A detective has urged two carers found guilty of murdering a disabled woman to tell police where to find her body.

Margaret Fleming was last seen almost two decades ago, and today Avril Jones, 58 and Edward Cairney, 77 were found guilty of her murder.

Police Scotland say the 19-year-old's last days were spent in 'a living hell'.

Detective superintendent Paul Livingstone has now called on the pair to 'do the honest thing' and tell him where Margaret's body is.

Speaking after the conviction, detective superintendent Paul Livingstone described the conditions she was kept in as 'utterly disgusting and uninhabitable'.

He said Margaret was bound by her hands until her circulation was cut off, and was treated 'like a slave'.

He added: “She had both hands bound. Who puts cardboard tubes over a young vulnerable person and ties them? She was confined to a room.

“On purpose children asked to come round and visit, so that the noise of the children playing ultimately tormented Margaret.

“It was bordering on torture."

Margaret had gone to live with the pair who later murdered her after the death of her father, but they were said to have exploited her benefits, which later prompted suspicions from social services and police.

READ MORE: Couple found guilty of murdering Margaret Fleming

The detective said she was subjected to daily punishment, where she had her hair cut short and was deprived of food as well as being tied up.

The senior investigating officer said: "Margaret was a very vulnerable young woman who was manipulated, abused, neglected and ultimately murdered by the two people who should have been looking after her.

"It is clear that one of Cairney and Jones' motivation was money. As part of their scheming ways they also managed to manipulate Margaret's mother, Margaret Cruikshanks before Cairney assaulted her. For many years, Cairney and Jones kept up the pretence that Margaret was still alive, going as far as to write letters claiming to be from her.

"Margaret was described as being a funny, caring young woman who, despite having some mild learning difficulties, just wanted to be liked and to have friends. She was close to her father who died suddenly before she came to live under the care of Cairney and Jones. Margaret had been to James Watt College briefly before Cairney and Jones began to control her life and keep her prisoner within their home in Inverkip.

READ MORE: Margaret Fleming's mother claims she was assaulted by man accused of murder

"She was subjected to daily punishment which included being tied up, having her hair cut short and deprived of food. The treatment which she was subjected to can only be described as horrific and the conditions in which she lived in were utterly disgusting and uninhabitable. For Cairney and Jones to continue the charade that she was still alive for all these years is abhorrent, with one of their reasons for doing so being for financial gain."

He said police will never know how the 19-year-old was killed, but they say she must have felt that 'she was alone in the world with no-one coming to help her' in her final days.

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He added: "Margaret was just a young woman when she was murdered. Who knows what she could have gone on to achieve in her life if it hadn’t been ended so prematurely at the evil and greedy hands of Cairney and Jones."