Freed killer Eddie Gilfoyle claims “vital evidence” was withheld after claims police kept wife’s diaries

Jan 11 2012 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

POLICE held evidence for at least 17 years which could have potentially have helped free a Wirral man convicted of murdering, it was claimed at the weekend.

Eddie Gilfoyle was jailed in 1993 for killing his eight-months pregnant wife Paula, who was found hanged in the garage of their Upton home.

Mr Gilfoyle, 50, served 18 years in jail and was released in December 2010 on parole having lost two appeals in 1995 and 2000.

On Sunday it emerged police were in possession of two of Mrs Gilfoyle’s personal diaries, which provide insight into her personality, for at least 17 years.

It is not known whether the diaries were found during the original investigation or in 1994 when police reviewed the inquiry.

Mr Gilfoyle said: “This is just one example of withholding vital evidence in my case for which I did not receive a fair trial.

“I do hope now there will be a swift referral of my case to the Court of Appeal.”

A police spokesman said: “We handed over a significant amount of material from the investigation to Mr Gilfoyle’s legal representatives in August 2010.

“The material referred to was part of that.”