LOVED-ONES of a cabbie murdered more than 40 years ago by a fiend dubbed the “Cheese Wire Killer” have ordered a £10,000 reward to help cops solve the case.
The cash is being offered to encourage people to come forward who may have DNA that could help identify George Murdoch’s killer.
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The plea comes after cops investigating the deadly attack on September 29, 1983, revealed they’d found a first direct link to the mystery attacker.
Technological advances mean they can now use genetic clues to look for potential relatives of the culprit.
Cops compiled a list of 200 people with possible genetic matches and hope one will produce a family tie to the killer.
Now in a statement posted on a Facebook page dedicated to securing justice for George and his family, campaigners told of the £10,000 incentive.
It reads: “In some families, dark secrets may lie buried for many years. The killer may only have told one who was very close to him.
“It is possible that this secret was known only to them and never shared with others.
“Hence why this new form of familial DNA testing can be so useful in tracking killers, no matter how many years may have passed.”
It added: “By offering this £10,000 reward sum, our hope is that it might act as an incentive and encourage everyone to comply.”
George, known affectionately as Dod, had gone out in his taxi and was later seen being beaten up on Station Road in the city’s Pitfodels area.
He was found there in a pool of blood with horrific injuries after being garotted with the cheese wire.
The partial DNA profile obtained at the scene, which belongs to a man, didn’t match anyone on the national police database.
The latest move in the investigation is based on the principle that DNA is inherited and all family members share certain aspects of it.
George’s wife Jessie died in 2004.
His nephew Alex McKay, 67, is the tragic cabbie’s last living relative and has previously put up part of a £50,000 reward.
The retired procurement manager, of Banchory, Aberdeenshire, said in September: “I dream about the day DI Callander phones up to say, ‘We’ve got him.’”
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The following month cops made a new TV plea on Crimewatch Live saying they are “more confident than ever” of solving the 41-year mystery.
Detective Inspector James Callander told the BBC show: “We are more confident than ever that we can successfully close this case – but we need the public’s help.”
He issued a call for info on a man seen wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt in Wilson’s Sports Bar in Aberdeen in 2015.
Nephew Alex spoke out on the 40th anniversary of the murder — amid hopes a podcast could finally help bring the mystery attacker to justice.
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And Alex admitted: “My throat still gets a little bit lumpy when I think about him dying and shouting for help. And nobody there to really help him.”
Podcast Who Is The Cheese Wire Killer? is available on streaming platforms.
