Murdered banker's son saw his father dying

Published on 02/12/2004 00:50

THE four-year-old son of murdered banker Alistair Wilson saw his father dying on their doorstep after being gunned down by a killer who has yet to be found.

Andrew Wilson and his younger brother Graham, two, had just been put to bed by their parents on Sunday evening when the gunman came to their door in Crescent Road, Nairn.

Mr Wilson’s wife, Veronica, answered the door to the murderer, who asked for her husband by name. She returned inside but then heard three shots.

She ran out to find Mr Wilson, 30, with wounds to this head and body from which he died soon afterwards.

The couple’s eldest son heard her screams and followed her downstairs to see his father lying on the steps in a pool of blood.

Last night, Northern Constabulary refused to discuss that aspect of the incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter MacPhee said: "I will not answer any questions on the children."

But other police sources confirmed the boy had witnessed the horrific scene. One said: "It is true that Andrew saw his father lying in the doorway. It must have been terrible for him."

DCI MacPhee said the public has responded well to appeals for help to catch the killer but urged others to come forward.

"This is a horrific and callous crime, which has left a widow and two young children without a father just a few weeks before Christmas.

"I am confident someone must know the killer or at least have their suspicions.

"They may even know of a dispute between someone and Mr Wilson. These are the types of things we need to know about to help us establish a motive and capture a killer. Wittingly or unwittingly, someone must be harbouring a killer."

Mrs Wilson, 33, and her children are being kept at a secret location with a police liaison officer and, it is believed, armed protection amid fears for her safety while the gunman is still on the loose.

Mrs Wilson, who is not a suspect in the case, continues to give vital information to police.

Her husband was shot after being handed a blue or green coloured envelope by the gunman. The envelope, which was brought into the house by Mr Wilson and shown to his wife before he returned to the mystery caller, was not opened and has now disappeared with the killer, a stocky man aged 35-40 wearing a dark blouson jacket and baseball cap.

He was last seen escaping towards the Links area of the town.

Mrs Wilson’s father, Ronald Macdonald, was also inside the house at the time but police say that he neither saw nor heard anything.

DCI MacPhee said: "[Mrs Wilson] is bearing up remarkably well. Following the trauma of Sunday night there was only limited information we were able to get from her, but as the days go on we are able to get more information which is of great assistance to us.

"As time goes on, more and more will come back to her. That process is working very well but we have to be very sensitive," he said.

He dismissed reports that Mrs Wilson was seen in a hotel opposite her house shortly before the gunman appeared: "As far as I’m aware we have no information whatsoever that Mrs Wilson was outside her house immediately prior to the shooting."

Meanwhile, friends and colleagues of Mr Wilson have been unable to give police any clues as to why the quiet family man should have been targeted by a gunman.

Officers have interviewed more than 100 individuals since the shooting without establishing a clear motive for his apparently cold-blooded killing.

The new business manager with the Bank of Scotland in Inverness has been described as quiet and unassuming and someone who would avoid confrontation at all costs.

However, police have not ruled out the possibility that his killing could have been the result of a business grudge.

DCI MacPhee said a lifestyle survey is being carried out to examine Mr Wilson’s personal and business activities.

He added: "We are very much in the information-gathering stage and at the moment it has not thrown up anything startling.

"We have no exact lines of inquiry which lead us directly to the identity of the killer at this stage. There is no specific motive presenting itself to me, but it’s still early days."