DAVID Gilroy has been found guilty of murdering Edinburgh bookeeper Suzanne Pilley, after a 17-day trial.
After two days of jury deliberations, Gilroy, from Silverknowes in Edinburgh, convicted of killing Ms Pilley in 2010.
The conviction has been hailed as a landmark case by police, as 38-year-old Ms Pilley’s body was never found, and prosecutors said Gilroy was a ‘deceitful and controlling individual.’
He killed her and buried her body in a ‘lonely grave’ after she tried to break off their affair.
Prosecutors today released images and an audio file which were used in the case against Gilroy.
Suzanne’s parents said Suzanne had finally ‘received the justice she deserved.’
The evidence used to convict Gilroy included pictures of scratches on his hands, which he had tried to cover up with makeup, and a voicemail message where he pleaded with her to meet him. He also had marks on his chest.
DNA evidence was also found in the boot of his car.
Prosecutors said Gilroy ‘lured’ Ms Pilley into the basement of her workplace in central Edinburgh and killed her, before hiding her body in a recess underneath a stairwell.
Her body was then put in the boot of his car and moved elsewhere. He bought a large quantity of air fresheners on the day she went missing.
Gilroy left Ms Pilley a message pleading with her to meet him on 1 May 2010, where he said he was ‘worried.’
He also sent Ms Pilley 400 texts the month before she went missing, but these stopped abruptly after her dissapearance.
Despite a huge search operation, Suzanne’s body has never been found. It is thought she was buried in a remote part of Argyll in a ‘lonely grave.’
Gilroy drove to Lochgilphead for work the day after Ms Pilley went missing, but took but took around two hours longer to reach there than the average journey.
He was sacked from his job at Infrastructure Manager Limited two months after Pilley went missing.
Gilroy’s wife Andrea has stood by him during the trial, and refused to give evidence against him.
In a statement, Suzanne’s parents Rob and Sylvia said: “This day has been a long time coming but finally Suzanne has received the justice she deserved.
“As a family we continue to struggle to come to terms with losing her: we have lost our daughter but her memory lives on in everyone who knew her.
“Suzanne was a devoted daughter, a supportive friend and an exemplary colleague at work. She was a proud Scot who led a full and active life, and enjoyed the great outdoors, always walking, cycling and keeping fit.
“We have been met with nothing but kindness from her many friends during this time of great sorrow.
“We would like to express our gratitude to every police officer involved in the investigation and to Alex Prentice and his team for their efforts in bringing this case to a conclusion today.
“Although the trial has ended, our ordeal goes on, and we hope that one day we can lay our daughter to rest.”
Speaking after the conviction, District Procurator Fiscal Stephen McGowan said: “The disappearance of Suzanne Pilley and the anguish this has caused her family and friends has been unimaginable, and made all the worse by her body never having been found.
“David Gilroy was a deceitful and controlling individual who pestered Suzanne with hundreds of messages, and then killed her when she told him their affair was over.”
Detective Superintendent Gary Flannigan at Lothian and Borders Police said: “The investigation into the murder of Suzanne Pilley has been groundbreaking and in many respects unique for Lothian and Borders Police.
“From the outset we faced significant challenges; a routine missing person inquiry very quickly transformed into a murder investigation that relied heavily on information from the public.”
