Have woods finally given up murder victim after 43 years?

HUMAN remains have been found in an area where a murder victim is believed to have been dumped 43 years ago.

Police were called to the 200 square mile Invercauld Estate, Aberdeenshire, on Friday afternoon following the grim discovery by a member of the public.

The estate, owned by the Queen’s friend Captain Alwyne Farquharson, was at the centre of the police search for John Coughlan, who was bludgeoned to death in 1975.

Five years later, killer Michael Topham admitted the crime, telling police he had put the 57-year-old’s body in a car and dumped it in woods in the area.

Despite extensive searches the body was never found, though a bloodstained pair of trousers, two spades and the murder weapon – a heavy lead window weight – were recovered.

Yesterday, police said it was too early to confirm whether the remains were those of Mr Coughlan. A spokesman added: ‘The remains appear to have been there for a number of years and inquiries are still on going.

‘Nothing has been ruled out at this stage and we expect more information to be revealed in coming days.’

Topham died in 1999, taking the location of his victim’s body to his grave.

In 1980 he pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Coughlan, who had caught him stealing paint from a building site in Glasgow where the pair worked.

He received a life term but was released from prison in 1991.

The case was echoed six years ago during the trial of murderer David Gilroy, who was found guilty of killing his former lover Suzanne Pilley.

Like Mr Coughlan, her remains have never been found.

Speaking during the search, Mr Coughlan’s brother and two sisters said they were still haunted by the mystery, with a relative admitting that Gilroy’s trial had ‘brought it all back’.

Invercauld Estate was unavailable for comment yesterday.

‘Nothing has been ruled out’