I didn't kill Linda

"If I get a life sentence then I will probably die in prison I couldn't expect parole because people who are victims of miscarriages of justice don't get parole"

JUST days before the guilty verdict murderer Glyn Razzell spoke exclusively to the Advertiser to protest his innocence and reiterate his claim Linda is alive and well somewhere.

Last Tuesday he said: "I'm feeling exhausted it has been a dreadful ordeal, worse than I was expecting. Obviously I'm very worried, but I'm not expecting to be found guilty. I know I'm innocent and I hope they (the jury) will find the same.

"I think that Linda has gone off under her own steam and own free will and the reason I think that is because of the statement of Jolanda Gingell."

Postwoman Mrs Gingell gave police a statement saying she had seen Linda driving a silver Ford Fiesta in the Lechlade Road area of Highworth and even made eye contact with her the morning after she vanished.

In her statement, which was read to the court during the trial, she said even knowing what she does now she is convinced it was Linda Razzell she saw that morning.

Razzell said: "Linda knew Jolanda through playgroup 10-years ago. Jolanda is a strong woman and I don't think she would make a mistake like that she came forward of her own volition because she said she saw Linda the day after she went missing."

Razzell has been at the heart of Operation Docker since Linda went missing on Tuesday, March 19 last year. The operation's senior investigating officer, Paul Granger, was convinced Razzell was guilty of murdering his wife.

"My life is in ruins. I haven't been able to work for two years, my career is trashed and I'll have to start again," said Razzell. "My main concern after the trial is Linda's family who have my children.

"My guess is that they were looking forward to the trial, that I would say where the body is and that they would have closure because they believe that is what has happened. I don't know how they will react to my acquittal.

"I don't know where Linda is, I didn't kill her and I didn't even know her movements. We just had nothing to do with each other.

"They've made me out to be a cool, calculated killer it's a completely irrational thing to go out and murder and get away with it. No way on earth would it be possible to do that I don't wish Linda ill in that way.

"I don't think she is dead because I know that I haven't killed her, don't know why anyone else should have killed her and there's no body."

Throughout the trial Razzell, who maintained his innocence from day one, said Linda was more than capable of leaving without trace.

He said: "There's another side to Linda her family are well aware of and didn't come out during the trial. She does sometimes put herself first, but I have to say I could not envisage circumstances where she would leave her children for 18-months. She could do it for a month if things got on top of her, but I don't understand why she has not come back.

"From here there is no easy way forward regardless of the outcome of the trial. If I'm found guilty I'll try to find a way to heal and correct a dreadful miscarriage of justice because they do still happen.

"If I'm acquitted, as I am expecting to be, how do I approach Linda's family? It's going to be absolutely horrendous."

Throughout the police investigation, which saw forensic officers go through his Meadow Road home with a fine toothcomb and dig up his patio, Razzell always had the spectre of suspicion hanging over him. However, he said the situation drew him and his girlfriend, Rachel Smith, closer together.

"This situation has brought us together," he said. "Rachel has supported me through this and we have faced it together.

"Since I was charged I've had my innocence to prove and, in some ways, my life has had a bit more meaning. My relationship with Rachel is firmer. I did suffer from depression for three years, but that is long behind me."

The prosecution evidence seemed damning. Blood, which forensic scientists said there was a one in a billion chance of it not belonging to someone related to Linda, was found in a car Razzell was driving the day she vanished. But still Razzell could not offer an explanation as to how it got there.

"I don't know how the blood has got there, I don't know who put it there and I don't know when it got there, but neither do the police or CPS," he said.

"The only person who knows is the person who did it. I don't think she has been murdered by anybody I'm at a loss to explain it. I'm worried about Linda. It worried me that she might have mental problems.

"Although I don't have any feeling left for her, of course I still worry about her. I haven't seriously thought about prison. If I get a life sentence then I will probably die in prison I couldn't expect parole because people who are victims of miscarriages of justice don't get parole."

Razzell gave evidence in the witness box for three days during which time he was fiercely cross-examined by barrister Michael Parroy QC.

Razzell said: "I felt like a rabbit in the headlights cannon fodder for them. I saw Linda's brothers in the public gallery and just had to shut them out.

"I think the police had made their minds up about me right from the start. It's an obvious assumption to jump to. Some of the officers believe in their hearts I'm responsible and set out to prove it rather than keeping an open mind

"I'm not perfect and I am a chess player, but I'm a man who cares about his children although separated from them. If I'm guilty of anything it's having a poor memory, certainly not murdering my wife.

"The support friends have given me through this has been important and helped me through, no question. I'm stronger for it and I'll come out at the end trying to find something positive from it.

"I hope to have a bit of a party, but there is nothing to celebrate there are no winners in this, everybody loses really. I'm going to have to open a dialogue with Linda's family and I don't know how to start there are a lot of things to sort out in terms of practicalities."