Dundee Murders
Lynda Hunter

Episode Summary

What began as an investigation into the disappearance of a 30 year old social worker, ultimately unveiled the truth and unravelled the intricate deceit and exploitation carried out by someone close to them.

Please Be Advised – This episode may contain content that some may find distressing. As always, we advise listener discretion. This episode it not suitable for anyone under the age of 13.

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The Law Killers: True Crime from Dundee

by Alexander McGregor

Synopsis

True crime from Dundee, covering the most fascinating and shocking cases from the last century. Having reported on many of them first-hand, journalist Alexander McGregor has unique insight into the cases and his stories are as chilling as they are compelling. In The Law Killers Alexander examines some of the country’s most fascinating and chilling cases and peels back the civilised layers of our society to reveal what lies beneath.

Scottish Murders is a production of Cluarantonn

Hosted by Dawn

Researched and Written by Dawn Young

Produced and Edited by Dawn Young and Peter Bull

Voice Talent by Eleanor Morton

Production Company Name by Granny Robertson

Music:

Dawn of the Fairies by Derek & Brandon Fiechter

Gothic Wedding by Derek & Brandon Fiechter

Dawn:

Trigger warning – This episode covers the topic of suicide.

Introduction by Eleanor Morton

Welcome Wee Ones to Scottish Murders. Dawn will shortly be taking you through a solved or unsolved murder involving people from or living in Scotland. So get ready to hear about the darker side of Bonnie Scotland.

Dawn:

This episode is part of the Dundee themed month which was suggested by Mhairi from New Zealand, who gave Scottish Murders a wonderful review on Apple podcasts. Thank you Mhairi, I hope I do the Dundee murders I’ve chosen to cover justice.

On Saturday the 22nd of August 1987 about 7pm, the police received a phone call from Andrew Hunter who was reporting his 30 year old wife Lynda missing, after she had left the family home on Friday the 21st of August about 10.30am with her beloved 14 year old cross collie dog Shep, in their white Cavalier Anteeb car. When police officers went out to take more information from Andrew, he reported that Lynda had recently discovered she was pregnant, about six weeks, and had been suffering awful morning sickness. He said that on Friday the 21st of August both he and Lynda had the day off from work. Lynda was the second in charge at a residential care home for the elderly and worked mainly night shifts. Andrew said about 10am on Friday he had driven Lynda to a local chemist where she had tried to buy something to help with her nausea, but had no luck and so she tried her doctor’s surgery which was just around the corner, but there had been no GP available and she was to call back later. Andrew said he had then driven an irritated a nauseous Lynda back home, where she went upstairs and proceeded to pack her bag for work, although she wasn’t due at work until 3pm the following day, and then she left the house. 

*Crimewatch programme audio reconstruction clip starts*

Crimewatch Host:

For some reason she began to pack the bag she used for her night shift, though she wasn’t due at work until the following afternoon. Maybe she was going to her parents.

Lynda from reconstruction:

 I’m going out. You can pick up the car from work tomorrow at 3pm.

Lynda’s husband from reconstruction:

Well I did need the car Lynda. But if you’re going to Dundee you could give me a lift.

Lynda from reconstruction:

If you’re ready now then come, if not you can get the bus. Come on Shep.

Lynda’s husband from reconstruction:

Well just give us a minute and I’ll go get my files.

Crimewatch Host:

Neither Lynda nor Shep have been seen since.

*Crimewatch programme audio reconstruction clip ends*

Dawn:

That was part of a reconstruction from the BBC program Crimewatch, which was broadcast in December 1987, and Lynda’s case was the first Scottish case to appear on the programme. Before Andrew could collect his things together Lynda had left the home and driven off. Andrew said he presumed that Lynda had gone to her parents house who lived in Glenrothes, which is about 36 miles or 58 kilometres south of where Lynda lived in Carnoustie, as she was very close to her parents, calling them every other day and often staying with them.

According to Visit Scotland, Carnoustie is a small town situated on the east coast of Scotland about 12 miles or 19 kilometres north east of Dundee, and is famed for its championship golf course, as well as swimming, sailing, windsurfing and fishing being enjoyed at the bay.

Andrew went on to tell the police that he was surprised when Lynda’s sister, Sandra, turned up at their door on the Friday afternoon for a pre-arranged meeting with Lynda, as he thought Sandra would have seen Lynda in Glenrothes where Sandra and her parents both lived, but he thought Lynda had maybe just forgotten Sandra was coming to their home. It wasn’t until the Saturday when he had gone to Lynda’s work at 3pm, Lynda’s start time, to pick up the car to discover that neither Lynda nor their car were there. Police did feel that Lynda’s disappearance was strange and so a description of both Lynda and their distinctive white Cavalier Anteeb car was circulated. However, when Lynda’s car was discovered a day later, what the police had deemed as Lynda’s strange disappearance changed to them becoming concerned for her welfare.

About 10 past 9 on Saturday the 22nd of August in the morning, before Lynda was even reported missing, Lynda’s car had been given a parking ticket having been found double parked behind a railway station in Manchester, England, about 297 miles or 478 kilometres away from her home in Carnoustie. However, it wasn’t until the following evening, Sunday the 23rd of August, when about 6.15pm a passing policeman noticed that the same car had been broken into and the radio cassette had been taken. When the police officer radioed for the car registration number to be checked, it only then was discovered that the white Cavalier Anteeb car belonged to a Lynda Hunter, and that she had been reported missing. The police who had issued the missing person report were immediately notified about Lynda’s car being found and it was arranged for the car to be transported back to Scotland to be forensically examined. But now the police had a mystery on their hands. Where was Lynda? And why would she have driven to Manchester, abandoned her car and then disappeared? The police needed to build a picture of Lynda’s life and her mental state on the lead up to her disappearance and so, knowing how close Lynda was with her sister, Sandra, they started by paying her a visit.

Sandra was asked when she had last seen her sister and she replied that it had been Thursday the 13th of August, eight days before Lynda disappeared. She said Lynda had driven to her home in Glenrothes and the pair had spent the afternoon talking. When asked what the pair had spoken about Sandra had said that Lynda had told her she was pregnant, going on to say that Lynda was overjoyed, although it was slightly marred as Lynda had been suffering terrible morning sickness. When asked if the pair had spoken about Andrew or Lynda’s relationship with him, Sandra mentioned that, yes, Lynda had said that they had been having some marital problems and they had been arguing, but Sandra stated that she didn’t think it was anything serious and she thought it would likely blow over. I mean, Lynda had been pregnant, which she had always wanted and was delighted about, she had married the man she loved, she lived in a nice house, had a great job and was earning good money. What more could she want? Sandra said the last time she had seen or spoken to Lynda was as she watched her drive away from her home after the visit on the 13th of August, after Sandra had agreed to come to Lynda’s home on the afternoon of the 21st of August so they could spend the afternoon together, a meeting that Lynda never showed up for. Sandra did mention that she had been concerned about Lynda not showing up and she had called her parents and Lynda’s friend and ex-partner, Ian Glover, but they hadn’t seen Lynda. Concerned for her sister but thinking that she may simply have forgotten, Sandra said she spent the afternoon and early evening with Lynda’s husband, Andrew, until finally heading back to her home in Glenrothes about 6.30pm.

Lynda Cairns had grown up in Glenrothes, which according to Wikipedia is a town situated in east central Scotland approximately 30 miles or 48 kilometres south of Dundee, with her parents and younger sister Sandra. According to the Law Killers book by Alexander McGregor, Lynda had led a life devoted to helping others. As a youngster, Lynda had such a caring nature and she just wanted to help people, and so she became a girl guide and then a girl guide leader. As an adult, she then moved to Aberdeen, in the northeast of Scotland, to gain teacher training experience, where she worked with children with mental disabilities, and she also became a Samaritan. Following completing her teacher training, Lynda moved to London and continued to work with children with mental disabilities. She really did have such a caring nature, which again was evident when she left London and moved to Dundee, where she worked as a social worker so she could be nearer her parents, who she adored, who lived in nearby Glenrothes as their health had deteriorated significantly. Lynda then met Dr Ian Glover in December 1980 when they both lived in Dundee, and the pair had quickly fallen in love. When Lynda’s parents health improved slightly, she then decided to move to Edinburgh for a training course, and Ian agreed to move there with her too, and by April 1982 they were living happily together in Edinburgh. Upon Lynda’s course finishing, the pair then decided to move back to Dundee, buying a house together in Broadford Terrace in Broughty Ferry, which is about a 10 minute drive east of Dundee. Initially the couple had a loving sexual relationship, however, around about July 1983 their relationship became platonic, with the pair agreeing to be just friends, but they continued to live together, sleeping in separate bedrooms. Lynda then met Andrew Hunter sometime in late 1984, when Lynda would have been 27 years old and Andrew would have been 33 years old. They both had moved to Broughty Ferry and lived across the street from each other on Broadford Terrace; Andrew with his wife, Christine, whom he had married in 1974, and their nine-year-old son Colin, and Lynda with her ex-partner Dr Ian Glover. By this time Lynda, who had such a caring and giving nature, had been working for the Samaritans for many years and was a fully qualified social worker, and so when her neighbour, Andrew Hunter, approached Lynda to ask if she would help him to gain a qualification in social work too, Lynda was only too happy to help him study. The two grew closer, found that they had lots in common, including wild uninhibited sex, and eventually they embarked on an affair. When Ian found out about Andrew and Lynda’s affair in December 1984 he wasn’t surprised, having suspected earlier that something was going on between them. Andrew’s wife, Christine, however had not suspected anything, and when she also found out in December 1984 about her husband’s affair she was distraught and pleaded that the pair ended their affair immediately, which Andrew agreed to. However, his affair with Lynda began again within weeks, with Lynda finally moving out of the house she shared with Ian Glover in July 1985 and moving to a new house she bought in Carnoustie, and she expected Andrew to join her there. However, for a time Andrew was happy to have the best of both worlds, going between his wife and lover, but he soon did leave his wife and son and move in with Lynda, but he still maintained contact with his son. While Lynda moving out of the home she shared with Ian Glover didn’t affect Ian too much and the pair continued to remain close friends, the same could not be said for Christine, she was distraught by the ending of her marriage and became depressed.

 On the 14th of December 1985, about three months after Andrew had finally left his wife, Christine dropped her and Andrew’s son at the children’s home where Andrew worked so Andrew could spend some time with his son. Andrew took his son, Colin, to the cinema and then they had their tea together, before Andrew returned his son to the family home as planned. Despite Andrew’s persistent knocking on the door and shouting through the letterbox, Christine did not answer the door. He became worried as he knew Christine was home as her car was in the drive and the lights were on in the home, so Andrew went across the street to Ian Glover’s home, as both he and Lynda were still friendly with him but mainly Lynda, to ask if he could use his phone to try to get an answer from Christine, but there was still no reply. Beginning to panic Andrew then went to a neighbour who had a spare key to the property, before running back to the family home and opening the door. It appeared that Christine had been unable to cope with the ending of her marriage, unable to cope with the betrayal of her husband, and sadly she had ended her life, a fact that Andrew took very hard, and took out on someone close to him.

While the police were trying to gain a better picture of Lynda, her mental state and her marriage to Andrew, forensic teams were working on Lynda’s car, and what they found only further deepened the mysterious disappearance of Lynda. Firstly, it was noted that the driver’s seat had been set for someone much taller than Lynda. So, if Lynda hadn’t driven the car to Manchester then who had? Also, the two grey front seat covers had been removed, as well as the passenger floor mat. This strongly indicated to the police that someone was trying to hide forensic evidence. But stranger still, the spare wheel from the back of the car had been fitted to the front offside, suggesting the driver had had a flat tyre that needed changing somewhere on the journey from Carnoustie to Manchester. However, the damaged wheel and tyre, along with the tools to replace a tyre, were all missing. What was found in the boot space was Lynda’s handbag and the bag she had packed for work. Lynda’s three credit cards and £30 or $38 in cash was missing, but medication Lynda’s dog Shep needed for a heart and bladder condition were still there in Lynda’s bag. Also found in the boot space of the car was a single earring that belonged to Lynda. While the police had initially believed that there would be an explanation for Lynda’s disappearance, that perhaps she just needed some time to herself, the more days that went by and the more they found out about Lynda and her relationship with Andrew, and now the car having been examined, the more they began to be very concerned for Lynda’s welfare.  And so it was time to try and find out more about Andrew and Lynda’s relationship, which included speaking to Lynda’s ex-partner and friend, Dr Ian Glover. And soon a more detailed picture emerged.

Following Christine’s sad death, Andrew appeared to blame Lynda for what had happened, and when a fight broke out between them in public two days after Christine’s death when Linda suggested that Andrew didn’t need to go to Christine’s funeral, Andrew pushed her violently against a car. This wouldn’t be the last spout of violence in their relationship. During one argument at their home, Andrew hit Lynda in the face with an umbrella. On another occasion Andrew had twisted Lynda’s arm so severely that she’d gone to hospital, but no treatment was needed. Ian Glover also reported that when he came home one night he’d found Lynda in his home, explaining that they had keys for each other’s houses. Lynda told him that Andrew had hit her and placed his hands around her neck. Lynda had reported this incident to the police, but no further action was taken. It was reported that in January 1986, a month after Christine had ended her life, Andrew Hunter had become suicidal and had received treatment in hospital for about four months. Following being discharged from hospital in June 1986, with Andrew and Lynda’s wedding imminent, Andrew postponed the wedding as he wasn’t sure how he felt about Lynda. Following this, Lynda, worried about her future with Andrew, took an accidental overdose of her sleeping medication and was treated in hospital for a week. However, on the 1st of November 1986 the pair married. Andrew and Lynda had a church wedding and Lynda’s younger sister, Sandra, was her bridesmaid. From the photos Lynda and Andrew appeared to be so happy; Lynda smiling and looking beautiful and Andrew looking proud in his full Highland dress. The pair spent their first married night together in the 480 year old Grand Fernie Castle in Fife, before heading on to Israel for the remainder of their honeymoon. Upon their return the pair seemed really happy, content, and life got back to normal. Ian Glover also attended the wedding and confirmed that after the marriage there appeared to have been no further violence. Until that is six weeks before Lynda disappeared. Ian received a phone call from Lynda where she said that Andrew was showing signs of aggression again, no physical violence, but that his demeanour had changed.

The last time Ian Glover had seen Lynda was on Thursday the 20th of August as Lynda had been looking after his dog Jimmy from the 18th of August while he had been away on business. Ian came back on Wednesday the 19th of August but Lynda had said there was no rush to pick up his dog. However, he had then received a phone call from Lynda on Thursday the 20th of August to ask him to pick up his dog as she wasn’t feeling too well, and if he could also pick up Andrew and Colin from Dundee that evening as they were going to a football match for Colin’s birthday, which Ian did. Ian then stayed at Lynda’s and Andrew’s chatting until about 10pm, and he felt that there was some kind of tension between the pair. He said he then received a phone call on Friday the 21st of August from Sandra, Lynda’s sister, wondering if he had seen Lynda, which he hadn’t. He found out Lynda had been reported missing on the Saturday by Andrew.

While the police were building a much better picture of the relationship between Andrew and Linda, there still was far more to find out. With the police now very concerned for Lynda’s welfare and beginning to focus on the possibility her husband Andrew may be involved, they once again arrived at his home to ask him to make a statement describing in detail his movements on the lead up to and the day after Lynda’s disappearance, and it is as follows. Andrew had gone to work as normal on Thursday the 20th of August, arriving home at about 3pm. Lynda had been off sick on Thursday as she’d been feeling unwell and had spent the day in bed. Upon Andrew arriving back home though Lynda got up and helped him get some food ready for Andrew’s son, Colin’s 11th birthday celebration that evening. Lynda then returned to bed and Andrew took Lynda’s dog, Shep, and their friend Ian’s dog, Jimmy, out for a walk, arriving back home again about 4.20pm. Shortly afterwards, Andrew and Colin left the home in the minibus of the children’s home where Andrew worked, which he had borrowed for the evening. He then drove around picking up Colin’s friends to take them to a local football match scheduled for 5pm, which Andrew was refereeing at. After the football match, Andrew dropped all but one of Colin’s friends back at their homes, before returning the minibus to his workplace. Andrew, Colin and Colin’s friend, Grant, were then picked up by Dr Ian Glover and taken back to Carnoustie. Andrew, Lynda, Ian, Colin and his friend, Grant, all enjoyed a birthday tea, before Grant and Colin went to bed, as Grant was allowed to stay over as a birthday treat. Ian Glover stayed and chatted with Lynda and Andrew until about 10pm, before he and his dog Jimmy left and headed home. On Friday the 21st of August, Andrew got up about 7.20am to prepare breakfast for his son and his friend and to pack Colin’s bag, as he was staying at Grant’s house that evening, before Colin and Grant then left the house about 8.20am to catch the school bus. Lynda was still not feeling well and so she stayed in bed until just before 10am, when she asked Andrew if he would take her to the local chemist. Andrew had driven Lynda to the nearby chemist about 10am, before she went to the doctors, and then drove Lynda back home, arriving home about 10.20am. Lynda then apparently proceeded to go upstairs, pack her bag and leave, despite Andrew asking her for a lift into Dundee. Andrew did get a bus into Dundee, where he went to his work to hand in an essay that had been due as part of his training, and chatted briefly with his colleagues, before saying he would see them that night for the work party, and then left. Then about 1pm he was at a building society withdrawing money, before catching a bus home to Carnoustie, arriving back home about 2pm. He then did some tidying up, some washing, and then worked in the back garden. Then, as arranged, Lynda’s sister, Sandra, arrived at 3pm, which was a surprise to Andrew as Lynda hadn’t mentioned it. After waiting all afternoon to see if Lynda showed up, Sandra called her parents and Lynda’s friend, Ian Glover, to see if Lynda was with them, only to find out she wasn’t. About 6pm Sandra and Andrew left the house and went to a local hotel for some tea, then Sandra left to drive home between 6.30 and 6.45pm. Andrew then got himself ready to attend his works party. He said he was picked up and driven to the night out by his next-door neighbour about 8pm, and then proceeded to have a good night out. His neighbour kindly then came and picked him up again and dropped him off at his home shortly before midnight, before Andrew headed straight to bed. On Saturday the 22nd of August, Andrew left his home about 11am and went to a local shop to buy a newspaper. He then got a bus into Dundee where he had a haircut, went to a bar where he had a pint and something to eat, then he purchased a pair of trainers for his son, which he still had the receipt for and showed the purchase had taken place at 1.06pm. He spent some time just wandering around Dundee, before about 3pm heading to Lynda’s work at the elderly people’s home in Dundee to pick up the car and Shep, only to find no Lynda, no car and no Shep. He then called Ian Glover to see if he had heard from Lynda but he hadn’t, before then getting a taxi to Grant’s parents home in Broughty Ferry, where Colin had stayed the previous night, where he mentioned to Grant’s parents about Lynda not being at work, before asking if Colin could stay another night with them, which they agreed to. Andrew then went back home to Carnoustie and spoke to his neighbours about Lynda’s disappearance, before eventually calling the police to report her missing about 7pm that evening.

While Andrew was giving a detailed account of his movements on the run-up two and after his wife Lynda’s disappearance, the detectives noticed that he had shown no emotion while talking about the last time he’d seen his pregnant wife alive, and so asked him why this might be, to which he replied that this was just his way, he had trained himself to show no emotion. They also asked Andrew again about the state of his marriage and if he had been seeing anyone else, to which he replied that his marriage was okay, he said that he and Lynda did have arguments and that Lynda had been especially irritable lately due to the morning sickness, but that he had not been with anyone else since he married Lynda. The detectives also asked Andrew on numerous occasions why he thought Lynda might have disappeared, and the only explanation Andrew could come up with was to think that she just wanted space, although Andrew seemed able to have come up with other reasons when he was talking to Dr Ian Glover, which Ian had told the police about when they spoke to him. Ian said that Andrew had told him that there had been tension between himself and Lynda and that Andrew felt Lynda was behaving irrationally, believing that Lynda had disappeared in order to try and change Andrew’s behaviour towards her. While the police were beginning to suspect Andrew had been involved in Lynda’s disappearance, he appeared to have a cast iron alibi, but their instincts were telling them a different story. They were sure he was involved somehow, but how?

As sure as the police fell that Andrew had some involvement in Lynda’s disappearance and presumed death, without any witnesses, evidence, Lynda’s body, and Andrew’s cast iron alibi, there was absolutely nothing they could do. The police had gone as far as driving to Manchester from Carnoustie and taking the train back to Dundee to see if the trip could be done, between Andrew getting dropped off at home on Friday just before midnight and him purchasing trainers for his son at 1.06pm, which was the only definitive evidence of where he was. And it turned out that this could be done, as the train from Manchester to Dundee on Saturday the 22nd of August left Manchester at 7.35am and arrived in Dundee at 12.49pm, giving Andrew about 15 minutes to spare before buying his son’s trainers, assuming that is that his trip to the newsagent at 11am, his trip to the pub and the hairdressers didn’t actually happen. The police did speak to the guard who would have been on the train from Manchester to Dundee, however, when the police showed the guard Andrew’s photo he was unable to identify Andrew as being a passenger on that train. The police had the same results when showing Andrew’s picture to his local newsagent, where he supposedly bought a newspaper about 11am on the Saturday morning, when they showed his picture to the hairdressers he said he had attended, and when asking the barmaid if she could say for sure that Andrew had been in the pub at the time he said on the Saturday. Not one person could categorically say that he had attended their premises on the day and time in question. Although even the assistant in the shoe shop where Andrew had bought his son a pair of trainers on Saturday the 22nd of August at 1.06pm, for which he had a receipt for, couldn’t identify Andrew either. So, again the police were no further forward, there was no proof either way. Although the police did learn something interesting.

When speaking to the barmaid, Carol, who had been working on the 22nd of August. She told the police that she felt Andrew had been trying to coerce her to give false information. Apparently he had talked about his wife’s disappearance before it had even been in the newspapers. He had told Carol that he’d been in her pub that day having a pint asking if she remembered him being there, but she told him she didn’t, at which point Andrew told Carol that the police would be coming to speak to her and he was there so when they did if she could just tell them that he was there.

The police did interview Andrew numerous times following Lynda’s disappearance and each time he appeared less and less interested in his missing pregnant wife. The police continued to appeal for witnesses to come forward, but with nothing to work with and such a large search area, spanning from Scotland to England, the case was going nowhere. This is when the police approached the producers of the British program Crimewatch UK. Crimewatch UK, according to Wikipedia, is a British television program produced by the BBC that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case, and back in the 1980s it was broadcast once a month. A reconstruction of Lynda’s final known movements appeared in the December 1987 Crimewatch broadcast. Following the reconstruction, Detective Inspector Leslie Liney, who was working on Lynda’s case, discussed some of the details of the case with the presenter, such as describing Lynda’s distinctive car and the fact it had been found in Manchester, what had been found in the car, and what had been removed, and asked for any witnesses to come forward if anyone had seen this car or indeed Lynda since her disappearance on Friday the 21st of August. He also asked anyone to come forward if they’d seen Lynda’s beloved dog Shep, who had still not been found either and who Lynda adored and took absolutely everywhere with her, since she had saved him from being put to sleep at a rescue centre seven years prior. Shep had some distinctive markings, such as all of his paws were white, he had a small surgical scar on his right back leg, and he had been neutered. When Detective Liney was asked by the presenter what his thoughts were on finding Lynda alive he said

*Crimewatch programme audio reconstruction clip starts*

Detective Liney on Crimewatch:

We’re very concerned for Lynda’s safety and I would certainly appeal to Lynda, if she should be watching this program, to please contact us.

Host of Crimewatch:

 Do you think there is a faint possibility she might still be alive?

Detective Liney on Crimewatch:

A remote possibility I think.”

*Crimewatch programme audio reconstruction clip ends*

Dawn:

However, what was actually believed by the detectives at this stage was that Lynda was dead, and that she had been killed by her husband Andrew, they just needed to find evidence of this or hope that a witness came forward. And following the reconstruction and appeal for information on Crimewatch, that was exactly what happened, when two separate witnesses, who had been traveling through the area on Friday the 21st of August, reported citing a car that looked very much like Lynda’s white Cavalier Anteeb. Both witnesses said the car had been driven by a male, and a female had been in the passenger seat. Both witnesses believed that this was the Hunters’ they had seen, with one of the witnesses picking out Andrew Hunter and another man in an identification parade as being similar to the driver of the car, and that the female in the passenger seat looked very similar to Lynda Hunter, and that she seemed in a distressed state. One area where this sighting had taken place was near Fernie Castle, where Andrew and Lynda spent their first night as a married couple, which is 26 miles or 42 kilometres south west of Carnoustie, which is where the couple lived, and a 14-minute drive away from Glenrothes were Lynda’s parents and sister lived. Things weren’t looking too good for Andrew, but the police still needed to find Lynda’s body. And, so, when another witness came forward saying that they had seen a male carrying a bundle from a light-coloured car into St Michael’s Woods, even though these woods were located 12 miles and 19 kilometres north east of Fernie Castle and nearer to Carnoustie, the police believed this was where Lynda had been buried. And so a massive search began in December 1987 at St Michael’s Woods, with Andrew even lending a hand. However, following an extensive search lasting three days, Lynda’s body was not found. Desperate to keep the case moving forward, the police tried a different tack. On the 5th of January 1988, detectives spoke to Andrew again, this time wanting more information about Shep’s lead and collar. Andrew again advised that Shep’s lead and collar were missing from the house, which wasn’t unusual as Lynda loved Shep so much and worried all the time about losing him that she had attached two separate tags to his collar; one with her address on it and one with her parents address on. Andrew confirmed that Shep never left the house without his collar and lead. This line of questioning might have seemed odd at the time, but it would later prove vital. 

In the meantime though, again, the police had no leads and the case was in danger of becoming cold. Until that is the 11th of February 1988, almost six months after Lynda had disappeared, when Lynda’s body was found in Melville Lower Wood, Ladybank, by a dog walker. These woods are a six minute drive away from where a witness claimed to have seen who they believed were the Hunters’, and who picked out Andrew and another man from a line-up, as well as reporting that the female passenger appeared to be distressed. Incidentally, the woods where the initial search and sighting of a male carrying a bundle into the woods was about 13 miles or 21 kilometres away. So, if Andrew did have something to do with Lynda’s murder, then he helped the police search in these woods safe in the knowledge that Lynda’s body would not be found, as he had dumped her body miles away.

Having found Lynda’s body, and following the post-mortem, it was discovered that Lynda had been murdered by strangulation, and she actually had been found with her dog Shep’s lead still around her neck. The police attended Andrew’s home to tell him the news and to see his reaction to Lynda’s body being found, and it wasn’t quite what they expected to find. Upon attending Andrew’s home they discovered that he had company, namely a sex worker. Upon Andrew being told that his wife’s body had been found, detectives were surprised that he didn’t appear to be overly concerned or upset, preferring to talk about football instead. However, following the revelation that Andrew enjoyed the company of sex workers, he certainly would have reason to be concerned when detectives began to pursue this line of inquiry, and it wouldn’t be long before the real Andrew Hunter would finally be revealed.

Andrew didn’t have a great start in life as his mum had died three weeks after giving birth to him, and shortly afterwards his dad abandoned him, leaving him to be brought up by his aunt. Andrew craved family and, so, as a young man he joined the Salvation Army in Glasgow, where he met and fell in love with Christine, who was 11 years older than him. Andrew received the love, care and encouragement from Christine that he had lacked as a child, and, so, when Andrew brought up that he would like to become a social worker, Christine encouraged him all the way. Andrew and Christine married in 1973, when Andrew would have been 22 and Christine would have been 33, and in 1976 they had a son who they named Colin. While Christine was in married bliss with her wonderful husband and beautiful new baby boy, little did she know that her husband had begun having an extramarital relationship with a male he had met at a sauna. In 1977 Andrew had gained employment in Dundee at a children’s home as an unqualified social worker and so the family relocated to Dundee. The pair continued to work at the Salvation Army, but Andrew wanted to help more, and so he also began working closely with vulnerable young women who had addiction problems, whilst he also worked towards becoming a qualified social worker. However, Andrew was not there to help these vulnerable people, he was there to exploit and seduce them. This continued throughout his relationship with Christine, as well as him often turning to sex workers to satisfy his sexual appetite. Following Christine finding out about his affair with Lynda, and before going to live with Lynda, Andrew started seeing the male he had met at the sauna years before again, unbeknownst to Christine or Lynda. This affair also began again in early 1987 before Andrew married Lynda. It also emerged that before Andrew finally agreed to marry Lynda he had an affair with a female colleague, all the while still visiting the sex workers of Dundee, with many believing he had spent time with most of them. And he continued to have sex with sex workers throughout Lynda’s disappearance, finally being caught out when police arrived at his home to tell him that they had found Lynda’s body when he’d been found in the company of a 22 year old sex worker, who also was one of his vulnerable clients who was addicted to drugs. Detectives were keen to speak to the vulnerable client of Andrew’s, however, sadly, she died shortly afterwards from what was believed to have been an overdose, although some friends of the female speculated that Andrew could have possibly given her the fatal dose, while others believed that she may have felt guilty, as apparently Andrew had been complaining to her about how annoying his wife was and so the sex worker had suggested that he “bump her off.”, according to the Scottish Daily Mail on the 4th of August 2018. And, so, police were very keen to speak to friends of the vulnerable female, as well as sex workers that Andrew spent the most time with, which they did.

And then finally on the 9th of April 1988, just short of eight months since Lynda had gone missing, after police had interviewed more than 5,000 people and taken about 1,200 witness statements, Andrew Hunter was arrested. It was at this point that a search was carried out of Andrew’s home, and what this revealed was felt to be conclusive evidence that Andrew had been involved in Lynda’s disappearance and murder.

While being questioned, Andrew allegedly told detectives “I would like to tell you, but it is past that now and I still have Colin to think of.” He went on to say that “I keep wanting to get it over with. It has been a long time, but I can’t. And who would believe me now?” Following these comments though, Andrew then stuck with no comment. The murder trial began at the High Court in Dundee on Tuesday the 19th of July 1988.  Due to Lynda’s disappearance appearing on Crimewatch, it had thrown the case into the spotlight, which in turn brought vast numbers of people to the High Court every day in the hope of getting a seat in the courtroom. The accused, Andrew Hunter, faced the charge of murdering Lynda Hunter by strangling her with a ligature on the 21st of August 1987. Andrew issued a special defense of alibi saying that on Friday the 21st of August he had been in the company of various people between the hours of 7.30am and midnight on that day. After the formalities the trial began.

Witness after witness stood in the dock for the prosecution; the barmaid, the shoe shop assistant, the train guard, the hairdressers, and all when asked were unable to say whether they had seen Andrew Hunter on Saturday the 22nd of August, as Andrew was stating. Next in the dock was Lynda’s ex-lover, Dr Ian Glover. Ian reiterated what he had told the police, including him being aware of the violence directed at Lynda from Andrew before their wedding, and the fact that Lynda had told him that Andrew’s behaviour had changed to aggression again six weeks before Lynda’s disappearance. He also mentioned that in the months between Lynda going missing and her body being found, Andrew Hunter had said to him on at least four separate occasions that “I’m not going to feel guilty this time.” Dr Ian Glover went on to say, according to The Courier and Advertiser Newspaper on the 22nd of July 1988, that he assumed Andrew was referring to the death of his first wife and that he felt guilty because it might have been something to do with his behaviour leading to her death. Dr Glover went on to say “I did however, prior to the discovery of the body, feel that Hunter thought Lynda was already dead.” Next in the dock was one of the detectives working on Lynda’s case, Detective Sergeant Snedden, who stated what the those working on the case believed to have happened on the fateful day Lynda went missing. They believed that when Andrew and Lynda returned from the chemist on the morning of Friday the 21st of August an argument between the two had broken out and Lynda had stated that she wanted to go to her parents in Glenrothes, she often stayed overnight with her parents to care for them, and Andrew had offered to drive her and Shep there, as Shep went absolutely everywhere with Lynda. It was believed that the pair had continued to argue in the car, leading to Andrew to pull over into a lay-by by woods in a quiet bit of road, grabbing Shep’s lead from the back seat, placing it around Lynda’s neck and strangling her. Quickly, before anyone happened upon them, he got out of the car, went to the passenger side and picked Lynda’s lifeless body up and carried her about 100 feet or 30 metres into the woods and just left her there, before quickly returning to his car and driving off. It is then believed he stopped a few miles along the road, removed Shep’s collar and put him out of the car, before driving off and leaving him there. He then is believed to have parked his car a few miles away from his home, got a bus to Dundee and gone to his place of work to hand in an essay, get money from the building society and return home, where Lynda’s sister, Sandra, would shortly be turning up. After attending his works night out and being dropped off at home shortly before midnight, it is then believed he walked to where he had parked the white Cavalier Anteeb car and drove it the 297 miles or 478 kilometres to Manchester, stopping briefly to repair the puncture, before abandoning the car on double yellow lines at the back of the train station, before getting on the 7.35am train, which would take him back to Dundee arriving at 12.49pm, just in time for him to go to the shoe shop and purchase trainers for his son. When cross examined by the defence, it was put to Detective Sergeant Snedden that this would have been a very elaborate and risky plan, and Andrew had done this apparently with not one single person having seen him, with the detective agreeing that there was no evidence of this, but equally that there was no evidence to confirm where Andrew was from about midnight on Friday the 21st of August to 1.06pm on Saturday the 22nd of August, and that he could very well have been in his home overnight. However, before Detective Snedden stepped down from the witness box he advised of the search that had been carried out on the Hunters’ home at Carnoustie after Andrew had been arrested, and of the fact that Shep’s dog collar had been found behind a laundry basket. He went on to say that Lynda would never leave the home without Shep having his dog collar on, and she would never leave without Shep, which suggested to him that Andrew had to have been with Lynda and Shep before their disappearance, and had made the ultimate mistake of taking the collar back home with him, only for the police to find it months later. Detective Snedden then stepped down from the dock pleased with himself and safe in the knowledge that Andrew would have no explanation for the dog collar being found at his home.

Next in the witness stand was a sex worker who Andrew had been having a regular relationship with, and she instantly contradicted a statement Andrew had made to the police about not having been with anyone since his marriage to Lynda by stating that he had paid for her services on numerous occasions since his marriage to Lynda, going on to say that when she had been with him in August 1987 he had told her that he had been looking for a job in Manchester, the very place where Lynda’s car had been found. Coincidence? According to The Courier and Advertiser on the 2nd of August 1988, Pauline, another of Andrew’s regular sex workers, advised that she had been with Andrew at his home in his marital bed in December 1987 after Linda had gone missing, and on one occasion she had noticed ladies shoes in the wardrobe and asked Andrew about them, to which Andrew apparently answered that they were his wife’s but that she was dead, two months before Lynda’s body had been found.

The two witnesses who had been driving separately through Fife also took to the stand, and told the court that they had firmly believed they had seen the white Cavalier Anteeb car, with Andrew driving and Lynda in the passenger seat looking distressed, near to where Lynda’s body had been found.

Next in the dock was a Salvation Army officer who had worked with and was friends with Andrew, and he told of how upset and concerned Andrew had been at the disappearance of his wife, despite Andrew showing no emotion to the police. He went on to say that Andrew must have been the best actor he had seen if he was not genuinely upset about his missing wife, although Andrew had hidden quite well the fact that he was having sex with vulnerable people he was supposed to be there to protect, so it’s possible he was a great actor.

Lynda’s sister, Sandra, also took to the stand and, although she may have told the police at the time of her sister’s disappearance though while her sister and Andrew may have been having marital problems she believed it would blow over, she was saying something entirely different now. She told the court that apparently Lynda had been quite upset by something Andrew had repeatedly said to her following his wife Christine’s death, which she repeated to Sandra. Andrew had apparently told Lynda that “It is you who should be dead and not Christine.” This could just have been Sandra trying to ensure her sister’s alleged killer didn’t get away with it, there is no way to know for sure if Andrew did in fact say this to Lynda.

However, after the next witness took to the stand, it certainly became more likely that he had. Gillian Pelc, who had been quite a close colleague of Andrew’s, told the court that on an occasion before Andrew and Lynda married, Andrew said to her that he was only marrying Lynda to screw up her life the way she had screwed up his. She went on to say that following Lynda’s case being shown on Crimewatch, the pair had been out for lunch and she said that, as Andrew was describing the details of the program to her, he seemed amused by it.

Andrew Hunter also took to the stand and did a good job in answering all the questions put to him and had an answer for most of them, all except how Shep’s collar had been found in his home, for that he had no answer.

On the 2nd of August 1988, after a two-week trial, the summing up by the prosecution began. They reminded the jury of all the witness statements made throughout the trial, but crucially it was hammered home about finding Shep’s dog collar behind a laundry basket at the couple’s home in Carnoustie, saying that there were only two possible explanations for this; either Shep had left the home without his collar, which Lynda would never do as she was terrified of losing him, or, as usual, when leaving the home, Lynda had put Shep’s collar on, but then Andrew had brought it back to the home after killing Lynda and abandoning Shep in the middle of nowhere. This would point directly to Andrew being Lynda’s murderer. It was then time for the defence to sum up. The court was told there were absolutely no witnesses to Andrew either abducting, strangling or carrying Lynda’s body into the woods, that there was not one shred of evidence to suggest Andrew had caused any harm to Lynda, going on to ridicule the prosecution’s suggestion that Andrew had travelled the 297 miles or 478 kilometres to Manchester and returned to his home in Carnoustie without one single person seeing him, but had overlooked one vital piece of evidence by bringing Shep’s dog collar home and leaving it behind a laundry basket, and going on to suggest that the dog collar had never left the home in the first place. He ended up by saying that the prosecution had failed dismally to prove that Andrew had committed the murder of his wife and that the jury should pass a verdict of not guilty, or at the very least not proven. Judge Lord Brand then directed the jury to a number of other statements made throughout the trial by witnesses, before asking the jury to retire to determine a verdict, which they did by majority less than two hours later.

37 year old Andrew Hunter was found guilty of the murder of his 30 year old wife Lynda Hunter. Following the verdict, Andrew was told by Judge Lord Brand “You are an evil man of exceptional depravity”, before he gave Andrew a life sentence. Andrew was then taken away.

While Lynda’s family were relieved at the outcome and had justice for Lynda, the pain of losing a daughter, a sister, and the added grief for Lynda’s unborn child, was still desperately raw. According to the Scottish Daily Mail on the 4th of August 2018, Lynda’s sister, Sandra, spoke outside her home at Glenrothes saying “It doesn’t go away.”

Andrew Hunter lodged an appeal citing that Judge Lord Brand had misdirected the jury and that the prosecution’s evidence fell far short of proving that Andrew committed the murder beyond a reasonable doubt. However, an article in The Herald newspaper on the 30th of June 1989 stated that the appeal had been rejected by three judges who stated that “This was not a narrow case”, and that the judges were “Certainly persuaded that the evidence before the jury was not only sufficient but ample and eloquent of the guilt of the appellant.” Andrew returned to Perth prison to serve out his sentence. However, on the 19th of July 1993, five years after being convicted of the murder of his wife Lynda, 42 year old Andrew died from a heart attack. The death of Andrew Hunter also put an end to the possibility of a case being built against him for the murder of Dundee’s sex worker Carol Lannen in 1979. Andrew was well known to have visited sex workers regularly, having thought to have used the services of all of the sex workers in Dundee at some point, and his aggressive behaviour had been evident in his treatment of Lynda. This, coupled with the fact that a photofit of a male last seen with Carol was deemed to look very much like Andrew, could have led to him also being convicted of Carol’s murder, and for Carol’s family finally to have justice. However, if he was the murderer then this opportunity has now gone. I’ll be covering Carol Lannen’s case, along with another female found murdered very close to where Carol was found, in an episode for the Dundee murders theme, if you’d like to know more.

And finally, now, I’m giving a wee trigger warning here as it’s about what happened to Lynda’s dog Shep.  Shep had been found wandering near St Michael’s Woods, the same area a witness had seen a man carrying a bundle from a light-coloured car into the woods, and he had been taken to a rescue centre. However, sadly for Shep, it wasn’t until Lynda’s case appeared on Crimewatch that someone working at the rescue centre recognised the description of Lynda’s dog’s Shep to be the same dog that had been brought to them, having been found wandering near St Michael’s Woods. However, by the time Lynda’s case appeared on Crimewatch in December, four months after Lynda and Shep had gone missing, Shep had already been put to sleep, as it had been determined after one week that, as no one had come looking for Shep, he must be a stray, as he was without his collar.

I’m sorry to leave it on such a sad note, but that’s the end. Come back next time for another episode of Scottish Murders.

Granny Robertson:

Scottish Murders is a production of Cluarantonn.