In January 1953, aircraftsman Iain Hay Gordon was arrested on the charge of murdering 19 year old Patricia Curran close to her home in the village of Whiteabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Police were proud of their conviction and were glad that a brutal murderer was off the streets. Gordon was released quietly in 1960 and returned to Scotland. The communities in Northern Ireland continued to mourn Patricia and believed she had got justice. This would all be called into question however in 2000 when the Court of Appeals in Northern Ireland stated unequivocally that Iain Hay Gordon had not committed the murder. Shaky police interrogation techniques and a lack of evidence was cited as part of the problem with this miscarriage of justice.
Important information provided by:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/21/rosiecowan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep9T8F0NlRQ Part 1 and 2
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://sluggerotoole.com/2015/03/25/after-almost-70-years-the-murder-of-patricia-curran-casts-a-long-shadow/
https://innocent.org.uk/2017/07/10/48-year-fight-to-clear-name-iain-hay-gordon-2000/
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/patricia-curran-case-if-father-desmond-knew-her-killer-he-hid-it-well-31511196.html
http://www.irishnews.com/news/2015/09/04/news/patricia-curran-murder-may-never-been-solved-after-death-of-brother-251168/
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/eoin-mcnamee-on-patricia-curran-s-murder-still-haunting-after-all-these-years-1.2230564
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1378970/Cleared-of-murder-after-50-year-fight.html
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