POLICE have commenced digging in a remote area where they believe the remains of a woman brutally murdered more than ten years ago may be buried.
Lynda Spence was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 2011. Two men were jailed for life in 2013 over her death but to date her body has never been found.
Police Scotland announced last month that forensic experts had begun to carry out a detailed assessment of a remote area near Dunoon, Argyll.
That has now been completed and digging work is now under way in the hunt to recover Spence’s remains.
Killers: Philip Wade and Colin Coats
Detective superintendent Suzanne Chow told the Glasgow Times: “A detailed assessment of the location has been completed and we have now commenced digging to further explore the site for potential evidence.
“This will be an extremely detailed operation, involving specialist search teams from Police Scotland, forensic scientists and soil experts from across the United Kingdom.”
In April 2011, financial consultant Spence was abducted in Glasgow and taken to a house in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire.
The 27-year-old was held captive for two weeks, taped to a chair and was not allowed to use the toilet.
Her kneecaps were smashed, her hands branded with an iron and her thumb chopped off.
Colin Coats and Philip Wade were convicted of killing Ms Spence in April 2013.
Coats was ordered to spend a minimum of 33 years in prison, while Wade was sentenced to serve at least 30 years.
Two other men, David Parker and Paul Smith, were each jailed for 11 years for assaulting Spence and holding her captive.
Spence, who at the time was being investigated by police for fraud, was said to have been murdered for failing to pay back Coats tens of thousands of pounds he had invested with her.
Before the trial, Coats had boasted to a cellmate that he smothered Spence, cut off her head and burnt her remains in a furnace.
Following the trial, Spence’s parents, Jim and Patricia, spoke of their “heartache and pain” over their daughter’s death.
They said: “There is no verdict that will bring our daughter Lynda back or spare her the terrible ordeal that took her life.
“We will never begin to imagine her suffering or comprehend the cruelty of any person who would do that to another human being.
"We cannot begin to understand or forgive what they did to our daughter, Lynda. No words can begin to describe the heartache and pain we are suffering."
Investigation: Detective superintendent Suzanne Chow
DS Chow said Spence’s family are being kept informed of any new developments.
She said: “The family of Lynda Spence are being kept updated as efforts to establish if her remains are within this area continue.
“I would ask anyone with information to please come forward and speak to officers.”
