David Gilroy Sentencing: Suzanne Pilley Killer's Fate To Be Televised

Scottish Murderer's Sentencing To Be Filmed For TV

The sentencing of a man convicted of murdering a missing woman whose body has never been found will be filmed for TV today in a legal first.

Cameras will be allowed into the Edinburgh court where David Gilroy will be jailed for life for the murder of book-keeper Suzanne Pilley, 38.

Gilroy, her former lover and colleague, was convicted of her murder last month after a four-week trial. Pilley disappeared nearly two years ago after making a routine journey to work in the centre of Edinburgh.

Following a successful application by broadcaster STV, the camera will be able to record judge Lord Bracadale as he tells Gilroy his fate.

It is said to be the first time in the UK that TV news cameras have been allowed to film a sentencing in a criminal court.

Gilroy had killed her in cold blood at her workplace and abandoned the body in a secret grave, thought to be in remote Argyll.

Gilroy will return to the High Court in Edinburgh, where he will be formally jailed for life for the crime, as required by law.

The 49-year-old - described by prosecutors as a "deceitful and controlling" individual - will also find out the minimum length of time he must spend behind bars before he can be considered for release.

Married Gilroy was convicted of murdering Pilley, of Whitson Road, Edinburgh, by "unknown means."

She had been filmed on CCTV making her way to work at Infrastructure Managers Limited (IML) in Thistle Street, but failed to arrive at her desk.

The court found Gilroy lured the bookkeeper to their office basement on 4 May 2010, after discovering she had spent the night with a new lover, and murdered her.

The killer, who embarked on a series of calculated steps to cover up his crime, was also found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by hiding her body and driving it to various locations in Scotland in the boot of his car.

Gilroy, from the Silverknowes area of Edinburgh, denied any involvement in her disappearance.

Following the verdict, the victim's parents, Sylvia and Robert Pilley, told how their ordeal would continue until her body was found.

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