1992 she went out with her friends to celebrate. After the night out and in the early hours of the next morning Amanda went missing and failed to return home. She was quickly reported missing.
On the same day, Amanda's body was found near a car park. She was found lying on her back, naked from the waist down and covered in blood. Her body had been mutilated, branches and twigs had been inserted into her mouth, nostrils and genitals and she had died between 1.30 am and 1.30 pm from blunt force injuries to the head and neck, asphyxia and injuries to the anus and rectum. Amanda had multiple injuries including a broken nose, bruises and abrasions consistent with her head being stamped on and her jaw was broken in two places in what was said to be an attempt to prevent Amanda from being identified. The extreme violence and humiliation were noted by the pathologist who stated ''If someone was intending to kill the girl, they could have done it quite adequately without involving themselves in this type of behaviour. To insert twigs is more a way of abusing and degrading her in some way.''
20-year-old Francis Auld was quickly arrested and tried for murder. Witnesses had seen Auld with Amanda between midnight and 1 am. A painful bite mark on Amanda's breast matched Auld's dental features. Auld claimed he had left Amanda in the company of another male named 'Mark' who was never identified. A verdict of 'not proven' was found in November 1992.
In 1994, Auld was convicted of making threatening phone calls including telling one of them 'You thought Amanda was the last. Well, you're next, after Caroline.'
Amanda's parents campaigned for the 'not proven' verdict to be abolished. In 2015, prosecutors launched a big to re-try Auld for the murder, the bill was rejected in 2016. The chief forensic scientist at the original trial went on record saying the jury got the verdict wrong and that there was enough evidence to convict Auld. Auld died of cancer in July 2017. No one was ever convicted of Amanda's murder and officially the case remains unsolved.