'Execution' appeals draw blanks

Appeals have produced a poor response

Police have drawn a "disappointing" response to appeals for information after a murder in Glasgow, thought to have been a gangland execution.

Frank McPhie, 51, was killed by a single shot to the head outside his home in Maryhill on 10 May.

A week after the incident, detectives reconstructed the last movements of Mr McPhie, who twice had not proven verdicts returned against him on murder charges.

Officers spoke to about 150 people in the area but no new witnesses have come forward.

Detective Superintendent Graham Vance said: "I am bitterly disappointed at the poor response from the locals and to date we have received virtually no information from previous appeals."

Last week, a description was issued of a ginger-haired man seen walking away from the murder scene but there have been no clues about his identity.

Frank McPhie: Shot dead with a single bullet

DS Vance added: "I am positive that there must have been someone in the area at the time of the murder and seen something or someone acting suspiciously.

"I am not quite sure why people seem reluctant to contact us."

In the early 90s, McPhie was jailed for eight years for his part in a £200,000 drug deal and had served jail terms for previous offences.

Two years ago, a jury returned a not proven verdict on a charge of murdering 25-year-old bridegroom Christopher McGrory two weeks after his wedding.

A year earlier Mr McPhie and another man were charged with murdering killer William Toye in his cell at Perth Prison. The verdict on both was not proven.

There has been speculation that Mr McPhie - who lived in a flat with his partner and four children - was killed in an escalating turf war over drugs.