Sunday, 6 Oct 2024

Teary detective recalls finding ‘right foot’ during Emma Faulds murder trial

A detective teared up in court while telling a murder trial about the moment he found Emma Faulds' body in a remote forest.

Detective constable Ben Pacholek was giving evidence at the trial of Ross Willox, who denies murdering Emma, 39, at his home at Fairfield Park, Ayrshire, on April 28, 2019.

Prosecutors allege Willox, 41, dumped her naked body in Glentrool Forest, Dumfriesshire, after killing her by means unknown, the Daily Record reports.

Dog handler DC Pacholek was part of a massive police operation that was involved in searching forest areas in Dumfriesshire for Emma, who was reported missing on April 30.

DC Pacholek said his dog Bear, who was specially trained to find dead bodies, began barking which indicated he had found something.

The policeman took Bear back to the police van and then returned to the spot to investigate further after donning sterile gloves.

"What did you see?" Mr Kearney asked, and the officer replied "a right foot".

DC Pacholek continued: "I lifted the vegetation to see if it was a body part or torso. I could see the lower portion of a naked body."

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"You had been searching for many days, what did you think you and Bear had achieved?" Mr Kearney asked.

In a voice breaking with emotion, DC Pacholek replied: "That we had done what we set out to do and we found her."

The prosecutor then said "Emma Faulds", to which the police officer agreed.

The court heard that DC Pacholek reported the find to his superior officer and the site was cordoned off.

He and Bear joined the search on May 21, 2019 and by June 12, 2019 he estimated that they had walked over 200 miles.

When asked by prosecutor Paul Kearney why that area in Glentrool Forest had been chosen to search, DC Pacholek replied: "The accused had some involvement in working on a wind farm nearby."

Mr Kearney said: "It was known that Ross Willox had previously worked on wind farms in the Galloway area," and he replied: "Yes."

The prosecutor then asked if the searches were "intelligence-led", to which the policeman replied: "Absolutely."

Defence QC Donald Findlay asked the officer: "Is there a wind farm anywhere near the deposition site," and he replied: "No"

When asked where the nearest wind farm to the stop where Emma's body was found, he replied: "Less than 10 miles away perhaps."

The trial continues.

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