A new podcast will explore the unsolved murder of Aberdeen taxi driver George “Dod” Murdoch, who was viciously garrotted with a cheese wire.
The stricken 58-year-old was discovered dying in a pool of blood on the pavement of Pitfodels Station Road, near Cults, opposite his sky-blue Ford Cortina taxi on September 29 1983.
Almost four decades on, the hunt for Dod’s killer remains an active police investigation, with detectives still confident of cracking the case.
Now, the trailer for a five-part true crime audio series has been released ahead of the tragedy’s 40th anniversary.
Ryan Ogilvie – owner of the production company Mind the Gap Creative – has spoken of his unconventional approach to retelling the true story so far.
“This is a podcast that is a mixture of documentary and drama,” Mr Ogilvie told The Press and Journal, adding: “It’s quite niche.
“We’ve actually dramatised certain elements of it, recording 22 scenes of what could have happened the night of Dod’s death.”
Mr Ogilvie added: “What makes this podcast different from others is that it covers the case – one of Scotland’s most notorious murders – from different angles.
“We go right into the heart of the investigation with Detective Inspector James Callander and we also speak to the people who were closest to George.
“Criminal psychologists go into detail about what sort of person could have killed him and we also hear from forensic scientists who are working on the case at the moment.”
George’s wife ‘died of a broken heart’
Dod’s wife Jessie died aged 76 in 2004, before finding out who took her husband’s life.
“One of the people who we managed to speak to is a guy called David, who was the couple’s teenaged neighbour at the time of the murder when he was 13 years old,” Mr Ogilvie explained.
“He was like a grandson to them. He was very close to Dod and he actually stayed with Jessie for almost three years after the murder to comfort her, to be there for her.
“But she never recovered. Jessie was never the same person. She eventually died of a broken heart. There are dramatic scenes of conversations between David and Jessie.”
‘I knew in my heart that he wasn’t going to survive’
One of the first police officers to arrive at the crime scene, Allan Hendry, 76, has also been interviewed for the podcast.
The now-retired police constable dog handler and former Aberdeenshire councillor has admitted that the case still haunts him today.
“The George Murdoch murder regularly gives me thoughts about who the hell attacked that poor man,” he said.
“It’s quite vivid in my memory because it was such a brutal murder.”
Mr Hendry found Dod “totally unconscious,” he said, adding: “He never spoke at all. I just said, ‘Look mister, everything’s going to be alright’.
“But I knew in my heart that he wasn’t going to survive, that he was near death.”
In the podcast, Mr Hendry criticises the police’s initial response to the deadly attack, claiming that they missed their best chance of catching the killer on the same night.
“When the duty inspector turned up, I told him I wanted to search a nearby field with my dog,” he said.
“People at the top of Pitfodels Station Road said the attacker hadn’t come up that way. I knew he didn’t come down Pitfodels Station Road because I drove up that way and there was no sign of him there.
“The only other two places he could have gone were an opening into a field which led down onto the old Deeside railway line or in through a gate of a house that was adjacent to where the taxi was stopped.
“But instead I was told to go Peterculter and walk back along the railway line in case the murderer had run along there. I was absolutely furious.
Mr Hendry said that he followed his inspector’s instruction to walk back to the area from Peterculter but there was no sign of the murderer.
‘The killer could have been caught that night’
He added: “I’ve always criticised myself for not arguing more strongly with the inspector. I’m still furious about it.
“The following morning, I went with my dog into that field and we searched it. Behind the embankment, adjacent to Pitfodels Station Road, I found a piece of ground where the grass had been flattened.
“It looked as though someone had been lying there. I strongly suspect, and I really do believe this, that’s where the guy was hiding.
“Had I been allowed to search it at the time there’s every likelihood I would have caught him.
“The killer could have been caught that night.”
Listen to a sample of the programme:
The campaign to secure justice for George Murdoch is currently being led by his 66-year-old nephew Alex McKay and wife Robina.
Mr McKay is convinced the answer to solving his uncle’s murder still lies in the community.
“Somebody knows who’s done this,” he said. “It may be a wife, a daughter, or a son, who is protecting the killer.
“I don’t think they’re protecting him out of love but instead because they’re scared of him.”
Mr McKay said he hopes that the podcast will “pull at the heartstrings” of anyone who’s in a position to assist detectives.
“You’d have to be heartless not to do that, but if somebody held on to this secret for 40 years, I don’t know what it would take to pry the information out of them,” he said.
“But I’m still very positive that this guy’s going to be caught.”
In September last year, The Press and Journal exclusively reported that detectives were trying to trace a potential new witness who had “indicated that they have some new information” – according to police.
Part of the mystery man had been photographed wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt while drinking at Wilson’s Sports Bar on Aberdeen’s Market Street on an occasion in 2015.
A photo of the small, stocky man, who spoke with a local accent and is thought to be aged in his 60s or 70s now, was handed over to the investigation by a reader.
They had come forward following a previous social media appeal for information.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector James Callander previously said: “We can’t identify who the person in the photo is because all you can see is their torso with the T-shirt on.
“If what we’re being told is what he has said, we believe he has vital information that may well help us to identify who was responsible for George’s murder.”
But almost a year later, no progress to trace the man has been made.
Speaking today, Det Insp Callander told The P&J: “We’re nowhere nearer identifying him. We’re still looking.
“The longer that goes on the less likely that will be. Our chance was last year and probably this year.
“But it was a few years ago that he was pictured in an Iron Maiden T-shirt, and he was elderly then. He may well have died since.
“I didn’t realise how many Iron Maiden fans there are out there. It’s a massive family of people.
“We’ve had a couple of people come forward with suggestions but they’ve proved negative.
“But we still believe that this person has information that could help us.”
“Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?” launches later this month on Friday September 29, with an additional episode becoming available every Friday for four weeks.
You can hear a trailer now or listen to the episodes later, on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Castbox, and Spotify.
Read more about the unsolved cheese wire murder of Aberdeen taxi driver George Murdoch
Anyone who has not come forward previously who believes they can assist the investigation should telephone 101 or e-mail: SCDHOLMESAberdeen@scotland.police.uk or private message the George Murdoch Murder Facebook page. For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
