Alistair Wilson: Theories, a blue envelope and the hotel wrangle - inside Scotland's doorstep murder mystery

It is one of Scotland’s most talked about unsolved murders that has involved thousands of statements and interviews being taken as part of a two decade-long police investigation spanning both sides of the Atlantic.

Yet no one has ever been charged in connection with the cold-blooded killing of Alistair Wilson. As Scotland’s top law officer orders a complete reinvestigation of the case, here are some of the key questions.

What exactly happened 20 years ago?

In what became known as the ‘doorstep murder’, Mr Wilson was fatally wounded on November 28, 2004 after a man called at his family villa in Nairn. The caller initially spoke to the 30 year-old’s wife, Veronica, and asked for her husband by his name. Mr Wilson, who was getting ready to read a bedtime story to his two sons, came downstairs, and the man handed Mr Wilson a blue envelope with the word ‘Paul’ written on it. Mr Wilson went back inside briefly, but when he returned to the door, the man opened fire three times with a handgun.

Mr Wilson, who was shot twice in the head and once in the body. The 30 year-old died an hour later at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

Do we know anything about the suspect?

Gunned down on his doorstep: Alistair Wilson

Veronica Wilson has described the stranger who killed her husband as a white male with a stocky build. She estimated his height at between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 10ins.

The man, who was clean shaven, had a dark baseball cap pulled down over his face, and was wearing a dark blue bomber-style jacket and dark jeans. Mrs Wilson said the man was aged between 35 and 40 at the time, but detectives believe he could have been aged anywhere between 20 and 40, meaning he would now be 40 to 60 years old.

What happened to the blue envelope?

When Mr Wilson went back into his home after first speaking to his killer, his wife said he showed her the envelope, which was empty. It has not been seen since, but criminologists have suggested it may have been linked to Mr Wilson’s role at the Bank of Scotland, or could have been a pseudonym.

Do we know about the murder weapon?

Ten days after the murder, an antique pistol, a 1920s Haenel Schmeisser semi-automatic, was recovered from a drain in Nairn’s Seabank Road, around half a mile away from the Wilson family home. Forensic tests confirmed it was the weapon that was used in the incident.

It is believed the weapon was brought to the UK after the Second World War as a souvenir, but the ammunition used in the murder was from the 1980s or 1990s. In 2016, a second Haenel Schmeisser was found in Nairn and handed to police.

A replica of the gun used in the killing of Alistair Wilson. Picture: PA | PA

Is there any other evidence?

Following a renewed appeal in 2022, police received a reported sighting of two men with a handgun on Nairn’s East Beach a month before the murder. The witness said one man was in his 20s, while the other was aged between 40 and 60.

What did Alistair Wilson do for a living?

The murder victim was born and raised in North Ayrshire, where he attended Beith Primary and later Garnock Academy in Kilbirnie. He went on to study accountancy and business law at the University of Stirling, before starting work as a graduate employee at the Bank of Scotland. He later worked in private finance and specialist lending projects at the bank’s Edinburgh headquarters. Mr Wilson went to work for the bank, which became HBOS, in Inverness, where he was responsible for securing loans for small to medium-sized companies

Is his job implicated in any of the theories surrounding his murder?

Among the many theories is the unsubstantiated claim Mr Wilson borrowed tens of thousands of pounds from money lenders linked to organised crime. It has also been suggested that loan sharks may have tried to blackmail him into laundering money through his bank.

However, in 2022, Police Scotland’s major investigation team said they believed the answer to Mr Wilson’s murder “lies within his personal life” and was not connected to his employment.

Did Mr Wilson fall out with anyone?

The banker was involved in a planning wrangle over decking at the Havelock Hotel in Nairn, which sits yards from the murder scene. The father-of-two had objected to a retrospective application for the decking, which he insisted increased noise and litter levels. As part of their investigation, Police Scotland officers flew to Canada in 2022 to interview an expat Scot who was landlord of the hotel at the time. The force has described the dispute over the planning application as “significant” to the investigation.

What other possible theories are there for his murder?

Where do you begin? From claims of a doorstep negotiation gone wrong, links with the IRA, mistaken identity - a theory given fuel by the blue envelope - and the notion that a professional hired killer took Mr Wilson’s life, the case has attracted all sorts of speculation over the years. No evidence of these or dozens of other theories have ever been substantiated.

Has the police investigation been questioned?

The case has been the subject of intense scrutiny, and the Wilson family are among those to have raised concerns about the way it was dealt with by authorities. In December last year, they complained to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner about the handling of the police investigation. At the time, Police Scotland, and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said they had met the family to discuss the matters raised by them.

Why has the complete reinvestigation of the case been ordered now?

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said “strenuous efforts” had been made to resolve the case, with a “great deal” of evidence gathered. However, she said it was appropriate for all the details of the investigation to be “considered afresh” and for further investigations to be made.