Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

CROWN OFFICE AND PROCURATOR FISCAL SERVICE

NEWS RELEASE

31 July, 2009

HMA v John Wilson and Lisa Brown

At the High Court in Glasgow Lisa Brown and John Wilson were today convicted of killing Lisa Brown's mother Anne Brown. Lisa Brown was convicted of murder and John Wilson was convicted of culpable homicide. They were both also convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Sentencing has been deferred in respect of both accused until 27 August 2009.

Speaking after the verdict, Geri Watt, Area Procurator Fiscal for Ayrshire, said:

"This was a particularly callous murder.

"There were no eye witnesses to the crime and both accused continually denied responsibility; however they have been brought to justice as a result of police and prosecutors working effectively together.

"This joint working began at the start of the wide-ranging police investigation, which involved both traditional investigative tools and the most up to date scientific techniques. The specialist High Court team in the Procurator Fiscal's office in Kilmarnock worked closely with the police and with the Senior Advocate Depute who ultimately prosecuted the case in court.

"Careful consideration was given to the presentation of evidence in court and a multi-media package was developed to ensure that the range of complex evidence, which together built up the picture showing the guilt of the accused, was demonstrated to the jury.

"As a result, all relevant evidence was gathered, fully considered, and effectively presented in court: always with the focus on bringing to justice those responsible for this terrible crime."

Notes for Editors

1. On 22 October 2008 Anne Brown, a 51 year old health visitor, was reported missing by her mother. This started a missing persons enquiry.

2. Her car was discovered on the Neilston to Dunlop road, near to Craignaught Farm. A search of the area, which involved helicopters and heat seeking equipment, resulted in her body being found in a nearby burn. It was wrapped in bags and twine.

3. Both accused were detained and subsequently charged by police on 31 October 2008.

4. The police investigation included the examination of computers and mobile phones and wide range of modern forensic science, and computer software and photographic techniques. Officers interviewed hundreds of witnesses as part of the investigation, employed trained sniffer dogs, carried out test purchases, and comparative audio analysis.

5. A designated Senior Advocate Depute became involved at the start of the Procurator Fiscal's investigation and was able to take a degree of personal ownership of the case and direct aspects of the investigation. He worked closely with staff from the Kilmarnock Procurator Fiscal's office and ultimately prosecuted the case in court. In order to present the evidence as effectively as possible to the jury, he used emerging courtroom technology and a multimedia presentation, comprising interactive visual image display, audio, video recordings and graphics.

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