The heartbroken Perth mother of a man killed and then buried in an unmarked grave in the Carse of Gowrie wants his killer to serve his full sentence and will take her case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
Tricia Bremner insisted she wants Thomas Pryde to serve the 10 years to which he was sentenced for the killing her son, Adam Alexander.
Her demand came as police resumed their search for his body on farmland near Errol Brickworks on Tuesday.
Mr Alexander, a 39-year-old biker, was killed in 1999, and was originally treated as a missing person until Pryde told his then wife, Angela, that he had “done a terrible thing.”
She later told police and Pryde admitted killing Mr Alexander following an argument at his home and burying his body near Errol.
Pryde, of Scone, was jailed for 10 years after admitting culpable homicide. However, Mrs Bremner who was present as police began their new search feels he could have saved her years of heartache if he had confessed earlier.
She says she will not rest until he has served his full sentence.
“If Pryde had not lied then we could have begun this dig for Adam’s body a long time ago,” she said. “Although Pryde got 10 years I will not rest until Adam’s body is found. When he has served the 10 years he will be allowed to come out of prison but Adam is still not found.
“I intend to take this further and have sent numerous emails to Kenny MacAskill, the justice minister. I will even take this to the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that Pryde serves his full sentence.
“It was adding insult to injury that Pryde got 10 years for killing Adam. I have lost count of the number of times I have emailed Mr MacAskill. There must be one slot during the day when Mr MacAskill will allow me to speak to him about this face-to-face.
“I will not let this rest until it comes to their own door they don’t know how it feels. When a child dies and there is a body it is laid to rest. I just want a dignified, proper burial for Adam I’m not looking for compassion.”
Mr Bremner added, “I don’t feel the police will find Adam’s body in the area they are looking, but that’s just me. I feel it is a waste of time but at the same time they are going by information given by Pryde and they are following through. The dig was delayed last week as police want it done properly.”
Continued…
“I just want Adam’s body found. I know it will not be the Adam I knew but the whole thing is very stressful people don’t know what to say to you when they meet you.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Roddy Ross said they were conducting their search on farmland between Errol Brickworks after “anomalies” were found after a radar survey was carried out.
“This two-day dig is part of an ongoing investigation to find the grave of Mr Alexander,” he said. “The last time we carried out a dig we had Home Office Scientific Branch officers at the scene and they used ground penetrating radar equipment that found anomalies in the ground below.
“That effectively means they had evidence of a disturbance beneath the ground, but that does not necessarily mean anything, as it is farmland. The analysis showed that we would need to carry out further excavations of the farmland.
“If you ask me ‘will we find Adam Alexander after these two days’ I would say ‘no’ but then again we would not be astonished if we did find him. The Carse of Gowrie is a large area of land and we have to keep plugging away. But the right balance has to be struck as we don’t want to raise the expectations of Adam’s family.”
Mrs Bremner lodged a petition at Perth Sheriff Court in 2009 to have her son formally declared dead. At the time of his sentencing in April last year, Pryde was already serving five years and two months after a drive-by shooting in Perth at the home of a business rival following a row over an unpaid bill.
In 2007, Pryde’s wife told police he had confessed to the killing of Mr Alexander at his Errol home.
A Scottish Government spokesman said, “Our sympathies are with Mrs Bremner for the tragic loss she and her family have suffered. We have received correspondence from Mrs Bremner, and an offer of a meeting with senior Scottish Government policy officials to discuss her issues of concern has been made. That offer remains open.
“Sentencing decisions are, rightly, entirely a matter for the sentencing judge and therefore it would be inappropriate for ministers to comment on a sentence imposed in a specific case.”
“I just want Adam’s body found. I know it will not be the Adam I knew but the whole thing is very stressful people don’t know what to say to you when they meet you.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Roddy Ross said they were conducting their search on farmland between Errol Brickworks after “anomalies” were found after a radar survey was carried out.
“This two-day dig is part of an ongoing investigation to find the grave of Mr Alexander,” he said. “The last time we carried out a dig we had Home Office Scientific Branch officers at the scene and they used ground penetrating radar equipment that found anomalies in the ground below.
“That effectively means they had evidence of a disturbance beneath the ground, but that does not necessarily mean anything, as it is farmland. The analysis showed that we would need to carry out further excavations of the farmland.
“If you ask me ‘will we find Adam Alexander after these two days’ I would say ‘no’ but then again we would not be astonished if we did find him. The Carse of Gowrie is a large area of land and we have to keep plugging away. But the right balance has to be struck as we don’t want to raise the expectations of Adam’s family.”
Mrs Bremner lodged a petition at Perth Sheriff Court in 2009 to have her son formally declared dead. At the time of his sentencing in April last year, Pryde was already serving five years and two months after a drive-by shooting in Perth at the home of a business rival following a row over an unpaid bill.
In 2007, Pryde’s wife told police he had confessed to the killing of Mr Alexander at his Errol home.
A Scottish Government spokesman said, “Our sympathies are with Mrs Bremner for the tragic loss she and her family have suffered. We have received correspondence from Mrs Bremner, and an offer of a meeting with senior Scottish Government policy officials to discuss her issues of concern has been made. That offer remains open.
“Sentencing decisions are, rightly, entirely a matter for the sentencing judge and therefore it would be inappropriate for ministers to comment on a sentence imposed in a specific case.”
“I just want Adam’s body found. I know it will not be the Adam I knew but the whole thing is very stressful people don’t know what to say to you when they meet you.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Roddy Ross said they were conducting their search on farmland between Errol Brickworks after “anomalies” were found after a radar survey was carried out.
“This two-day dig is part of an ongoing investigation to find the grave of Mr Alexander,” he said. “The last time we carried out a dig we had Home Office Scientific Branch officers at the scene and they used ground penetrating radar equipment that found anomalies in the ground below.
“That effectively means they had evidence of a disturbance beneath the ground, but that does not necessarily mean anything, as it is farmland. The analysis showed that we would need to carry out further excavations of the farmland.
“If you ask me ‘will we find Adam Alexander after these two days’ I would say ‘no’ but then again we would not be astonished if we did find him. The Carse of Gowrie is a large area of land and we have to keep plugging away. But the right balance has to be struck as we don’t want to raise the expectations of Adam’s family.”
Mrs Bremner lodged a petition at Perth Sheriff Court in 2009 to have her son formally declared dead. At the time of his sentencing in April last year, Pryde was already serving five years and two months after a drive-by shooting in Perth at the home of a business rival following a row over an unpaid bill.
In 2007, Pryde’s wife told police he had confessed to the killing of Mr Alexander at his Errol home.
A Scottish Government spokesman said, “Our sympathies are with Mrs Bremner for the tragic loss she and her family have suffered. We have received correspondence from Mrs Bremner, and an offer of a meeting with senior Scottish Government policy officials to discuss her issues of concern has been made. That offer remains open.
“Sentencing decisions are, rightly, entirely a matter for the sentencing judge and therefore it would be inappropriate for ministers to comment on a sentence imposed in a specific case.”