Man cleared of World's End deaths

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Angus Sinclair, 62, had been on trial at Edinburgh High Court accused of raping and murdering Christine Eadie and Helen Scott in October 1977 in the notorious World's End case.

But trial judge Lord Clarke upheld a defence motion that there was insufficient evidence that Sinclair had committed the crimes.

Sinclair was convicted and jailed for life in 2001 for raping and murdering Glasgow teenager Mary Gallacher more than 22 years earlier, after new DNA evidence linked him to the crime.

He had also been convicted of the culpable homicide of seven-year-old Catherine Reehill in 1961 for which he served six years. And he has convictions for three rapes and a number of other sexual offences for which he was convicted at The High Court in Edinburgh in 1982.

Police believe he may be linked to several other unsolved murders dating back to the 1970s.

Prosecutors used DNA evidence to try to bring about a conviction over the World's End killings, one of Britain`s longest unsolved murder cases.

But after eight days of evidence, Sinclair's defence team lodged a submission on Friday that there was no case to answer.

Dismissing the case, Lord Clarke said: "I am of the view that the evidence taken at its highest in context of a whole is neutral as to whether or not he was involved in acting with force or violence against the girls, there having been some evidence of sexual contact between him and the girls in the 12 hours or so before they were killed.

"The question of timing seems to me to be critical. I'm not satisfied what the advocate-depute had to say overcame these difficulties in that respect."