The mysterious disappearance of mother- of- two Arlene Fraser in Elgin, Moray has dominated the headlines since 1998.

It was on April 1998 that Arlene Fraser was last seen after which there has been no news of her till date. A case was filed on her missing and Nat Fraser (missing lady’s husband) was held liable for her missing. The investigation authorities believed her to be dead and her husband was charged with the assaulting and attempting to murder his wife. The crimes are said to have taken place in the months before Mrs. Fraser vanished from her home. Later in the year 2000, Nat Fraser was jailed for 18 months for assaulting Arlene, who had been missing. Nat Fraser was again jailed for a term of 12 months after admitting legal aid fraud. Three men were indicted for the murder of Arlene Fraser and the men involved were her estranged husband Nat Fraser, his friend Hector Dick and English businessman Glenn Lucas. They all were charged with the conspiring to murder Mrs.Fraser.  In the year 2003, the trial of three men accused of murdering Arlene Fraser begins. It hears she disappeared on the day she was due to see a solicitor about a divorce. In the same year the charges against two of the three men in Edinburgh hears that the crown would not be proceeding against Hector Dick and Glenn Lucas. The key prosecution witness Hector Dick denies that he killed Arlene Fraser and he tells the court that Nat Fraser had hired a hit man to kill his wife. The husband claims he did not kill his wife rather he loved his wife and he wanted her back. And the jury in the trial of Nat Fraser finds him guilty of murdering his wife, who went missing almost 5 yrs ago. By the end of the same year Nat Fraser lodges an appeal against his conviction for murdering his wife.

In the year 2005, Nat Fraser wins appeal. Evidence emerges which suggests that a key witness in the Arlene murder case lied. In the year 2006, certain enquiries were made available where it was stated that relevant evidence were not made available to the trial of Nat Fraser and thereby Nat Fraser who was jailed for murdering his wife, was freed from jail pending his appeal. Arlene’s family was unhappy with the decision of the court and hence pleaded the court to re-think about the bail. And one of the men of Arlene murder case was found dead in his home on 14^th September 2006. In the year 2007, a date was set for hearing the appeal and thus the appeal against Fraser murder case begun. The appeal judges heard that the Prosecutor was unaware of the evidence and also it was relied that the police had lied on Fraser murder case to get Nat Fraser convicted. There were circumstantial evidences to prove the guilt of Nat Fraser. The defence team relied their arguments based on Mrs. Fraser’s ring which was not found , it was a mistake made by the officer in the case who was thinking she saw the ring in the house shortly after Mrs. Fraser disappeared. The appeal court hears that a judge in the trial case made a mistake which made it harder for a crown to seal the conviction. And also the appeal court held that a mistake in the Fraser trial does not mean that the case is unfair. The appeal court held that the overwhelming circumstantial evidence did not suffer a miscarriage of justice. After appeal again Fraser is back in jail. Ten years after the disappearance of Arlene Fraser, Nat Fraser lost his appeal against a life term for killing his wife. On 3^rd October 2008, Nat Fraser plans to ask the Court Of Criminal Appeal if he can apply to the Privy Council of London. In the Year 2009, his plea to go for appeal to the Privy Council was set aside by the Court Of Criminal Appeal. By the end of the same year Nat Fraser claims at a legal debate before the judges in Edinburgh that his earlier appeal did not get a fair hearing. In the year 2010, the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeal held that his appeal was incompetent and hence could not withstand. Again in the same year he goes for appeal to the Supreme Court in London. His right to appeal succeeds in the year 2011whereby his case is being finally heard by the Supreme Court in London and wins his appeal by getting his conviction quashed.

Report by Alka