Arlene Fraser's family talk to law chief over about offering deal to her killer

May 11 2008 Exclusive by Lesley Roberts

THE family of murdered Arlene Fraser have held secret talks with Scotland's Lord Advocate after backing a possible deal to find her remains.

They met Scotland's leading law officer Eilish Angiolini after Arlene's husband Nat's appeal against his murder conviction was thrown out last week.

The family - including mum Isabelle Thompson and dad Hector McInnes - have backed a "trade off" deal with Fraser that would see his 25-year sentence shortened if he finally tells them what happened to the mum-of-two.

Arlene's sister Carol Gillies told the Sunday Mail how they had the behind-closed-doors talks after a personal request from Angiolini.

Carol said: "The Lord Advocate was very sympathetic. She said she wanted to meet us because it had been such a long case and she'd been thinking of us.

"Natmay lodge an appeal against the length of his sentence. That will be the next hurdle for us. He's taking a risk by appealing - they could increase his sentence.

"But maybe a reduction would be the carrot he needs to tell us the truth."

Arlene vanished in 1998 and no trace of her has been found. Her fruit-and-veg dealer husband was found guilty of her murder in 2003 but has never disclosed the whereabouts of her body or shown any sign of remorse.

Carol, 44, of Erskine, Renfrewshire, admitted that the meeting with Angiolini had come as a surprise.

She said: "It was really nice of her to take the time to try and comfort us, telling us that there are a lot of people who support us and care about Arlene."

Fraser, 49, was still protesting his innocence last week despite three senior judges ruling the case against him was "compelling".

Carol said: "I don't think he'll ever reveal the truth unless there's something in it for him.

"I cannot keep trying to appeal to his better nature because he does not have one.

"Personally, I would like to see Nat Fraser stay in jail until he dies. But he knows everything and we're left with the real, raw pain of the unknown.

"We're trying to weigh up whether it would be better to see him out early if it meant we could find out everything.

"And I know that will be hard for us to hear but we could at least deal with it at last. We need to be able to confront it and move on."

At his original trial, it was revealed Fraser had paid a hitman to kill 33-year-old Arlene but he got rid of the body himself.

Investigators believe he burned the remains and even ground down Arlene's teeth in a callous attempt to destroy evidence.

Her heartbroken family suffered the agony of seeing him freed in 2006, pending his appeal. Now he has been returned to prison to serve the remainder of his time, they can rest easier in their beds.

But they torment themselves with so many theories over what became of Arlene.

Carol said: "It's in my thoughts every single day. It would help us to know what happened. It would bring us some peace."

'He'll only reveal the truth if there's something in it for him'

Arlene's sister Carol

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