- Film student Greg Mackie, 18, died in a suspected drink-spiking incident in 2017
- His parents believe his drink was drugged but no-one has ever been convictedÂ
The devastated parents of a university student who died after his drink was spiked have said their son was ‘murdered’.
Greg Mackie, 18, died in a suspected drink-spiking incident while studying Film and Media in Edinburgh.
The tragic teenager collapsed in his halls of residence, and a toxicology report found he had the equivalent of five ecstasy tablets in his system but no trace of alcohol.
His heartbroken mother Mandy Mackie said she believed her son was ‘murdered’ but nobody has ever been identified as being responsible.
It comes as the number of spiking cases recorded by Police Scotland has risen rapidly over the past five years, according to STV’s Scotland Tonight which is set to be broadcast this evening.
Greg Mackie died in 2017 after being found to have the equivalent of five ecstasy tablets in his system
His parents believe the 18-year-old had his drink spiked but nobody has ever been found responsible for his death
Colin and Mandy Mackie created the Spike Aware UK charity in 2017 following the death of their son, Greg
Since 2023 some 168 spiking cases have been reported to police in Scotland, the broadcaster said, but only nine of those passed onto the Crown Office.
The others were deemed to be lacking in evidence.
Scotland Tonight reported that in 2019 just 44 suspected spikings were reported, but the number increased to 295 in 2021-22.
Colin and Mandy Mackie, the parents of the Moffat teenager who died while in Edinburgh in 2017, have told of their devastation at the loss of their son.
Mrs Mackie told STV: ‘No one’s ever been pinpointed for it. It was always shoved under the table as a drugs overdose.
‘On my son’s death certificate, it says a drugs overdose – but as far as I’m concerned, my son was murdered.’
They were left in disbelief when two police officers knocked on the door in the early hours to inform them their son was ‘dead from a drug overdose’.
Mr Mackie said: ‘Greg would’ve been 25 yesterday and I’ll always wonder what he would be doing now.
‘Would he be married now? Would he still be single? I just don’t know – and that’s the one thing I’ll always wonder as each year comes.
‘What would he be doing now? Where would he be? We’ll never know.’
In Greg’s case police were not able to prove who was responsible so no further action was taken, the broadcaster reported.
Confusion, hallucinations and suddenly acting paranoid are among the signs that a person’s drink has been spiked
More than 8,500 reports of spiking were made to 39 police forces across the UK that responded to a freedom of information request in 2022, up from around 1,650 in 2018
But Mr and Mrs Mackie said they felt police did not seriously consider the possibility he had been spiked.
Mrs Mackie said: ‘We ended up doing a lot of looking into things that were going on and finding out things ourselves, because no one was telling us anything. We were just alone – there was no one.’
The couple have since set up a charity, Spike Aware UK, which supports victims of drink and needle spiking and raises awareness of the dangers.
Superintendent Joanne McEwan said Police Scotland continued to ‘investigate reports from people having been ‘spiked’ either with a needle or in their drink’.
She said: ‘We are not always able to determine the reasons why a perpetrator carries out an assault in this way, but would like to reassure you that every report is taken seriously and perpetrators are dealt with swiftly and robustly.
‘People should be able to go out for a night out without fear of being spiked.
‘We are working with a range of partners, both locally and nationally, to ensure licensed premises are safe spaces for all, through the continued delivery of ByStander Awareness training.’
