A judge has instructed the jury to return a guilty verdict against Iain Packer on a charge of indecently assaulting Emma Caldwell eight months before her death. Lord Beckett, presiding over the trial at the High Court in Glasgow, stated that evidence from multiple witnesses, including Packer himself, supported the conviction on that specific charge.
Packer, 51, faces 35 other charges and denies murdering the 27-year-old sex worker by strangling her in April 2005. The trial heard that in August 2004, Packer went behind billboards with Ms Caldwell in Glasgow's east end after agreeing to pay for a sex act. In a police statement, he admitted she tried to pull away and was upset, but he continued.
During his testimony, Packer initially denied the indecent assault charge but later acknowledged his guilt when asked directly, agreeing that his actions were 'criminal'. However, he continues to deny murdering Ms Caldwell the following year.
Ms Caldwell's body was discovered in Limefield Woods near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, five weeks after she was last seen in April 2005. The jury is now considering its verdicts on the remaining charges.
