A murder inquiry launched after a mummified corpse was found in the foundations of a Dundee house 45 years ago remains open.
Police say they remain “fully committed” to bringing the killer of self-employed salesman Harry Falconer to justice, despite the passage of time.
Mr Falconer’s body was found seven feet below the kitchen floor in the foundations of a three-bedroom council house in St Mary’s, by two electricians who were rewiring the property in January 1974.
The 38-year-old father-of-four was still dressed in a shirt, braces, belt, trousers and socks when he was found directly under a trap door from the kitchen.
The hatchway was covered with linoleum tiles, a carpet and furniture before the electricians arrived for work.
Mr Falconer was known to drink and take drugs and was last seen between Christmas and Hogmanay in 1972.
More than 50 hours after the discovery of Mr Falconer’s corpse, his wife Isabella was charged with murdering her husband by imprisoning him below the kitchen floor.
The 37-year-old was accused of dragging him to, and dropping him through, the hatchway into a compartment of the foundations of the house while he was unconscious under the influence of drink and drugs.
The case was dropped
Mrs Falconer denied the charges during a trial at Dundee High Court in May 1974 and the indictment was formally withdrawn following the evidence of police surgeon Donald Rushton.
It was the evidence of Dr Rushton that Mr Falconer had survived and probably moved after he had dropped down the hatch.
Dr Rushton, under cross-examination, agreed that one of his considerations had been the possibility of a suicide attempt by the deceased.
Depute fiscal Donald Macaulay said the case against Mrs Falconer could not be corroborated with the evidence available to prove that she was guilty.
Lord Stott described the case as “a strange and mysterious matter”.
He said: “In a situation such as this there could be no means of knowing for any of us whether the man was alive or dead when he came into the hatch, and you can only murder a living person, not a dead one.”
Police Scotland said the case has never been closed despite Mrs Falconer being found not guilty of imprisonment and murder 45 years ago.
The force said it is “fully committed to identifying the person or persons responsible for the murder of Harry Falconer, and all such unresolved murders”.
Police said the potential for new investigative opportunities “are regularly assessed to maximise the ability to deliver justice for grieving families, irrespective of the passage of time”.
Police also appealed to anyone who has information which could assist to contact 101 or go through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.
