Woman 'ran for her life' from Emma Caldwell murder accused

Iain Packer is accused of murdering Emma Caldwell in 2005

A woman has told a jury she "ran for her life" after being attacked by the man accused of murdering Emma Caldwell.

Iain Packer was alleged to have choked the woman in the back of a van in Glasgow in 2005.

She told a trial at the city's High Court the attack only stopped when a security guard shone a torch into the vehicle.

Mr Packer denies killing Ms Caldwell and a total of 46 charges against 27 other women.

The woman had been working as a sex worker when the incident took place months before Ms Caldwell's body was found in Limefield Woods, South Lanarkshire.

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She was aware of Mr Packer from him driving about the city's red-light zone known as "The Drag".

She recalled an occasion when she was picked up by him in the city's Broomielaw and headed to a side street next to a nearby casino.

The woman claimed Mr Packer had become "rough" and "tried to strangle [her]".

She said she was only able to push him off when a security guard appeared at the window of the vehicle and Mr Packer let go.

The woman said she ran back up the Broomielaw and told two police officers about the incident minutes later but they did not do anything beyond threatening to charge her with prostitution.

Mr Packer is accused of indecently assaulting the woman sometime between August 2003 and March 2005.

She did not report the attack to officers until 2019 after she was shown a photograph of Mr Packer by a journalist who was making a television programme about the case.

'Running for my life'

However, she said she gave three statements to detectives investigating Ms Caldwell's murder in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Ronnie Renucci, defending, later put to the woman that Mr Packer was not the man who picked her up that night. She insisted it was.

The KC asked at one stage why she had not stopped the person who shone the torch in the van for help.

The woman said: "I was running for my life. I ran past him."

The trial later heard from a statement a former sex worker - who has since died - gave to police after being contacted in 2019 about a "historic" incident.

She recalled a man, who she claimed to be Mr Packer, had driven her to woods outside Glasgow and pointed a plastic or toy gun at her.

No wrong turns

The woman said he had driven for 40 minutes then another 20 to get into the woods "while never making any wrong turns".

Prosecutor Mr Goddard went through the statement with PC Sara Hamilton, one of the officers who met with the woman.

Mr Goddard concluded this was sometime between October 2004 and March 2005 "before the body of Ms Caldwell was found in remote woods down the M74 in Limefields Woods".

PC Hamilton replied: "Yes."

It is alleged he indecently assaulted the woman and presented the imitation firearm at her.

Mr Packer denies strangling Ms Caldwell in the remote woods near Biggar in 2005 and concealing her body.

The murder charge alleges Mr Packer assaulted Ms Caldwell by restraining her, grabbing her wrists and strangling her with his hands and a cable.

He is then said to have dumped her naked body in the woods as well as disposing of her clothes, phone and other personal belongings.

Mr Packer is alleged to have cleaned a car to "avoid detection, arrest and prosecution".

The trial before judge Lord Beckett continues.