A convicted paedophile who died in 2006 would face prosecution for the murder of a schoolgirl more than five decades ago if he were still alive, the Crown Office has said.
Moira Anderson was 11 when she disappeared from her home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, in February 1957 while running an errand for her grandmother. Her body has never been found.
Prosecutors say a cold case review has uncovered enough new evidence to indict convicted child abuser Alexander Gartshore for the crime if he were alive today.
The Coatbridge bus driver, who was 85 when he died, was the last person to see Moira alive and has long been connected with the case, one of Scotland’s oldest unsolved murders.
His daughter Sandra Brown blamed her father for the murder in her book, Where There Is Evil.
The announcement was welcomed by Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC, who paid tribute to those who campaigned for justice for Moira as well as the cold case unit and Police Scotland officers.
“This will hopefully bring closure to the family of Moira Anderson who have had to wait more than half a century for answers,” he said.
“It is important that unsolved homicides are not allowed to become a forgotten file gathering dust on a shelf.
“The work of the cold case unit will ensure that this does not happen.”
Mr Mulholland emphasised that indicting a person for a crime was not the equivalent of that person being found guilty.
He said: “The trial process is the only place in which guilt or innocence can be determined. We are not saying that the suspect is guilty, only that there is sufficient credible and reliable evidence to indict him and there would be a reasonable prospect of conviction were he still alive.
“It was only after serious consideration of the circumstances of this case that it was decided to place this information in the public domain.”
The fresh evidence uncovered by the review included statements from two new witnesses.
One said Gartshore had exposed himself to her and Moira in a park in 1956 and had called Moira by name at that time.
A second revealed they had seen a man dragging a young girl fitting Moira’s description by the arms near a bus terminus in Carnbroe, Coatbridge, on the day she was reported missing.
At an identification parade the witness picked out an image of Gartshore as the man they had seen.
The witness had a credible reason for not coming forward earlier, a statement issued by prosecutors said.
Evidence shows Moira boarded a bus driven by Gartshore on the day she disappeared.
He admitted to family and police officers that he was the last person to see her alive.
Gartshore had told family members that he was sexually attracted to young girls and Moira in particular, the statement said. He was subsequently convicted of sexually abusing a young girl, it added.
He also incriminated himself by stating that he knew Moira was missing before she was treated as a missing person.
The cold case review was led by DCI Pat Campbell, who said he hoped the announcement would offer solace to Moira’s friends and family. Mr Campbell said: “Despite the passage of time, she has never been forgotten.”