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Templeton Woods accused cleared Templeton Woods accused cleared
(20 minutes later)
A former taxi driver has been cleared of murdering nursery nurse Elizabeth McCabe, whose body was found in Templeton Woods in Dundee 27 years ago.A former taxi driver has been cleared of murdering nursery nurse Elizabeth McCabe, whose body was found in Templeton Woods in Dundee 27 years ago.
A jury found Vincent Simpson, 61, not guilty of murder after a seven-week trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.A jury found Vincent Simpson, 61, not guilty of murder after a seven-week trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Mr Simpson, from Camberley in Surrey, claimed he had an alibi for the night Ms McCabe vanished and gave a list of other men he said could be responsible.Mr Simpson, from Camberley in Surrey, claimed he had an alibi for the night Ms McCabe vanished and gave a list of other men he said could be responsible.
The jury took just three hours to reach the not guilty verdict.The jury took just three hours to reach the not guilty verdict.
Ms McCabe, 20, was last seen alive leaving a nightclub in Dundee on Sunday 10 February, 1980.Ms McCabe, 20, was last seen alive leaving a nightclub in Dundee on Sunday 10 February, 1980.
'Little evidence' Vincent Simpson, you have been acquitted by verdict of the jury Lord KinclavenTrial judge
Her naked body was found by dog walkers in woodland in Dundee two weeks later. Her naked body was found by rabbit hunters in woodland in Dundee two weeks later.
Mr Simpson was charged with her murder after the case, which had led to one of Tayside Police's biggest ever investigations, was re-opened in 2004. Mr Simpson greeted the not guilty verdict by quietly saying: "Thank you very much."
Ms McCabe's body was found two weeks after she vanished He was then shown out through a side door.
He had earlier bowed his head as his fate was revealed, with Lord Kinclaven telling him: "Vincent Simpson, you have been acquitted by verdict of the jury.
"I can discharge you from the dock in relation to this indictment."
Mr Simpson had been charged with murdering Ms McCabe after the case, which had led to one of Tayside Police's biggest ever investigations, was re-opened in 2004.
New DNA techniques had encouraged detectives into believing the mystery could finally be solved. Mr Simpson was charged with murder in 2005.
Vital evidence
In his closing speech at the High Court, Mark Stewart QC, defending Mr Simpson, said there was little evidence against the accused, describing the police investigation as "fundamentally and permanently flawed."In his closing speech at the High Court, Mark Stewart QC, defending Mr Simpson, said there was little evidence against the accused, describing the police investigation as "fundamentally and permanently flawed."
He described the case as "not fit for purpose", and said the whole premise that a taxi driver had been involved "began somewhere in the imagination of some detective in the 1980s".
Much of the prosecution case had centred around DNA evidence which the Crown claimed pointed to Mr Simpson's guilt.Much of the prosecution case had centred around DNA evidence which the Crown claimed pointed to Mr Simpson's guilt.
But as he sent them out to consider their verdict earlier on Thursday, trial judge Lord Kinclaven warned jurors they could not convict on DNA evidence alone. But Mr Stewart said all the evidence pointed to the possibility that there was contamination of vital evidence.
Ms McCabe's body was found two weeks after she vanished
And as he sent them out to consider their verdict earlier on Thursday, trial judge Lord Kinclaven warned jurors they could not convict on DNA evidence alone.
During the trial, the court heard that the remains of the young woman, from Lochee, Dundee, were found by two rabbit hunters who had taken their dogs into the woods.
The men initially mistook the lifeless body, lying naked on the freezing winter's day, for a mannequin or tailor's dummy.
Jurors were shown distressing pictures of Miss McCabe's body at the spot where it was discovered.
Her death was said to have been quick and there was no evidence of a violent struggle having taken place.
Police who arrived on the scene feared wrongly that a serial killer was on the loose.
Months earlier, the body of another woman, Carol Lannen, had been found in the same woods.
Ms McCabe, described as a shy young woman, was last seen by her close friend, Sandra Niven, at the end of a night out in the city's Teazer's nightclub.
It was claimed she met her killer at some point after leaving the venue.
During the trial, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC described the case as being like a "27-year-old jigsaw puzzle".
He alleged that the accused strangled Miss McCabe, dumped her body in the frozen woodland and kept the "awful, dark secret" for a quarter of a century.