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Derek Sheerin

Age: 22

Sex: male

Date: 25 Sep 1994

Place: London Road, Glasgow

Derek Sheerin was found dead in the East End of Glasgow on waste ground near the Celtic Social Club on London Road.

He was last seen at about 6.30pm on 25 September 1994 walking from Glen Islay Street towards London Road.

A man was charged for his murder in 2015 but cleared in March 2017 after it was suggested that DNA samples might have been contaminated.

The man charged with his murder had been seen playing football in Glen Islay Street for more than an hour on 25 September 1994 before later going to Derek Sheerin's sister's house where he stayed for the night.

Derek Sheerin was found dead the following day, covered in weeds by three schoolgirls behind the football ground.

It was claimed that the man had seized hold of Derek Sheerin on the waste ground behind the Celtic Social Club and strangled him with the belt. It was also claimed that the man had then stolen Derek Sheerin's watch, tobacco and £20.

The man was arrested in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, after his DNA was found on the belt. However, it was heard that when the belt was given to scientists in 1994 it had been in an open bag and subject to contamination. It was further heard that that would not have been how it would have been transferred in 2017 and that it rang alarm bells amongst experts and raised the clear possibility that it could have been contaminated and as such unsafe as evidence.

However, it was also heard that the man whose DNA was found on the belt had lived with Derek Sheerin and that his DNA could have got there through secondary transfer.

It was also heard that DNA of an unknown man was found all over Derek Sheerin. The unknown DNA was said to have been found under Derek Sheerin's fingernails on his right hand, on the skin of his left hand, on his face and on the front and back of his jacket. It was also found in a bloodstain on the front of Derek Sheerin's jacket and on the inside of his t-shirt.

However, it was also heard that the DNA could not be matched in the national DNA database.

Derek Sheerin had lived nearby with his sister and also had two other sisters and a brother.


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