The family of murdered Ann Ballantine fear they will 'never get closure' as her killer roams free 35 years on.
The 20-year-old's decomposed body was found in Edinburgh's Union Canal on January 21 1987, yards from her flat.
She'd been raped and strangled, left naked, bound hand and foot and wrapped in a cloth.
Ann was last seen by her mother Isobel on November 18, 1986.
Following a huge investigation, police came up with a suspect and a report was sent to the Procurator Fiscal but there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution.
Ann's brother Alan said the denial of a trial was like a 'dagger to the heart' for his family and thinks her killer will never be brought to justice.
He told our sister title, Edinburgh Live : "There has been no updates or anything for a while.
"In my opinion nothing will ever happen now, it's difficult but I think we will never get closure on what happened.
"There have been other cases over the years where people have been convicted on all circumstantial evidence, but in our case we were told we couldn't go to trial with that.
"That was like a dagger in our hearts hearing that."
At the time she was discovered, many believed Ann was the victim of a serial killer, due to the length of time she was believed to have been stored before being put in the canal.
However, her mother Isobel previously shared that the family believe they know who the individual was that committed the devastating crime.
Isobel spoke out in 2017.
She said : "It's difficult knowing he's about, it makes my blood boil."
"It was like living in a nightmare from which we couldn't wake up.
"When they found her body in the canal, they asked me if I could remember whether she had a scar on her head.
"I told them I had three kids and I really couldn't remember so my friend and family hairdresser helped identify the body."
She added: "We never got to see her one last time, which is a killer.
"Most people get to see the body or kiss the body if they want to.
"We never got that chance.
"The body was so decomposed, we never got to say goodbye."
Ann was described as a kind young woman who spent her time doing volunteer work with disabled and disadvantaged young people at Canongate Youth Project in Edinburgh.
Living on Dalry Road, she had moved out of her family home with mum Isobel and dad Graham aged 18 to gain her own independence.
Isobel added: "He's probably with his family and Ann is six-feet under.
"Why does he deserve that?
"I'm very bitter.
"Ann was my first-born and I was only 18 but she was a good baby.
"She was such a happy child, a real happy-go-lucky kid."
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