Lord Advocate says Karen Buckley murderer will not face retrial over attempted rape

The Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC has said the man who murdered Irish student Karen Buckley in Glasgow will not be re-tried over attempted rape claims because there was no new evidence to warrant proceedings under double jeopardy legislation.

The jury returned a majority “not guilty” verdict at Mr Pacteau’s trial in 2013 at the High Court in Paisley where he was accused of attempting to rape a woman.

He admitted murdering Ms Buckley in April this year and attempting to hide his crime by depositing her body in a barrel filled with caustic acid.

But the Crown Office has said no new proceedings will be brought against him in respect of the attempted rape charges.

A spokesman said: “As part of the investigation into the murder of Karen Buckley, the Lord Advocate gave consideration to an application under the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 in relation to his acquittal at Paisley High Court in 2013 for attempted rape.

“Applying the statutory test for double jeopardy applications, the Lord Advocate determined that there was no new evidence which would meet the test.

“As a result, the Lord Advocate decided that no application would be made to the court.”

One of three criteria require to be satisfied for an application under the 2011 act to succeed.

Prosecutors can produce evidence the accused has confessed to the crime or did so prior to the trial but in circumstances in which the Crown could not have known in the first trial.

Or, if there is evidence of interference with or intimidation of the jury this can prompt a retrial on the basis the acquittal is “tainted”.

Finally, the Crown can produce new evidence but must demonstrate why it was not presentable at the first trial.

This new evidence must be of such a kind that the jury, if they heard it, would be “bound to convict”.

The spokesman for the Crown Office added: “Pacteau’s conviction of the murder of Karen Buckley would not amount to new evidence for the purpose of Double Jeopardy legislation.”

Advocate Niall McCluskey said: “The circumstances in which double jeopardy can be invoked will be few and far between.

“There has to compelling new evidence discovered which was not capable of being presented at the first trial.

“It also has to be shown why this evidence was not presented at time.”

He added: “It is obviously a terrible crime has been convicted of and it does create concern when we find out that he was tried and acquitted of something not too dissimilar before.

“Some people may feel there is a moral imperative for him to be tried again but that does not meet the test in a legal sense.”

Mr Pacteau is will be sentenced at the High Court on September 8.