Emma Caldwell murderer Iain Packer sentence appeal refused by top judges
dailyrecord.co.ukSerial rapist Iain Packer's attempt to have his jail sentence reduced for the murder of Emma Caldwell has been refused.The 51-year-old was handed a life sentence in March and was ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years in prison.
Packer murdered 27-year-old Emma Caldwell in 2005 after raping a series of other women. After years of evading justice, he was finally arrested in 2022 for Caldwell's murder and a string of other attacks.
He was convicted in February of 33 charges against a total of 22 women, including Caldwell's murder and 11 rapes. Former detectives revealed they were prevented from detaining the serial rapist by senior officers who refused to treat him as a suspect in Emma's case - focusing instead on a group of four other men who were later cleared.The Sunday Mail - the Record's sister title - re energised the case in 2015 when it named Packer as a forgotten suspect in Caldwell's murder.At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh today Packer's appeal against the length of his sentence was refused.Following the appeal rejection, lawyer Aamer Anwar, who has acted as the solicitor for Emma's mum, Margaret Caldwell, said: "Mr Packer evaded justice for nearly 19 years but will die a convicted killer and serial rapist.
Packer’s name will one day turn to dust, long after Emma’s name lives on. Had it not been for Margaret Caldwell’s tireless campaigning, then any hope of justice would have been buried forever."For far too long those responsible for gifting a killer his freedom, have remained in the shadows, but they must face the glare of public scrutiny, the only forum for that will be before a statutory judge led public inquiry.
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