Betty Alexander’s body was discovered on October 10 1952, and by the end of the month police had very few leads to investigate.
Chief Detective Superintendent Gilbert McIlwrick confirmed nothing was being left out of inquiries, and police went door to door. He said of the search: “We are doing the most intensive search in one area we have ever done, and we don’t know when we will finish it.
“There’s no particular man being sought, in fact, we can’t even be certain at the moment that it was a man. No possibility is being overlooked.”
Locals had reported seeing a man with two small children in Buccleuch Lane, just metres from where her body was found. On October 31, the Aberdeen Evening Express published an article detailing the search for the man.
It reads: “Police involved in the search for the murderer of Betty Alexander, aged four, of Garnethill, Glasgow today issued information about a man they wish to interview.
“The police statement said the man was seen in Buccleuch Lane, near Dalhousie Street a few yards from the back yard at the Sick Children’s Dispensary where Betty’s outraged body was found lying on some steps three weeks ago.”
No description was given for the man, though the Daily Record described the search as the ‘biggest-ever police manhunt’ that Glasgow had seen. Nearly 2000 uniformed men and 120 detectives were moved from other duties, and put on the murder search.
From hundreds of statements, investigators built a description of a car spotted within 50 yards of the murder spot. The car was traced and the owner interviewed, though it was a dead-end clue for the police with occupants cleared of any connection with the crime.
By November, a suspect was traced. A man who had lodgings in the north of Glasgow had made his way to the north of Scotland, and police headed up to interview him - though no developments came as a result.
A local family, the Browns, spent 13 hours with police in December of 1952. Mr William Brown, 69, was brought in for questioning alongside his wife Margaret and their son.
The family claimed they had been in an identification parade, and held a press conference to clear their names.
Mr Brown told those attending the conference: “The police were not satisfied the first time, they brought us in again but there was still nothing against us.”
His son also had to put an end to rumours of previous crimes, telling crowds: “I heard a rumour that my father was connected with a case like this on a previous occasion and had ‘done time’ for it. The truth is that he has never been in police hands in his life.”
Neither the Browns, nor the dead-end tip of the vehicle spotted, led to any clarity for the police or Betty’s family. 70 years later, very little is known about the young girls murder.
This is the third instalment in Glasgow Live's four part Testimony series, looking into one of Glasgow's most horrific cold cases.
The first looks at the initial search for Betty, while the second investigates the leads and evidence collected by police.
The third looks at the suspects police investigated, a search which has being going on for 70 years.
Finally, we provide a timeline of the events surrounding Betty's murder.
