EVIL killer Eddie Cairney who murdered vulnerable Inverclyde teenager Margaret Fleming more than two decades ago - and coldly refused to tell police what he did with her body - has died.
Warped Cairney, 82 - who was finally caged in 2019 after being found guilty along with his twisted accomplice Avril Jones of slaying 19-year-old Margaret - had been suffering with serious health problems for months.
Our sister title The Greenock Telegraph understands that he was recently transferred from HMP Edinburgh to hospital and died at the weekend after developing a chest infection.
A source said: "He was very poorly and it was only a matter of time before he succumbed to his condition.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish. There's a special place in hell for scum like him.
"But he's taken the secret of what happened to Margaret's remains to his grave. We can only hope that Jones speaks up now that Cairney's gone."
The wicked pair, who were Margaret's registered 'carers', killed her between December 18, 1999 and January 5, 2000.
Grasping Cairney and Jones, 63, fraudulently claimed disability benefits payments in their victim's name for years afterwards to the tune of £182,000 before Margaret was officially reported missing in 2016.
Their case became Scotland's most high-profile murder prosecution in a generation.
The depraved duo were convicted following a seven-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow and were each sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years.
Jurors found that they murdered Margaret by unknown means at their home in Inverkip, or elsewhere in Scotland, and then tried to cover up the crime for almost 18 years.
It was claimed the last independent sighting of Margaret was at a family event on December 17 1999.
Police suspect the sick duo took Margaret's life at their filthy, ramshackle Seacroft cottage in Inverkip, which has since been demolished.
Her callous killers, who had taken her in following the death of her father in 1995, have repeatedly refused to say what they did with the teenager's remains.
The Scottish Prison Service confirmed Cairney's death this afternoon.
An SPS spokesperson said: "Edward Cairney, 82, a prisoner at HMP Edinburgh has died on October 15 2023.
"He was convicted at Glasgow High Court in 2019. Police Scotland have been advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course."
Commenting on Jones' and Cairney's sentencing in July 2019, detective superintendent Paul Livingstone, the senior investigating officer at the time, called on the pair to 'have a scrap of decency' and 'give the answers to the questions that Margaret's family deserve'.
He said: "Cairney and Jones' lies have been exposed and now they have to serve their time for the heinous crimes they've committed.
"Margaret was a very vulnerable young woman when she was abused, neglected, manipulated and murdered by these two greedy, evil individuals.
"Margaret's family and friends will never know just what happened to her and they have been denied the right to pay their final respects to her at her funeral."
Cairney and Jones were ordered to cough up just £28k of the stolen benefits cash following a hearing at the High Court last year.
Their murder trial was the subject of a two-part BAFTA award-winning BBC Scotland documentary which was the first of its kind to gain permission for filming in a live courtroom.
Director Matt Pinder said the case 'was shrouded in complete mystery and intrigue from the get go' and said in 2022 that he would be 'surprised' if the killers ever came clean about what happened to Margaret.
He said: "It's in the hands of two people - maybe they'll find some sort of conscience and tell someone what they know.
"But there's no indication that'll happen as it is.
"I'll be amazed if it does, I'd be surprised."
Margaret was reported missing in October 2016 after concerns were raised about her welfare following a renewed benefits application by Jones.
A huge police search, including a forensic examination of the house where the couple claimed she lived, failed to find any trace of her.
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