Murder of Margaret Fleming
Margaret Fleming (1980 - c. December 1999/January 2000) was a Scottish woman who was murdered by her nominated carers Edward Cairney and Avril Jones in the village of Inverkip, Inverclyde, Scotland. Background

Margaret Fleming was born in 1980. She had learning difficulties which had been identified at a young age. After her father died in 1995, Fleming began to live with a couple he had been close friends with - Edward Cairney and Avril Jones. Living with them at their house "Seacroft" in Inverkip, they became her full-time carers, with Jones managing Fleming's disability benefits. The last independent sighting of Margaret Fleming was on 17 December 1999, when she had visited the brother of Jones with the couple at his house. The following week she was not present with Cairney and Jones at a family Christmas dinner. On the 5th January 2000, Jones claimed to her mother that Fleming had left with a member of the travelling community. Fleming was killed by the couple between 18 December 1999 and 5 January 2000, with the murder being concealed and Jones continuing to receive Fleming’s benefits. In 2016, changes to the social security system meant Fleming was required to reapply for disability benefits. Jones completed an application form for new benefits on Fleming's behalf which raised concern. It was discovered that no one from social services had been in contact with Fleming for 17 years. When the Department for Work and Pensions were unable to contact, Police Scotland visited the couple's home and were unable to locate Fleming. This resulted in a missing person's investigation being launched. Investigation and outcome
Despite a painstaking search of their dilapidated property and its junk-filled garden, no trace of Fleming's body has ever been found. In 2019 Cairney and Jones were convicted of Margaret Fleming's murder and given life sentences. They were also ordered to pay back her benefits. The police investigation and subsequent murder trial were the subject of the BBC two-part documentary Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Margaret Fleming, broadcast in January 2020. "Seacroft"
"Seacroft", the bungalow where Fleming, Cairney and Jones lived, stood on the coast, beside the A78 road about  to the south of the village. In 2017 the property was sold. In January 2020, planning permission was given to build two new houses on the site, with the house being demolished in early March the same year. See also
List of solved missing person cases

References

2000 in Scotland
2000s missing person cases
2000 murders in the United Kingdom
Female murder victims
Missing person cases in Scotland
Murder convictions without a body
People murdered in Scotland
Inverclyde