Family quit murder victim Vicky Hamilton's house of horror

May 11 2008 Exclusive by Lynn Mcpherson

A HOUSE linked to the murder of teenager Vicky Hamilton has been sold because its owners could not bear to live there.

Police stripped the semi-detached home to a shell in the hunt for clues about Vicky's disappearance.

Jackie Dyet and her husband Gary, both 36, who were unconnected to the investigation, have now sold the three-bedroomed villa for s144,000.

Vicky was last seen on February 10, 1991, as she headed home to Falkirk from Livingston, where she had spent the weekend with her sister.

She had to change buses at Bathgate and was last seen sitting on a bench, eating a bag of chips, about a mile from what later became Jackie's house.

Mum-of-one Jackie said: "It was a very distressing time.

"Police approached us onMay 4 last year and explained they would have to search the house as part of the investigation.

"When they said Vicky's name I was totally shocked. I grew up just a few streets away and remember all the searches for her way back in 1991. I remember houses being searched and even coal sheds.

"To think that all this time later her disappearance was being linked to my home was chilling."

The family moved into temporary accommodation as the search began.

Vicky's remains were finally uncovered at a terraced house in Margate, Kent, last November - 16 years after she went missing.

The next day, the remains of another missing teenager, Dinah McNicol, were also unearthed at the house and a man has been charged with murdering both girls.

A still-tearful Jackie added: "It was surreal. There were camera crews permanently parked outside.

"It was complicated as we were about to build a granny flat for my mumand dad, who had already moved in, but the police were so supportive."

The search is believed to have cost s20,000 and police removed the wallpaper and floorboards from the house.

Twenty officers, 10 civilian experts, an underwater search team and a bloodhound joined the operation, using specialist radar equipment to search beneath the house and garden.

A nearby nature reserve was also searched.

Police have remained tight-lipped about what they found in the house but at the time of the search Vicky's family claimed genetic clues linked to her had been discovered.

Care worker Jackie said: "We were out for just over a month and I thought everything would be fine once we were back in.

"But I just couldn't settle. My feelings about the whole house had changed. It went from being our dream family home to a nightmare.

"We had only lived here for two years and buying the house was a big milestone for us as we came from a small flat but I couldn't stop my imagination running riot about what may have happened here."

The Dyets have now bought a new home just a few streets away, while Jackie's parents are poised to moved into a nearby flat.

She added: "The family who bought it know the history and it doesn't bother them. They have a distance from it all so it's not an issue for them.

"We didn't plan on leaving here for a long time. Selling is a real sacrifice.

"A lot of lives have been affected but, at the end of the day, it is Vicky's family who have really suffered."

SUNDAY EMAIL

l.mcpherson@sundaymail.co.uk