Family of George Murdoch 'optimistic' killer will be found after other historic cases solved

Murdoch's nephew says the response to their social media campaign is 'phenomenal'

George 'Dod' Murdoch was killed in 1939
Author: Finlay JackPublished 22nd Mar 2023
Last updated 29th Jan 2024

The nephew of an Aberdeen taxi driver murdered by someone using cheese wire nearly 40 years ago is hopeful that his uncles murder will be solved "with two to three years".

George Murdoch was killed on Pitfodels Station Road on the 29th of September, 1983.

Cheese wire was used during the attack, but nearly four decades later, nobody has been arrested.

'Public, Press, Police'

A Facebook campaign was launched by the family of 'Dod' Murdoch in 2021 and has had a '"phenomenal" response, according to his nephew, Alex McKay.

Mr McKay said: "There's a reason we're optimistic on a few fronts to get this solved and I call it the three P's. It's the public, it's the press, and it's the police.

"We believe strongly that, if you go back to the initial crime itself, it was a massive manhunt. There were like 10,000 interviews, I think the answer lies somewhere somewhere in there.

"In terms of the public, this is why we are very, very optimistic. W

"We launched our Facebook appeals page, in 2021. The response from the public has been absolutely phenomenal. We still, 40 years on, we still get a lot of tips coming in through that.

"And not speculative, a couple are, but some of them are really, really good tips."

'Delight' for MacRae and Page families

Admittedly, 40 years is a long time for a murder to not be solved.

A fresh appeal to chat with a man in a specific Iron Maiden t-shirt spotted in Wilson's Sports Bar on Crown Street, Aberdeen, was made last year.

READ MORE: Iron Maiden fan could hold the key to solving Aberdeen murder

The appeal was launched on the 39th anniversary of the murder

On the date of the re-appeal, William MacDowell was found guilty of murdering Renee MacRae and her infant son Andrew in November, 1976.

And in March 2023, Christopher Harrisson was found guilty of murdering Brenda Page in Aberdeen in July, 1978.

READ MORE: Man who killed Renee and Andrew MacRae dies - less than five months after being jailed

"Regardless of those two been solved, we've always remained very, very optimistic that my uncle's case would be solved.

"But I'm absolutely delighted for the MacRae family and also a Page family.

"