We are campaigning for the Scottish Government & Lord Advocate to order a full public inquiry into the investigations carried out by Police Scotland into the murder of Barry Dixon, and the Crown Office handling of the case. The failures and negligence that we are aware of so far are scandalous. Police Scotland have made efforts to cover up the serious negligence and failures of individual officers for their own reputational benefit, which is institutionally corrupt.

On the evening of the 3rd of June 2019, the Police in Perth received 2 seperate reports that we know of so far, from members of the public, at different times in the evening, reporting Robbie Smullen was violently assaulting others. He was subject to 3 seperate bail orders and a court ordered 7pm to 7am Police Curfew, so he should not have been out among the public. The Police did not pick him up and he then ended his spree of violence when he stabbed Barry to death, in a calculated, deliberate, and unprovoked attack.  He forced his way into the property, stabbed Barry through the chest, then ran out. 

Because of this failure by the Officers involved to apprehend Robbie Smullen while he was at large and on a spree of violence, the scene was set for the shocking negligence and failures that followed, as they focused their efforts on covering up their failures instead of investigating the murder of Barry. They allowed 4 individuals caught fleeing the scene, to just go after briefly stopping them, failing to follow their own protocol in managing the crime scene, despite knowing 2 of the occupants of the car were Robbie Smullen's mother, Mary Smullen, known as Theresa Townsley, and his brother, Mark Smullen.  Witness testimony was heard in court confirming they were heard planning to blame Barry's murder on Robbie Smullen's ex-girlfriend and planning to pretend that Robbie Smullen had been home all evening. When they entered the property and found Barry alive, but seriously injured, they were not deterred from their wicked plan. They attempted to film Barry, before taking photos of him bleeding out and dying.  They made what we believe to have been a staged call to the emergency services, pretending to be the girl they were attempting to frame for Barry’s murder before he was even dead.  

This call recording was played in court and Barry is heard screaming out ‘NO’ in the background repeatedly, he sounds petrified and there is clearly something happening to him. If they had told the truth instead of continuing with their plan to frame another person, the emergency services would have known that Barry's organs were already shutting down and that he needed vital fluids and the emergency care of a surgeon in a road vehicle, who could have administered this at the scene. They, however had a depraved indifference to Barry's life and only cared about their plan to frame someone else, so they didn’t bother to inform the operator that Barry had been stabbed through the chest at least half an hour earlier.  As soon as they ended the call, they fled the scene, leaving Barry for dead. They could have been taking action to stop the bleeding until the emergency services arrived or just comforting Barry, or they could’ve even just waited at the door to flag the emergency services in, but after taking heinous photos of Barry bleeding out and trying to frame someone else right in front of him, they fled the scene, closing the security entrance to the block of flats behind them. 

Barry made it to hospital but died a few hours later in surgery; the hospital confirmed that he had suffered immensely. It was 2.45am when the Paramedics and Police were on the scene, and it was confirmed that Barry was identified at that point. Despite his obvious critical state, the Police failed to contact Barry’s family and when he later died just before 6am, the Police failed to inform his family.  News of Barry’s death was circulating on social media all day and we had no idea, until the Police finally came to let us know after 2pm in the afternoon. Barry had already been taken to the Police Mortuary and they were about to begin a post-mortem.

A Police Officer who had been at the crime scene smiled for sick, inhumane selfie photos with friends of Barry’s killer, who then uploaded the photo publicly to social media just over an hour after Barry died - the Police allowed this photo to circulate for weeks. No action has been taken against this Police Officer for his inhumane behaviour.

The Police later told Barry’s family that he had been found seriously injured, undressed wearing only boxer shorts. They also told the Crown Office that Barry was undressed wearing only boxer shorts - this was a LIE. We repeatedly raised concerns about this knowing Barry would not have undressed to just boxer shorts in the property where he was attacked, but we were ignored.

We asked to have an independent post-mortem carried out before Barry was buried, but the Crown Office refused our request. Because of what we had experience with the Police during the investigation up to that point, we felt terrified that we would find ourselves in a position after Barry was buried, that forensics had not been carried out because we knew he would not have undressed. After the trial, our fears were realised, when it was confirmed, there was no forensics taken of vital evidence.

During the unsuccessful prosecution trial of Robbie Smullen on the charge of Barry’s murder, the Crown presented this false narrative of Barry undressing to just boxer shorts in the property where he was murdered, the Jury were shown CCTV footage of Barry in a shop a few hours earlier and in the street, and they were specifically told that Barry had undressed when inside this property from the clothing he is seen wearing on CCTV. The Jury were told that Barry had been undressed wearing only boxer shorts, OVER 30 TIMES when it wasn’t even true, and the Police involved with the investigation had known this wasn’t true all along.  During the trial, a substantial amount of vital evidence that could’ve ensured a murder conviction wasn’t presented by the Crown, it was as if they didn’t want a murder conviction, so that they could somehow lessen Barry’s victim status. 

After the verdict, but before the sentencing, it was finally admitted by Police Scotland that the information they provided stating Barry was found wearing only boxer shorts was false, he had not undressed. Shockingly they had in their own evidence the entire time the clothing removed from Barry at the hospital, clothing soaked in blood that they had recorded as being identically matched to their own CCTV footage of Barry in a shop earlier in the evening. They knew Barry had never undressed and hadn’t been found critically injured wearing only boxer shorts but ignored what they knew and ignored the evidence to allow this false narrative to continue.  This was only finally admitted because we persistently chased the release of Barry's clothing.

With this new information the Crown did nothing and they ignored us until after the verdict, hoping we would give up, overcome with trauma, and upset. In what we believe to be misfeasance in public office, a senior manager from the Homicide Team within COPFS then wrote to us stating that she and the Depute Advocate Erin Campbell decided that distinguishing between shorts or boxer shorts would’ve made no difference to the defences position of provocation, alluding to a mix up of words, which is factually not the case, and a deliberate attempt to mislead. The Jury were shown CCTV footage of Barry in a shop snd in the street and he was referred to as dressed and referred to as wearing shorts, the Jury were then told that Barry had gone into a property and undressed from this clothing to just boxer shorts which was never true, it was a complete lie. A Police Sergeant fabricated this to take the attention away from the fact that he and his colleagues had not responded to the calls reporting Robbie Smullen on a spree of violence while at large.

We are asking the Scottish Government to confirm that our child mattered, that every child’s life matters and that Justice matters. Corruption, collusion, and terrible negligence from individual officers of Police Scotland is not okay.  If different officers had been on duty that night Barry would still be here, so this isn’t right. Police protocol exists to ensure it doesn’t matter which officers are on duty, and it doesn’t matter if personal prejudice exists because the Police protocol acts to ensure the same process is followed for all victims, in all circumstances but this protocol is not fit for purpose if serious action is not taken against the individual officers who decide not to follow it.  Every person has a right to Justice, and if Police protocol was followed justice would not be selective. 

it’s not complicated to restore the public’s trust in Police Scotland and COPFS, both are fit for purpose, if protocol and procedures are followed, it’s not difficult to ensure Protocols are followed by just taking swift action against the individuals who decide not to.

The Scottish Government has publications to assist the families of murder victims. Some of these publications state that you can ask the Procurator Fiscal for a meeting at any time following the murder of a family member and more than once. Well in the weeks following the murder of our child we wrote to the Procurator Fiscal asking for a meeting, but they filed our letter and completely ignored our request.  We then wrote a second letter but it was again filed but we were completely ignored and so denied such a meeting.  We then had to speak to a solicitor for advice before writing a 3rd letter to the Procurator Fiscal, but we were again completely ignored and denied such a meeting. After writing to COPFS repeatedly we finally received an apology for our letters being ignored but we are still waiting to find out why we were subjected to such discrimination.  During the trial we were told by the Depute Advocate that a post trial meeting soulfully be arranged and we would have an opportunity to view the forensic report along with other evidence.  This was extremely important for us and it’s something that’s also mentioned in literature as something available to the families of murder victims following a trial, but COPFS subjected us to even more extraordinary and cruel discrimination when we were informed the meeting would no longer be provided. The Scottish Government clearly believes there are processes and protocols in place and that there is support for victims and families in place, but this is no use if families are denied this very support, while they are ignored and while those very processes are ignored. This is far far worse than there being no processes and no support, this makes the actions deliberate and malicious and this must be investigated with an enquiry.