Peter Tobin's refusal to reveal where he buried the bodies of suspected victims shows the need for 'Suzanne's Law' to be implemented in Scotland, according to the Scottish Conservatives.
Pictures emerged on Sunday of evil Tobin handcuffed to a hospital bed as he lies dying from cancer. The serial killer now refuses food and medication as he nears the end of his life, reports the Scottish Express.
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Tobin, 75, has been convicted of three horrific murders but is suspected of several more. Desperate families are now hoping he does not take his secrets to the grave so they can try and find their loved ones' remains.
Suzanne's Law has been proposed by the Conservatives at Holyrood. It is named after Suzanne Pilley who disappeared in May 2010 and would stop killers from being released from jail if they refuse to tell police where the bodies of their victims are.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Jamie Greene MSP told the Scottish Daily Express it was "absolutely horrific that so many families still don’t know what happened to their loved ones, and are now facing the possibility that they may never find out the truth".
And he called on the SNP government to back Suzanne's Law. He added: "Peter Tobin is undoubtedly a monster, but this deliberate withholding of information by killers is not an isolated case.
"In 2010, Suzanne Pilley was murdered and the whereabouts of her body has never been revealed. Her family have bravely campaigned for Suzanne’s Law to help other grieving families escape this agonising limbo and get some sense of closure.
"The SNP promised to enact the law in 2021 but they have broken that promise. My Victims Law will enact Suzanne’s Law in full and put victims of crime at the heart of Scotland’s justice system, to help ensure families like those of Peter Tobin’s victims never have to suffer this painful uncertainty again."
Tragic Suzanne was reported missing in 2010 by her parents and police began a murder investigation two weeks later. Colleague and former lover David Gilroy was arrested and jailed after it was revealed that he lured her into the basement of their office block and strangled her - convicted in 2012 he was sentenced to 18 years behind bars.
Despicable Gilroy still maintains his innocence and has never revealed the location of the body with experts believing he buried Suzanne in a forest in Argyll and Bute. Suzanne's dad Rob died in 2019 without ever finding out what happened to his daughter.
Campaigners had hoped to see the law brought forward in 2021 but it was quietly shelved. Instead, updated parole board rules came into effect.
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A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring victims’ rights are at the heart of the justice system and we are already taking forward proposals which relate to Suzanne’s Law. A consultation was launched on July 20 on changes to the Parole Board rules that proposes a provision be included on the failure to disclose the location of a victim’s body as a specific matter when deciding on release.
"All responses will be carefully considered when the consultation closes on October 12 and any new provision will be included in the redraft of the rules, which are expected to be published by the end of this year."
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