Scotland’s top law officer has ordered a complete reinvestigation into the 2004 murder of a banker who was fatally shot on his doorstep.
The murder of dad-of-two Alistair Wilson, 30, in the Scottish Highlands remains unsolved.
In an update on Monday, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said a new team of prosecutors and Police Scotland officers will work on the full cold case investigation.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said: “This was a deeply disturbing crime in which a devastating loss was suffered by Mr Wilson’s family.
“There have been strenuous efforts made over many years to resolve this case and a great deal of evidence has been gathered.
“However, I have decided that it is appropriate for all the details of the case to be considered afresh and for further investigations to be made.
“It is my sincere hope that this secures justice for Alistair Wilson’s family and for the wider community who have been affected by this violent crime.”
Mr Wilson with one of his sons. Pic: Police Scotland
Mr Wilson was shot at his home in Crescent Road, Nairn, on 28 November 2004. He died later in hospital.
He had been reading bedtime stories to his two young sons after their evening bath when a man knocked on their front door.
When Mr Wilson’s wife Veronica answered, the killer asked for his victim by name.
A blue envelope, which had the name Paul on it, was handed to Mr Wilson on the doorstep.
Mr Wilson went inside briefly, but when he returned to the door he was shot.
To date, no one has ever been charged with Mr Wilson’s murder.
Mr Wilson’s sons at their father’s graveside. Pic: Police Scotland
In 2022, Police Scotland said a dispute over decking at the Havelock Hotel – across the road from the Wilsons’ home – was “significant” to the investigation.
Mr Wilson had objected to a retrospective planning application for a large decking area within the car park of the hotel, arguing it was responsible for increased noise and litter in the area.
He filed the objection to the local authority on 25 November 2004, three days before he was killed.
Investigators said the objection was discussed in the hotel bar from Friday 26 November, and over the weekend up until his murder.
A key witness in Canada was interviewed by detectives in regards to the planning application.
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Following police appeals, a witness reported seeing two men, one in their 20s and another between 40 and 60-years-old, on Nairn’s East Beach in the weeks before the murder.
The witness said the younger man was in possession of a handgun.
The handgun used in the murder, which was found days later, was a Haenel Suhl pocket pistol from the 1930s.
The murder weapon. Pic: Police Scotland
Police believe the weapon was brought to the UK after the Second World War as a souvenir, but the ammunition used in the murder was said to be from the 1980s or 90s.
In December last year, Mr Wilson’s family complained about the handling of the police investigation.
In a previous appeal in 2020, Mr Wilson’s son Andrew, who was aged four at the time of the shooting, said: “The only memory of my dad I’m left with is the image of him lying on the doorstep.
“Photographs are all I have and no family should suffer the way we have all these years.”
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Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: “We are now approaching the 20th anniversary of the murder of Alistair Wilson, and our thoughts remain with his family and the loss they have suffered.
“We remain committed and determined to identify Alistair’s killer and to get justice for his family.
“We are in the process of identifying the investigation team and it will be overseen by a detective chief superintendent in their capacity as a strategic senior investigation officer.
“They will conduct a thorough reinvestigation of this murder.
“Unresolved murder cases are never closed in Scotland and there is no time bar to providing the police with information.
“We would appeal to anyone who may have information not yet shared with the police to come forward and report.”