‘Verdict ends first chapter of a living hell’

THE TRIAL is over. David Gilroy is guilty. The mystery remains.

For the family of Suzanne Pilley, yesterday’s verdict simply marks the end of the first chapter of a living hell.

They have conducted themselves with incredible dignity throughout the most horrific of experiences.

But their reward for watching justice being done will not lessen their ongoing ordeal while their loving daughter lies undiscovered in a lonely grave.

The police, of course, will continue the hunt and have pledged that the case file will not be closed until the body is found.

That is typical of the professionalism and determination which has seen Gilroy convicted after such a long and complex investigation.

Led by Detective Superintendent Gary Flannigan, they deserve immense credit and our thanks for securing a murder conviction in such circumstances. They have used all the resources at their disposal to build up a case without the most crucial evidence of all.

The one man who holds the key to that missing evidence and the one man who can ease at least some of the Pilley family’s pain is unlikely to do so.

David Gilroy will take the secret of Suzanne’s last resting place to his prison cell. We can only hope that contrary to fears of her loved ones he will do the decent thing.

Trading places

what a difference a mile can make.

While Sainsbury’s move into the former Peckham’s delicatessen in Bruntsfield has sparked calls for a boycott, the supermarket chain is being welcomed with open arms in nearby Morningside, where traders and residents feel the firm will improve the area.

Only time will tell what impact the high street chain might have on the two neighbourhoods, but there is a feeling in Morningside that it would help to support independent traders there, rather than threaten them, by attracting more people into the vicinity.

There is no doubt that shoppers will be keen to beat a path to both these two stores. If proof were needed, you only have to consider the incredible statistic that 60 per cent of the calorific intake of people across the UK is bought in supermarkets.

And it would be wrong to deny customers the chance to vote with their feet, despite the great sympathy for those independent traders who fear for their futures. We wish them every success as they make their pitch for their share of the mass of passing trade.