The family of the cheese wire murder victim in Aberdeen have “offered a £10,000 reward” for a DNA swab that helps identify the taxi driver’s killer.
George Murdoch, known as Dod was brutally murdered on the evening of September 29, 1983 by his last ever passenger. The 58-year-old turned on to Pitfodels Station Road, on the outskirts of Aberdeen near the Deeside railway line, where he was strangled at around 8.45pm and later died.
A cheese wire was used in the attack. The killer has never been found. More than four decades on from Mr Murdoch’s death, police identified 200 people who could have a genetic link to a DNA profile from the scene.
Advances in technology mean that cops have been able to identify potential close relatives of the murderer in the sample through searches of the e National DNA Database. A £50,000 reward was offered in the hope of helping to finally catch the murderer.
And now, Mr Murdoch’s family have “offered £10,000” – but only the swab of their DNA helps identify which of their relatives is the killer.
Speaking to the Press and Journal, Mr Murdoch’s nephew, Alex McKay, 67, said: “When I think back to when I started in 2014, the end goal was to identify my uncle’s killer, but it felt so far in the distance – I couldn’t see that far ahead. Over the years, with media appeals and more and more progress continuing to be made in the investigation, a sort of fog has cleared and the road ahead to that destination actually now feels quite short.”
Mr McKay’s wife, Robina, said: “If a detective requests a DNA sample from someone and that sample after forensic testing leads to the person who was responsible for Dod’s murder, providing the police are certain, then he or she will be rewarded with the sum of £10,000.”
She added: “As family and friends come together over the festive period, I’m sure they’ll also think about loved ones who’ve sadly passed away. For me, Christmas is a season of goodwill. It’s an opportunity to think about the suffering of others and perhaps even a chance to try to help them. That’s what I hope someone will do for us.”
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.
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 inquiries. 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.”
Following a public appeal in 2022, detectives are still seeking information to identify a man who was seen wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt in Wilson’s Sports Bar in Market Street in Aberdeen in 2015.
Police Scotland can be contacted via 101 or emailed through their dedicated inbox at [email protected].
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