Did cops kill my brother?

A woman whose younger brother died mysteriously almost 40 years ago has accused the police of killing him.

Helen McNee believes cops in Dumfries & Galloway are to blame for 19-year-old Dougie Wallace’s death in 1976, after he refused to testify in a court case.

Dougie was found in shallow water in the River Dee, a short walk from the family home in Tongland, on the morning of May 29.

Police ruled the apprentice bricklayer’s death wasn’t suspicious and his clothes were said to have been found neatly folded at the top of the river bank.

But his family is adamant he would never have taken his own life and Helen has turned amateur detective in her hunt for answers.

Helen, who was 22 when Dougie died, said: “He had been called as a witness in a court case involving his friend and decided he wasn’t going to testify. He said he was going to the police station in Kirkcudbright to inform them.

“We know he went to the pub for a couple of drinks and we’ve discovered he went to a late night bakery between 10 and 11pm. Staff advised him to stay until the torrential rain went off, but he said he wanted to get home.”

His body was found the following morning.

“Dougie wasn’t bad but he’d been in a wee bit of bother in the past,” Helen continued. “My belief is the police were waiting on him at Tongland Bridge on his way home that night or followed him, and got into an altercation over his decision not to testify. Maybe they didn’t mean for what happened but I think his cause of death was covered up.

“My parents were devastated. They never believed Dougie would do such a thing. Dad didn’t want to pursue it as he knew it would cause mum more hurt, but before he died in 2001 he asked me to look into it once Mum was away.

“She passed in 2008 and I told the family what I was going to do.”

Helen requested a police review of the case but was disappointed when the verdict remained the same.

“At the time of Dougie’s death, police told us his clothes had been found neatly folded at the top of the river bank. Dougie had never folded clothes in his life,” she added.

“I won’t give up searching for the truth, for him or my parents.”

Temporary Superintendent Bill Sturgeon of Police Scotland said: “A full review was carried out by officers from Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary and the findings were passed to the Procurator Fiscal.”

A Crown Office spokesperson said: “The circumstances of the death of Douglas Wallace were re-investigated by the police under the supervision of the Area Procurator Fiscal and the findings reported to Crown Counsel.

“In the absence of any evidence to support any view that Mr Wallace died as a result of the criminal act of another person, Crown Counsel instructed no proceedings be taken.”