A man who was cleared of murdering his sister at a Perthshire witch memorial has urged police to find her killer.
Breaking his silence after a high court case against him collapsed, Jordan Johnstone told how he now regrets moving the body of 22-year-old Annalise, who he claims died in his arms.
Jurors returned a not proven verdict against Mr Johnstone and his ex-partner Angela Newlands following a gruelling trial at Livingston High Court last summer.
Mr Johnstone has now told the Scottish Sun on Sunday how he found his sister’s body at the Maggie Wall witch memorial on the edge of Dunning, near Auchterarder.
He said he is still being blamed for her death and decided to speak out, saying: “I want people to know I never did it”.
He said Annalise had joined himself and mother-of-four Ms Newlands on a trip to transport a caravan from Irvine to Inchture.
They stopped off at the Maggie Wall shrine, where Mr Johnstone went off “to spend a penny.” He returned and found his sister lying on the ground.
“At first I thought she had been stabbed in the chest,” he said. “All I could see was the blood on her chest. When I put her on her back, she wasn’t breathing properly. It was like a weird horrible sound like a dying animal.”
Mr Johnstone said he dumped his sister’s body on the B8062 Dunning to Auchterarder road, where it was discovered by hillwalkers setting out to climb Craig Rossie the following morning.
He told the Sun: “I moved her somewhere she could be found the next day, which is what happened.
“I carried my sister. I walked until I couldn’t walk any more and put her over a wall.”
The 26-year-old said: “Every muscle in my body was burning. I knew people walked down the road and cycled, anybody would have seen her from where she was.
“It was pitch black at night. I didn’t know what to do. It’s not as if I had it all planned out.”
He added: “I had nothing to do with the murder. I should never have moved the body, but I’ve never been in that situation before.
“I was trying to protect her so she got a proper burial. I thought if I get killed, I’m not bothered.”
Mr Johnstone said he spoke to his sister as he carried her down the road. “I was telling her I loved her and begging my mammy to look after her. My mum passed away.
“I was begging my mum: Please look after her.”
Police Scotland has reopened the case. “From our point of view, this is an unresolved homicide,” a spokesman said. “We will investigate any new information that we get.”
A Crown Office spokeswoman added: “The case remains open. Careful consideration would be given to any further evidence that comes to light.”
