Man accused of murdering Emma Caldwell faces court preliminary hearing

The man accused of killing Emma Caldwell in 2005 faces a continued preliminary hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday.

Iain Packer has denied her murder and 45 other charges.

At the High Court in Edinburgh last December, pleas for not guilty were issued on his behalf to a total of 46 charges including 11 alleged rapes.

The alleged crimes are said to have taken place between 1990 and 2016.

Packer, 50, is accused of murdering Ms Caldwell by strangling her on April 5, 2005, in an area called Limefield Woods in South Lanarkshire.

Ms Caldwell was last seen between 12.30am and 1.30am on April 5, 2005, on London Road, Glasgow, and was reported missing by her family five days later.

The body of the 27-year-old, who had been working as a sex worker in the city, was discovered in woods at Roberton near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, on May 8, 2005.

Packer is further charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of Ms Caldwell’s naked body and possessions “by means to the prosecutor unknown”.

A number of the other alleged crimes are also said to have taken place at Limefield Woods. He is also accused of lewd or libidinous practice towards a girl who was aged 14 or 15 at the time.

As well as rape, the charges include cases of alleged abduction, indecent assault and sexual assault involving a number of women.

Three men and one boy aged 15 at the time are listed in the charges as victims of alleged assaults.

Packer was not present at the procedural hearing in Edinburgh last year, where Ronnie Renucci KC entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.

Judge Lord Beckett noted the defence case would be a “huge undertaking” as there is a “very, very large indictment”.

Prosecutor Richard Goddard KC said there would be well over 100 witnesses in the case. He said five of the complainers in the case are now deceased.

An 11-week trial is set to commence its floating period on January 15, 2024, at the High Court in Glasgow.