Killing of Sheila Anderson

Sheila Anderson, a 27-year-old mother of two young children, was killed in the early hours of 7 April 1983 on the promenade at Gypsy Brae in Edinburgh. Anderson worked as a sex worker in the Leith area, a district known for its red light activity and heroin use, and her family later said she had "got in with the wrong crowd" and become involved in drugs, which reportedly made her argumentative and confrontational with clients.

At around 11:25 pm on the night of her death, two police officers spoke to Anderson outside Lyndean House on Commercial Street in Leith and saw her speaking with a man. She is believed to have left with this man shortly afterward, travelling to Gypsy Brae, a spot popular with CB radio enthusiasts for its clear reception across the water to Fife. At around 11:45 pm, a CB radio user parked nearby noticed a car unusually driving along the seafront promenade, an area where vehicles did not normally drive, and went to investigate. He found Anderson's body; she had been run over and dragged for a considerable distance, with evidence indicating the vehicle had passed over her body at least once. Her watch, found beside her, had stopped at 11:54 pm, possibly marking the time of death. Her underwear was missing and was never recovered.

Investigators concluded that Anderson had had sex with the man before her death, but could not determine why he then killed her. Given her known habit of standing in front of clients' cars until they paid, and reports that she was confrontational when clients refused to pay, investigators believed she may have been killed after a dispute over payment.

Forensic analysis found deep red paint on Anderson's clothing, apparently from an overspray on the underside of a rusty vehicle, indicating the killer's car was red and would have sustained heavy damage, possibly requiring it to be written off. Police have appealed for anyone who recalls a partner returning home with a suspiciously damaged car around 1983. It was also determined there was a 50% chance the killer contracted a sexually transmitted disease during the assault, prompting appeals for anyone who recalls a partner seeking related treatment around that time.

Anderson's missing handbag was later found dumped in a car park roughly 17 miles from the murder scene, near the A1 road leading south from Edinburgh into England, supporting a theory that the killer may have travelled to the area for work — potentially on oil rigs or in construction — before returning south.

A full DNA profile of the killer was isolated in 2009, prompting renewed public appeals, including features on Crimewatch. The case has been credited with driving lasting changes in how police in Britain engage with sex workers, including the establishment of "tolerance zones" and enhanced protective measures in Edinburgh. The case remains unsolved and continues to attract media attention, including a 2021 podcast produced by actor Yeardley Smith and a 2022 episode of BBC's David Wilson's Crime Files.