ANY murder is distressing, but the death of David Williamson has been peculiarly unsettling. From the beginning the case has raised more questions than answers. Sadly that is still the situation after the court case ended before it began yesterday.
Mr Williamson was described as a lonely man, and he died a lonely, brutal death. On his walk home after visiting a pub, he was bludgeoned on the head from behind. He never regained consciousness.
It was such a seemingly indiscriminate assault that police initially did not rule out an accident. But it became clear that Mr Williamson had died at the hands of a violent coward. He probably never saw his assailant.
Despite the lack of witnesses and a motive, the police pledged not to rest until they had found the killer. But a lack of public help exasperated detectives. Today there still seems to be a willingness among some locals to pretend the murder never happened.
After months of frustration, detectives had a miraculous breakthrough. Interviewing teenager Kevin Payling about other criminal matters, he appeared to confess to Mr Williamson's murder.
Based on this, and another more formal confession, the Criminal Prosecution Service brought Payling to trial. After lengthy legal argument the judge ruled the confessions inadmissible due to a breach in police procedure. The case collapsed.
Bizarrely, the police took some satisfaction from this. "I feel that justice has been done today," said Detective Inspector Kevin Ross. Mr Williamson's shattered family will only believe justice has been done when the killer is in jail.
Now we are left with a situation where the police will keep the Williamson murder file open, and tighten up interview procedure. Somewhere, a murderer walks free; at this moment it seems unlikely that person will ever come to trial. And Mr Williamson's family, who said they could not rest until the murderer was found, are facing the prospect that their nightmare will never end.
It is a highly unsatisfactory outcome to a troubling case.
Updated: 11:08 Friday, July 25, 2003
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article