Detectives investigating the deaths of three north-east men killed in suspicious fires say their five-year probe has drawn a blank.
Police reopened the file on two historic blazes at Fraserburgh after receiving fresh information in 2009.
Derek Youngson, 19, and stepfather Derek Roy, 47, died in a blaze at a top-floor flat at the town’s Kirk Brae at noon on Hogmanay 2006.
Police questioned nearly 300 people after the fire, but were not able to identify the cause.
Officers agreed to review the case three years later. And just weeks into their inquiries, police announced that they had learned new details about another tragic fire in the town.
Gordon Graham, 43, died when a blaze broke out at his High Street home in May 1998. Following a lengthy investigation at the time, the then-Grampian Police ruled the fire was an accident.
However, the force said it would reopen the files on this incident as well.
Reports on both fires were submitted to the Crown Office in May, 2012. At the time, Detective Superintendent Malcolm Stewart said the families of the men who died “deserve justice.”
Last night, a police spokeswoman confirmed no one had been charged in connection with either incident. She said investigations were ongoing, but declined to comment further.
The Crown Office said the reports were still under consideration.
Mr Youngson’s mother Cathy, from Fraserburgh, believes that her son and his stepfather Mr Roy were murdered. She believes flammable liquid may have been poured over a pile of rubbish on the ground floor of the building then set alight.
Mrs Youngson could not be reached for comment last night. She previously said the police were “trying their best”.
“I want to find out what happened to my son,” she added.
Mr Youngson was a former pupil of Fraserburgh Academy and Oakbank School in Aberdeen and had been preparing to celebrate the New Year when the fire broke out.
Both men were believed to have been overcome by smoke and fumes while trying to escape from their flat and their bodies were found by firefighters.
The fire broke out just before noon on Sunday, December 31, and other tenants in the block were rescued by builders who had been working nearby.
A team of 20 firefighters took about 40 minutes to put out the blaze.
Anyone with new information about either incident is urged to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.