Football fans at Aberdeen's Pittodrie stadium will be asked this weekend to help solve one of Scotland's most notorious unsolved murders, 43 years after a taxi driver was killed with a cheese-wire garrotte on the edge of the city.

George Murdoch, known to everyone as Dod, was 58 when he was found dead beside his cab in September 1983. A cheese wire was discovered nearby. Despite decades of investigation, nobody has ever been charged.

On Sunday the club's matchday programme will revisit the case, in the hope that a supporter who was in the city that autumn remembers something that has never reached detectives.

The last fare

On the evening of 29 September 1983, Mr Murdoch picked up a passenger in Aberdeen's west end and radioed his control room to say he was heading for Culter.

About two miles into the journey he turned onto Pitfodels Station Road. There he was attacked and murdered.

Two cyclists saw the assault and raised the alarm. By the time police officers arrived, it was too late to save him.

His wallet and cash were taken. Yet investigators have never been able to establish whether robbery was the motive or whether the theft was intended to disguise another reason for the killing.

His widow, Jessie, had long feared for his safety on the night shifts. He often reassured her that he would never resist if a robber confronted him. She died in 2004 without seeing anyone brought to justice.

Police at every turnstile

The investigation produced one of the most unusual operations in Scottish policing history. Detectives believed the attacker would have been left with cuts to his hands and perhaps bruising to his face after the struggle.

About three weeks after the murder, officers were stationed at all 44 turnstiles at Pittodrie for an Aberdeen v Celtic match. They checked the hands of every man in the 20 to 30 age group as he entered the ground.

The operation did not produce the breakthrough police wanted. Now the same stadium is being used for a very different appeal: not to inspect supporters, but to ask for their memories.

In recent years, detectives have re-examined DNA evidence recovered from the scene and explored possible family links. The case has also featured on the BBC's Crimewatch, and a £50,000 reward was previously offered for information leading to the killer.

'Just a name'

Mr Murdoch's nephew, Alex McKay, was 26 at the time of the murder and has campaigned for justice ever since. He and his wife, Robina, hope Sunday's programme reaches someone who has been holding on to a piece of the puzzle.

"We always hope to get the message out there, looking for somebody that has some piece of information," Mr McKay told BBC Scotland News.

"They may not even know it's important, but it may well be not just important but essential in terms of helping us solve this case."

Asked whether he believed someone knows what happened to his uncle, he replied: "100%."

Mrs McKay said the family is often asked what the point is after so long. "All that's important is that we get his name," she said. "If we knew who did this, just a name, I feel that would be justice for Dod."

Why old cases can still be solved

Cold-case investigations across Scotland have repeatedly shown that time can work in favour of detectives. Loyalties change, relationships break down and people who once stayed silent may feel able to speak decades later.

Advances in forensic science also mean that material collected in the 1980s can sometimes be analysed in ways that were unimaginable when it was first bagged as evidence.

A football crowd is an unusual but logical audience. Many of the supporters at Pittodrie on Sunday will have been regulars in 1983, and some may have stood in the queues as officers inspected hands at the turnstiles.

The question for detectives is whether one of them noticed something that autumn — an injury, a change in behaviour, a remark overheard — and never thought to report it.

How to contact police

Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101. The force has also set up a dedicated email inbox for the inquiry, and information can be passed anonymously through the charity Crimestoppers.

For the Murdoch family, the hope is simple. After 43 years, they want the man who killed Dod on a quiet road outside Aberdeen to be identified at last.