One of the UK’s worst sexual predators is set to appeal his conviction after being found guilty of murdering Emma Caldwell and attacking 22 other women.
Iain Packer was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years last week.
The 51-year-old was found guilty of committing 12 indecent assaults, two sexual assaults and 11 rapes against a total of 22 victims.
Caldwell vanished in Glasgow on April 4, 2005, before her body was discovered in Limefield Woods, near Roberton, South Lanarkshire, a month later.
Iain Packer was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years last week
PA
The serial rapist is now set to appeal against his conviction and sentencing.
Prosecutor Richard Goddard KC said the defendant was a "obsessive" and "violent" user of sex workers, and had an "unhealthy addiction" to procuring their services.
It comes after her family met with First Minister Humza Yousaf where he "promised" there would be a decision regarding a public inquiry into one of the longest cold cases in Scottish history.
Her family said Police Scotland failed their daughter and the rape victims of Packer due to a "toxic culture of misogyny and corruption".
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They added: "Instead of receiving justice and compassion, they were humiliated, dismissed and in some instances arrested, whilst the police gifted freedom to an evil predator to rape and rape again."
Caldwell disappeared just days after telling her mother Margaret she was hoping to tackle her addiction to heroin, which had started after a family bereavement a few years prior.
She was reported missing after she didn’t reply when her family tried to contact her about changing the time of a planned meeting.
The 27-year-old was found with a "garotte" around her neck in some woodland by a dog walker on May 8, 2005.
Caldwell vanished in Glasgow on April 4, 2005, before her body was discovered in Limefield Woods, near Roberton, South Lanarkshire, a month later
PA
A 2021 soil sample from the site her body was found was a "97 per cent match" with soil found in Packer’s work van, the court heard.
Police Scotland apologised for how long it took to bring Packer to justice.
Bex Smith, assistant chief constable for major crime and public protection said: "Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005 – for that we are sorry.
"It is the courage, resilience and determination shown by Emma’s family, in particular her parents William and Margaret, and all those who survived Iain Packer’s horrific catalogue of offending that got us to where we are today."
