On Monday, April 16th, 1984, someone sprinkled the home of the Doyles in Glasgow with petrol, then threw a match. The house went up in flames, burning to death all six members of the family in what was then Scotlands worst multiple murder a mass killing that was the climax to Glasgows notorious Ice Cream wars.
Two men were arrested and found guilty largely on the evidence of police officers. But on March 22nd, 2004, the Court of Appeal upheld their claim that they were wrongly convicted and freed them after 20 years in jail.
This was despite the judge at Glasgow High Court having told the trial jury: If these two men are telling the truth, you will have to accept that not one or two or four but a large number of detectives have deliberately come here to perjure themselves a conspiracy by officers of the most serious and sinister kind.
The convictions were based on suspicion one man was the leader of a Glasgow razor gang but both insisted they were not responsible for the Doyles deaths. The other suspect twice escaped from prison during his sentence to mount protests claiming his innocence, gluing himself to the gates of Buckingham Palace on one occasion.
So who sprinkled the petrol, who threw the match, who massacred the Doyle family? Strathclyde Police are not anxious to re-open the investigation, so the identity of the killer or killers is never likely to be known.