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Rory Blackhall

Age: 11

Sex: male

Date: 21 Aug 2005

Place: Meldrum, Edinburgh

Rory Blackhall was found dead in woodland under a tattered tent three days after he went missing.

A suspect was later found dead at his home in the Camps Rigg area of Livingston in West Lothian.

Rory Blackhall was found dead in woods near to his school, Meldrum Primary School. He was last seen at about 8.30am on Thursday 18 August 2005 about 300 yards from his school walking through an underpass after having been dropped off by his mother for school.

The suspect in his murder was described as a 37-year-old loner. He was believed to have hanged himself in his garden shed. He had been due to attend a court hearing on 22 August 2005, the day after Rory Blackhall's body was found and he matched the description of a man that was seen in a wood in the area.

The description of the man was:

  • Wearing a black bomber jacket and waterproof trapper-style hat.

At the time he was already out on bail and facing sex charges relating to incidents with three girls aged between two and 11 years old that took place between 1993 and 2000. He had been charged with assault and lewd and libidinous behaviour but released on bail on the condition he didn’t contact any of the girls.

He had lived about two miles from where Rory Blackhall was found dead. He had lived alone in his house after his stepfather died three years earlier and his mother went into a nursing home.

The man was described by neighbours as a gaunt and scruffy loner who had acted in a threatening manner. Although he had lived there for years, neighbours said that they had not known him well and had described him as being unfriendly. They said that few people were seen to visit his house and that those that did were described as being drunks or down-and-outs. It was said that some neighbours were surprised to find that anyone lived in the house. One neighbour said, 'I thought it was derelict because there were never any lights on. You never saw anyone coming or going and the garden was an absolute mess'.

A cousin of the man said that he didn't know him very well, but believed that he was involved in drugs, both using and dealing, and said that he 'was always in some sort of bother or other'. He also said, 'He was a loner even when he was younger and he drifted away from the family when they all moved to Livingston more than 20 years ago. He was a bad lot who, as far as I'm aware, never had a job of any kind and who only mixed with his own sort'.

Following the discovery of the man the police said that they were not looking for anyone else in connection with Rory Blackhall''s murder.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.independent.co.uk

see Evening Herald (Dublin) - Monday 29 August 2005

see Irish Independent - Monday 29 August 2005

see Irish Independent - Tuesday 30 August 2005