Fundraiser to demolish property where Jill Barclay was murdered falls through
Friends of Jill Barclay set a target of £90,000 to buy and demolish the property where the 47-year-old was murdered.
A fundraiser set up in the hopes of buying and demolishing the property where Jill Barclay was found murdered has fallen through.
The 47-year-old mum was found dead near a premises on Stoneywood Road in September 2022.
Her attacker, 23-year-old Rhys Bennett, was sentenced to life in prison serving a minimum of 24 years.
A fundraiser organised by 'Friends of Jill Barclay' set a target of £90,000 with the aim of buying and tearing down the gatehouse which stands as a reminder of the brutal attack.
An updated post published on Wednesday said they were "devastated" as they learned this could no longer be possible due to the owner of the property not being able to wait any longer.
The owner of the property wishes to keep and refurbish the house.
The post read: "Unfortunately the owners of the gatehouse feel that they can no longer wait for funds to be raised so the gatehouse can be purchased and demolished. The owners are now looking to start refurbishing the house.
"Avenues for raising funds have been looked into multiple times and Aberdeen city council approached numerous times. A trust fund had been in motion, championed by a group of local councillors, we thank them for their efforts. No large companies that have premises in the area came forward to help and we are now out of time. We are devastated."
Organisers confirmed all donations would be returned and any charity box funds would be given to the Archie Foundation who have been helping Jill's family.
The post continued: "We will start the process of refunding all monies donated through go fund me. Go fund me has stated this will take 7-10 working days. Monies collected from the charity boxes that had been around the community will be donated to the Archie foundation, per Leons request. The Archie foundation have been supporting Jill and Leon's children since September 2022.
"Lastly we want to thank every single person that donated. The money raised has largely come from our local community, and that speaks volumes about the community you are.