Who Killed My Son? BBC Scotland Investigates

$:STARTFEED It's not the warm surf and sun-kissed beaches that have

drawn Harry Lindsay to the Costa del Sol. He is not here to relax.

The only way Spain can soothe him is to give up the secrets of his

son Chris's death. A death which has shattered those left behind.

The shock is the worst part of it. That is the worst part, I think.

The circumstances around it and not knowing. Not knowing if Chris

Lindsay was murdered. If the bruising goes right round the body,

if I was looking at that, I would have thought that demands an answer.

His family's demanding a police investigation. They are not

listening to us at all. We are going to keep chasing for them to

listen to us. Tonight, we follow Chris's father as he fights to find

Every father expects his children to outlive him. Harry Lindsay was

no different. Until the worst happened. In a cemetry near his

home, he showed me where his middle son was buried last October. Time

flies by that way and you would think it was yesterday. Sometimes

you wish it never happened. We have the photograph of him. Is this a

typical Chris photo? Aye, it is, his hair is flat. It is the one

because we thought he smiled. is him, that smile? Yes, that smile.

Do you talk to him? Oh, aye, you don't let go, yeah it gives you a

bit of release, that bit of quietness, you can sit and say how

you feel. Sometimes when you are here it's hard to leave. It's also

hard for Chris's dad to come to terms with his loss, not just

because his son was only phrbgs but Chris and his partner had a new

baby and he was doing so well at work, he had been rewarded with a

trip to Spain. He was doing very well. He was in a position with a

marketing company, that he was ready to take over an office

himself. That is why he was over in Spain, because he was an achiever.

Although the ones over there, Christopher was the only one who

didn't have an office, but because he was doing so well, they thought

they would reward him by asking him to come over, to go over to Spain.

Harry has since learned Chris was on a night out with his senior

colleague Brian Quinn. They became separated. In the early hours Brian

Quinn returned to their rented villa, Chris never did. What we

know now, 5.55 Christopher was found lying by the police, and

Fuengirola feng. He was unconscious. The police then phoned an ambulance,

and the ambulance came and they As Chris was being treated in

hospital, back home in Edinburgh, his partner Vicky didn't know

anything was wrong. She was busy looking after their new son Jude

when she received a frightening phone call from Spanish medics.

When they phoned me and I got all the emotions, I thought he could be

in hospital with just a broken afrl and then I thought, they are not

telling me anything, has he died. I was thinking has he died. "You need

to come to Spain now ". I was like, oh my God, what's happened.

even Chris's doctors knew that. His father flew to Spain to be by his

bedside. The doctors explained he was in a very critical condition

and he could die at any time, his kidney and liver weren't responding,

and he was on a ventilation machine. Obviously he was getting help to

breathe. This is your boy. Yes. This is possibly the end, what is

going through your mind as you are sitting there, Harry, hearing this

from the doctor? It was terrifying. We just wanted to see Christopher

to see what condition he was in. The doctor said if he did come

round, he would be in a very bad way. The family clung to what

little hope they had been given, but there would be no recovery.

After five days in hospital, Chris I remember I phoned my sister, and

all I could say is he's died. She was like, oh my God, even she was

in shock, everybody was in shock, and it was my birthday. I remember

thinking I'm never going to be able Then the time I was waiting for my

dad, I was running about the house, screaming and I phoned my mum then,

and my mum came as well and my house just descended with hundreds

of people. Throughout the day. Hundreds of bouquets of flowers.

And I still didn't believe it. looking into Chris's death, I have

studied the Spanish postmortem. It found that Chris died from multiple

organ failure, but pathologists couldn't work out why. I searched

Chris's medical notes for clues. They revealed doctors thought he

had partied too hard. They also record something more sinister, the

possibility of an attack. Chris was found without his wallet and

passport, and with extensive injuries. They did notice in the

left leg he had two deep lacerations on the knee, deep. I

was shocked about them. I noticed round from his stomach, round to

his back, there was bruising. That bruising was a mark that continued

from the front of his stomach to his back. Is it possible these

injuries could have happened if he fell over? No. They couldn't see it.

I was sure of it. Christopher had been attacked in some way. Harry

believes this photograph of Chris's body is clear evidence of an

assault. The picture shows heavy bruising on his side and stomach.

The hospital was sufficiently concerned to fill out a police

report. But that didn't trigger an investigation. So have the Spanish

authorities ignored a violent crime?

I wanted an expert opinion. Tom Wood was second in command of

Lothian and Borders Police. He agreed to review the case. They are

saying basically his organs failed but they are not sure what happened

before that. Without a full investigation, you have no chance

of finding that out. Take a look at the autopsy photograph there, it's

possible to see the bruising around his middle. What is your assessment

of that as far as you can tell? would be very hard to get that

accidentally. Usually if you fall when drunk, your face could be

injured, your hands and limbs can certainly be injured, as you try

and break your fall. Your knees and limbs can certainly be injured, but

it is very hard to injury yourself in this way, especially if the

bruising goes right round the body. If I was looking at that, I would

have thought that demands an answer. Would a case like this result in a

police investigation in this country? Yes. Yes, certainly it

would. Without the Spanish authorities taking similar action,

this little boy may grow up with lots of questions about why he has

no dad. Jude is Chris's third child. There are two older boys from past

relationships. All are victims in this tragedy. I think what is the

worst thing is the circumstances around it and the not knowing. If

you knew what had happened, then you would be able to process that,

but we don't know and what we are being told and what we are seeing

are different things. What we are being told has been contradicted,

and when we have asked for answers, we have not been given them. That's

made it hard. The charity Victim Support Scotland has taken up the

case. The family was referred to them by the Scottish Justice

Secretary. In fact, Kenny MacAskill was so concerned he raised Chris's

death with the Spanish consul general in Edinburgh. Even that did

not secure a formal investigation. Victim Support Scotland is not

surprised. I went to their annual conference to find out why. Because

if there is no investigation, there is no crime. If there is no crime,

no-one cares. Getting an investigation is an important

factor and we do experience a lot of reports from people who couldn't

get the police to believe them, to to take them seriously or or

investigate the crime. How do you feel about that? I think in the

21st century, it's terrible. This shouldn't be happening in Scotland.

It shouldn't be happening in the rest of Europe.

In the Spanish resort of Fuengirola, a serious crime may well have been

ignored. This is where Chris Lindsay came to celebrate with work

mates. It was a night out in this town that became a nightmare for

his whole family. Almost a year on, Chris's father decided to come back

to Spain to search for answers. Harry travelled with David Sinclair

of Victim Support Scotland. They met me to explain what they hoped

to achieve. Harry Lindsay's needs in this case are justice for what

he believes to be the mother and son. There is no inquiry and until

there is a formal investigation no- one will know what happened. How

optimistic are you that you can make that break through? You have

got to be optimistic. You have got to hope that you can get that. I'm

hoping we can get them to change. How important is it to you and the

wider family that you do get closer to the truth? It's hard to explain

how important it is. It is important for myself, my family,

it's important for everybody who has helped us. Harry Lindsay and

his family are on a very tight deadline now because the tissue

samples taken from his dead son will be destroyed in six months'

time and after that there would be no need for any investigation

because it is unlikely there would be any result.

We have pieced together what we know about the night which ended

with Chris being found collapsed in the street. This is the village of

Calahonda, about nine miles west of Fuengirola. Chris and eight others

from the marketing company were stay nothing a villa here. They

were on a four-day break, celebrating their sales success. On

the night of Saturday 1st October, the group were driven to Fuengirola.

They ate dinner at a restaurant on the edge of the town's busiest

night spots. According to those who were on the trip, they finished

eating at 12.30, most of the group then travelled back to the villa,

Chris and his senior colleague, Brian Quinn. They visited bars

along the seafront. They ended up here, the Old Town Cafe. Brian

Quinn says they became separated when Chris went to buy buy drinks

while he waited outside. Brian Quinn says he searched for Chris

without success success and took a taxi back to their villa at 3.00am.

Almost three hours later, Chris was found lying on the ground, just one

street away from where he was last By day, it is a bustling shopping

area, which Harry wanted to see for himself. What goes through your

mind when you think of him that night, perhaps a bit worse for wear,

and in your view being confronted by attackers? It's very frightening.

You are trying to live through where he was coming from, what pub

to come out, what alleyway did he come out from, who was following

him? How did he get attacked. What were the circumstances around that,

that put Christopher in the position he was in. Harry's tracked

down a man who is uniquely placed to shed new light on what happened.

He's the nurse who treated Chris when he first arrived in hospital,

and perhaps the only one to have heard his account of the night.

Jose Cabrera may be the last person Chris spoke to before he slipped

into a coma from which he would not recover. When I asked him what

happened to him, he said to me, later in the night, he stayed by

himself in the pub, and there in the pub he met two persons, two

black men. He said to me that. He started drinking with them. After

that, he said to me he went out from the bar and he had the

sensation, the feeling that someone was chasing him. After that he

didn't remember anything else, only he woke up in the hospital. Did you

think he had been attacked? Well he had signs of violence, all right.

He had bruises in the abdomen. It looked like it was hit here in the

abdomen. Looking at him as your patient, would you say he had been

attacked? I think so. Any doubt about that? No. It was impossible

that he could make himself those injuries, it was impossible. Do you

think the police should investigate this case? Yes, I think so. Because

of the physical injuries and Christopher's death as well, I

think so. Most of Chris's work mates flew back to Scotland two

nights after he went missing. They received a message at the airport

to say he was in hospital. Those I have spoken to said they didn't

think his condition was serious. So they boarded their flights without

him. Chris's family were still in the dark. It wasn't until the next

day they heard from the hospital that his life was in danger.

As the months have passed, Harry has become more determined to find

out exactly what killed his son. He refuse toss believe that alcohol

and drugs were entirely to blame. But we can't be sure they

contribute do his death. While we were in Spain we received a full

translation of Chris's medical notes. We We showed them to Harry.

They described Chris as a drug user, a toxicology report says he tested

Harry told us his son had weaned himself off cocaine weeks before

the Spanish holiday. Christopher had it bad. Maybe go on it for a

day, maybe longer. And I don't know how much, only in money-wise, cost-

wise, because I don't drink or smoke, I don't take drugs, so you

are probably asking the wrong person, because I have to try and

find out these things. But no, it's a waste of time, it is an ugly

habit, but I felt he was settling in to life now. He had maybe been

over that rocky period. A lot of boys and girls, they go through

throughout the years, it it could be drink or drugs or anything. I

felt Christopher was going past that and he was settling down. He

had his third son, and I felt this was the turning point for

Christopher. I felt we were on the track right with him now. You don't

pretend Chris was an angel. No he was not an angel, what boy is an

angel. You have to let them live their own life. You try and hope

they will learn by their mistakes, if they have made mistakes.

can't be easy for Harry to speak publicly about his family's

problems but he is prepared to do so in the hope it will bring him

him closer to the truth. It is a heartbreaking story, a father here

who still doesn't have answers 12 months on as to what happened to

his son. We hope to get some new information. Jose is speaking to

police and such and before we go away, we hope we may get an inquiry

into Christopher's death. I was still puzzling over why there

had not already been a full investigation. Chris was badly

bruised. His money and travel papers were missing. He told a nurt

he thought he had been followed. Why had this not prompted the

police to act. Perhaps because Chris was found in one town,

treated in another and died in third, his case is caught between

three different courts A judge in any one could have taken up the

case. None of them appears to have done so. Harry's best hope of

getting justice lay in a meeting with the police in Fuengirola. This

was his first opportunity to speak Harry and his team reemerged after

half an hour of talks. None of us expected what came next. How did it

go? It looks as if we have got the result we were looking for. They

are going to do an investigation now into Christopher's death.

kind of investigation? Well, as far as I am aware, a full investigation,

police investigation into it. The judge is sending the form down for

the police to carry on the investigation. No doubt about that

at all? No doubt at all. What did the police chief say to you?

don't know if it was the police chief, it was one of the inspectors

there. He had the formal report from the judge, sent from Malaga

down, and it is on the desk there. It is stamped and I think Jose is

getting a copy of that as well. What does it mean to you? It means

a lot. It is a lot off your shoulders as well. Now we can wait

and let people get on with the job. Hopefully the police will come up

with the answers for us now. What's made the difference? Very difficult

to say, but the inspector that we have spoken to said, made it clear

to us that they had had difficulties in getting a formal

decision from the judge, who controls this Fuengirola district,

and even now they have been told to proceed and make enquires, a formal

investigation, they are now writing back to the judge and seeking her

authority to travel to Scotland to interview people who travelled with

Christopher on that fateful trip. But the investigation is now

getting under way? It is now a formal police investigation. Thank

you very much. This dramatic development seemed to

lift a huge burden from Harry's shoulders. But starting an inquiry

doesn't guarantee results. The retired lawyer who helped Harry get

this far is only too well aware of that. I asked Jose whether it was

already too late for a successful investigation. I hope no. I hope no.

I really think so, that it is too late to find some evidence because

the evidence doesn't assist any longer. The hospital, even the

hospital has lost the trousers, the shirt, everything, all the things.

They were obligated to keep here for six months. There is no

evidence. But I think the police, the only thing they can do now is

to go to Scotland and to interview all the friends of Chris. It's the

only thing. I don't think there is Early the next morning, as Harry's

mission to the Mediterranean drew to a close, I sat with him as he

reflected on the promise of a police investigation. Do you think

they have left it too long to get all the answers? I think so, yes. I

think that's something you have got to be realistic about, that you

might not get everything you want. But to get this far, this is

tremendous. To get where we are just now. This is really good.

Anything that comes along now will be a bonus, and hopefully an extra

bonus, but we will wait and see. We will see how we get on. Have you

ever felt like giving up? It's not in my make-up. What is it that

It's for Chris's sons, Harry's grandsons that he is determined to

go the extra mile to find the truth. The journey has already been long

and wearing. -- waring. Late the next nim, Harry arrives

back home. His family are waiting. They don't yet know he has secured

We did fine. We went there, went to the justice and we got it. They are

going to do a formal inquiry into Christopher's death. We can't ask

for any more than that. You've done well: It's a formal investigation

and it is now for the police, the authorities in both countries, I am

sure there will be co-operation to carry out any investigations. As I

have said to your dad, where it goes from here is really for them

to determine. It's really good news. We are a bit happier now. Maybe the

the pressure is off us now a bit. We will take it one at a time.

police are expected to begin their investigation by interviewing those

work colleagues who were with Chris in Spain. Brian Quinn, who stayed

out drinking with Chris that fateful night didn't want to be

interviewed for the programme, but in a statement he said" I find it

absolutely shocking that neither the Spanish police nor the UK

police have made any contact at all with myself or any of the party

that was out in Spain, so they could make a start and fully

investigate what happened. I hope this programme might trigger such

an investigation so hopefully we can all find out what so tragically

happened to Chris ". Yesterday was the first anniversary

of Chris Lindsay's death. A year on, the mystery is becoming harder to