Scotland’s Unresolved Murders – 1980s

A while back I posted details of some research I had done into Scotland's unresolved murders, and included a map showing all of the unresolved murders from the 1960s and 1970s. I've now mapped nearly all of the cases from the 1980s that Police Scotland list as unresolved.

Once again, there are masses of detail available online on some cases, and next to nothing on others. This time around there have been a lot more cases I couldn't find any details on at all – 11 in total, which I'll link to this post in the hope someone out there might have some details.

As per the previous two decades, the vast majority of the cases are in Glasgow and the West, however there are some interesting patterns elsewhere. After having no unresolved murders at all in the 1970s, the old Grampian Police region (Aberdeen & the Northeast) has an absolute spate in the early 1980s. There's also a really odd pattern of femicides in Easter Ross of all places – they are unconnected, but three women being killed in 3 years in such a quiet part of Scotland sticks out as odd.

In the 1970s there was a pattern of unidentified babies being found abandoned (apparently most often by their mothers), in the 1980s the pattern is instead fathers killing much older children (and themselves). The contemporary reporting talks of desperation, and without wanting to try and justify such acts, it is a theme that runs through the 1980s. A lot of these crimes occur outwith the city, in old industrial towns and the rural periphery. The 1980s were probably the last decade where Scotland is truly unrecognisable from today; a grey, bleak, largely ignored place.

I noted before that crime wise the 1960s were bad and the 1970s even worse – the 1980s is again by degrees worse – I'll post a trigger warning just now, there are some horrible, sordid details in many of these crimes.

Orange markers on the map are Unresolved murders (ie. no one has ever been convicted), while those marked in dark red are Undetected (ie. police have never identified a viable suspect).

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1G7333vKA7Mu6Z7A2_i0FsXbpip42btc&usp=sharing

Below is the link to a map that also includes the 1960s (green markers) and 1970s (yellow markers). Undetected murders from all decades are marked in dark red:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1oLOwfUGLVhoSCt4bojR6gzDvKST8Y5g&usp=sharing

Lastly, below are the 11 cases that I couldn't find any details on; if anyone has any details on these cases please let me know:

https://preview.redd.it/rnb1vyuk36sf1.jpg?width=925&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12601425a3f08c7c1250f6079c4fd9dc55f06938