Murder of Alistair Wilson

Alistair Wilson
Publicity photo of Alistair Wilson
Bornc. 1974
Died28 November 2004 (age 30)
Nairn, Scotland
Cause of deathMurder by shooting
Known forVictim of random unmotivated murder

Alistair Wilson was a banker aged 30 living in Nairn, Scotland who was shot to death on his doorstep on 28 November 2004.[1] The ensuing murder inquiry was one of the largest ever carried out in Scotland[2] and the crime remains unsolved. The apparent lack of motive and other unexplained elements of the murder have led to it being described as 'Scotland's most mysterious unsolved crime' and 'one of the most baffling cases of modern times', and it has attracted ongoing press coverage.[3][4]

Background

Wilson occupied a house in Crescent Road in Nairn with his wife Veronica and two young children while Veronica's father lived in the top floor flat.[5] At the time of the murder, Alistair was the business manager at the local Bank of Scotland branch.[3]

Crime

At around 7 pm on 28 November 2004, the doorbell of the Wilsons' house was rung and Veronica answered the door. An unidentified man wearing a baseball cap, dark blue jacket and dark jeans stood on the doorstep.[6] He asked for Alistair Wilson by name and Wilson went to speak to him. A few minutes later he returned to his wife carrying an empty blue envelope with the name Paul on the front.[4] Confused, he went back to the door, at which point Veronica Wilson heard three gunshots and, on going to the door, discovered her husband had been shot.[7] He died in hospital later that evening.[4]

In October 2020, The Guardian reported that Alistair's son Andrew was appealing for information about his father's murder. The police had revealed the type of firearm used, a 1930s 0.25 calibre Haenel pocket pistol and wanted help in identifying any user of such a pistol.[8]

In April 2022, Police Scotland announced that Wilson's involvement in a local planning dispute around a hotel decking area opposite his house was a likely motive for his murder. They said that the hotelier was not a suspect and that the killers were likely customers or builders involved in the construction of the decking area.[9] In 2023, Police Scotland announced that they believed two people had carried out the shooting and that one of them was likely a local they have identified who has spent time in prison for drugs offences.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Silvester, Norman (4 November 2018). "Murder cops on trail of expat who was former neighbour of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  2. ^ Wade, Mike (2 December 2017). "Mystery of 'weird' hitman who killed Nairn banker Alistair Wilson". The Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b Hughes, Mark (12 September 2009). "Getting away with murder: Britain's most notorious unsolved crimes". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c McAlinden, Mona (27 November 2017). "The mysterious envelope and the death of Alistair Wilson". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  5. ^ McAlinden, Mona. "The Doorstep Murder - The Wilsons". BBC. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  6. ^ McAlinden, Mona. "The Doorstep Murder - The Crime". BBC. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  7. ^ White, Gregor (28 November 2019). "On 15th anniversary of the murder of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson detectives repeat appeal for information". Inverness Courier. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Son of banker shot dead 16 years ago says his family deserves answers". TheGuardian.com. 11 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Police probe planning dispute in Nairn doorstep murder". BBC News. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  10. ^ Smith, Mark (7 July 2023). "Two men 'could have been behind' unsolved murder of banker Alistair Wilson". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.