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COLD case detectives are re-interviewing old witnesses as they bid to solve the murder of a 12-year-old boy 19 years ago.

Youngster John Rogers was bludgeoned to death less than half a mile from his home in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, in July 1996.

The youngster’s body was found in a burn near a golf course, weighed down by a lorry tyre.

His murder remains unsolved after his alleged killer walked free from court due to police and Crown Office blunders.

But prosecutors have now told John’s mother Linda McConville that police have begun interviewing old witnesses again.

Linda, 50, told the Record: “It is a huge step forward. It means that it’s not just an initial inquiry or a wee report here or there

“It is a very serious step. We have waited all these years to get to this point and get justice for John.”

John disappeared after going to Wishaw golf course to look for lost balls. His body was discovered the next morning.

A local man with learning difficulties, Peter Quigley, was later arrested. But his trial at the High Court in Glasgow collapsed when it emerged he should have been accompanied by an adult during his police interview.

The new probe into John’s death is being led by the Crown Office’s Cold Case Unit.

John’s sister Kirsty, now a mother of two, has also taken up the fight for justice.

The 29-year-old set up a Justice for John Rogers Facebook page to gather support from her local community. More than 660 people have joined the group.

She said: “It took me a very long time to deal with what was going on. But now I am older, and I have kids of my own, it has just always been there and I feel that it’s something that needs to be addressed.

“This has broken my mum’s heart and she doesn’t have a lot of fight left. I don’t want any of my parents passing away without seeing justice.”

Kirsty said a childhood friend contacted her to say she had already been reinterviewed by police.

It is understood they are going back over statements and no one new has come forward.

A Crown Office spokesman said: “COPFS maintain a database of all cold case homicides and cases to which the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act may apply.

“The Cold Case Unit work closely with Police Scotland to review these cases to ascertain if there are any new evidential developments, including advances in forensic techniques, which would assist in providing a basis for criminal proceedings.”

Police Scotland confirmed John’s case “has been and will be under review at different stages”.

Anyone with information should call the force on 101.

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