New evidence in 1991 murder case

Commission in court move as fresh forensic findings point to a possible miscarriage of justice

By Jane Candlish

Published:

A murder case which horrified the Highlands has been sent back to the High Court after new DNA evidence suggests there might have been a miscarriage of justice.

James Casey, now 44, was jailed after being found guilty at the High Court in Inverness of robbing and murdering Ian MacBeth at Invergordon in Easter Ross in 1991.

Mr MacBeth, 37, the manager of Invergordon Social and Recreational Club, was said to have been struck at least eight times on the head by a hammer during the attack.

Casey, then 26, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, reduced to 11 on appeal.

Co-accused George McNairn, then 23, was cleared on the murder charge but found guilty of robbery and sentenced to 18 months.

Now the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred Casey’s case to the High Court.

They said the main evidence against Casey was forensic evidence of bloodstained clothing, including two pairs of gloves, and other items bundled together in a black bin liner bearing Casey’s fingerprints and disposed of by him following the murder.

A spokesman for the commission, which examines alleged miscarriages of justice, said: “The commission instructed DNA analysis of the two pairs of gloves found within the black bin liner. The DNA findings constitute fresh evidence of such significance that the verdict of the jury, reached in ignorance of its existence, may have led to a miscarriage of justice.”

The commission examines cases after convicted people have failed in all other avenues of appeal and apply to them for a review. After examining the application, they assess the background of the case, and in particular the reasons the person puts forward for claiming innocence.

Casey was released in October 2002, but four weeks later he robbed a post office in West Lothian. Casey escaped with £1,400 but was identified by his victim and sent back to jail. He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 14 years after a trial at Edinburgh High Court in 2003.