UK UK - Alistair Wilson, 30, murdered at home, Nairn, Scotland, 28 Nov 2004

[shadwell]

Some background and a few points of interest in this piece from the week after the shootings:

Crescent Road is an affluent area: traditional stone-built villas similar to the Wilsons' are advertised in Nairn estate agents' windows for offers in excess of Pounds380,000

So if (as suggested earlier on this thread) AW bought the house for “a hundred and some-odd thousand” a couple of years earlier, he seems to have got a significant discount.

Alistair Wilson was a successful man and last year was involved in forming a new team for Bank of Scotland business banking.

But only a year later he was leaving the new role.

Referring to AB:

The man, who moved to Nairn with his wife from England in April, was clearly still upset as he described the scene.

This would only be around a month before construction of the decking apparently began. Not much time to become golfing buddies. And according to AB’s wife:

The couple, who live very close to the Wilson family, did not know them personally.

AB describes the immediate aftermath:

I'd been there about 10 minutes when one of the people from the bar here came and said somebody had been shot. It took me about a minute to get to the door, it's something that just doesn't happen here.

THE MISSING KEY Just before Alistair Wilson was shot in the head, the killer handed him an envelope which the victim took into his home, but never opened. Police believe he already knew its contents and, if it can be found, it will solve the mystery

"IT'Sjust unbelievable, " said the barman at the down-at-heel Windsor Hotel, around the corner from the shooting. "Things like that…

www.heraldscotland.com

 

[shadwell]

A couple more snippets from a Herald article the previous day:

One of yesterday's rumours was that the gunman had escaped across the Moray Firth in a speedboat that had been found abandoned on the Black Isle.

Mr MacPhee said they had received a report relating to a speedboat on the other side of the Moray Firth and of a man in a boat in Nairn harbour on Sunday and both were being investigated, but he did not attach much significance to these at this stage.
——————————-

There is talk that the couple had been keeping a particularly low profile in the weeks before the killing, while others say they were a quiet, unassuming couple who were seldom noticed in any case.

Mr MacPhee said that, while most of his colleagues said he appeared normal in the days before his murder, there had been spells when Mr Wilson had been ''off colour''. But again, he said that did not appear to be significant.

Fear fuelled by death on the doorstep Highland town swept by rumours after killing

THE murder of Alistair Wilson has changed Nairn. People who left their doors unlocked and walked free of fear during the hours of darkness now stay…

www.heraldscotland.com

NB: The Herald looks to have plenty of articles on the case from the time, but it appears the free article limit is two, after which you have to subscribe.

 

[leuraman]

Some background and a few points of interest in this piece from the week after the shootings:

Crescent Road is an affluent area: traditional stone-built villas similar to the Wilsons' are advertised in Nairn estate agents' windows for offers in excess of Pounds380,000

So if (as suggested earlier on this thread) AW bought the house for “a hundred and some-odd thousand” a couple of years earlier, he seems to have got a significant discount.

Alistair Wilson was a successful man and last year was involved in forming a new team for Bank of Scotland business banking.

But only a year later he was leaving the new role.

Referring to AB:

The man, who moved to Nairn with his wife from England in April, was clearly still upset as he described the scene.

This would only be around a month before construction of the decking apparently began. Not much time to become golfing buddies. And according to AB’s wife:

The couple, who live very close to the Wilson family, did not know them personally.

AB describes the immediate aftermath:

I'd been there about 10 minutes when one of the people from the bar here came and said somebody had been shot. It took me about a minute to get to the door, it's something that just doesn't happen here.

THE MISSING KEY Just before Alistair Wilson was shot in the head, the killer handed him an envelope which the victim took into his home, but never opened. Police believe he already knew its contents and, if it can be found, it will solve the mystery

"IT'Sjust unbelievable, " said the barman at the down-at-heel Windsor Hotel, around the corner from the shooting. "Things like that…

www.heraldscotland.com

I think timeframe here on sold prices is key, on Rightmove two similar houses in Crescent Road were sold at £140k and £170k around that time so that was closer to what AW might have paid, unfortunately his house is not there but details could possibly be found elsewhere.

 

[shadwell]

I think timeframe here on sold prices is key, on Rightmove two similar houses in Crescent Road were sold at £140k and £170k around that time so that was closer to what AW might have paid, unfortunately his house is not there but details could possibly be found elsewhere.

Ah right - looks like the Herald somewhat hyping local prices. Couple of points from looking at that - Lothian House (aka 10 Crescent Road) is listed on rightmove as selling for £162,100 on 28th February 2003 and the sale date for Havelock House is down as 7th May 2004. If the decking was built six months before the murder (per the BBC piece) that’s hardly any time at all for AB and AW to become golfing buddies.

House Prices in Crescent Road, Nairn, Nairnshire, IV12

The average price for a property in Crescent Road, Nairn, Nairnshire, IV12 is £392,000 over the last year. Explore Rightmove house prices to find out how much properties sold for in Crescent Road, Nairn, Nairnshire, IV12.

www.rightmove.co.uk

Doorstep murder: Police have new man in sights over banker shooting

The development comes after a flurry of activity in the hunt for the killer of banker Alistair Wilson.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[shadwell]

In a similar vein, this 2022 Record piece quotes Bleksley stating that in their 2009 interview AB “admitted that he paid too much for the Havelock.”

This piece is the third ‘revelation’ that AB was on the scene minutes after the shooting - previously noted by Bleksley in 2009, but also less than a week after the shooting by the Herald (see my previous post).

Key witness in banker's murder was at scene of shooting as probe takes new twist

Publican Andy Burnett stopped the dying dad from slipping off the stretcher and fixed his watch at the scene of the shooting in 2004.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

 

[CSIAngus]

In a similar vein, this 2022 Record piece quotes Bleksley stating that in their 2009 interview AB “admitted that he paid too much for the Havelock.”

This piece is the third ‘revelation’ that AB was on the scene minutes after the shooting - previously noted by Bleksley in 2009, but also less than a week after the shooting by the Herald (see my previous post).

Key witness in banker's murder was at scene of shooting as probe takes new twist

Publican Andy Burnett stopped the dying dad from slipping off the stretcher and fixed his watch at the scene of the shooting in 2004.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Surely AB could easily be at the scene quickly as he owned the pub opposite. Indeed AW's wife ran there asking for help. There is ample time for AB and AW to have played golf together on numerous occasions. The decking planning motive really is clutching at straws.

 

[CSIAngus]

What has never been fully explained, unless I have missed something, is why in 2007 the Police took the DNA of over 1,000 local men in relation to this case. There's either DNA evidence or there isn't. Pub talk could be key to Nairn banker's doorstep murder

 

[dotr]

5th August 2007 rbbm

Claims shot Nairn banker owed gangsters £50,000

Police hunting the killer of Alistair Wilson, the Nairn banker shot on his doorstep three years ago, yesterday said they could not comment on…

www.heraldscotland.com

''Police hunting the killer of Alistair Wilson, the Nairn banker shot on his doorstep three years ago, yesterday said they could not comment on reports that he owed gangsters £50,000.


It was claimed yesterday that Mr Wilson had borrowed the money from loan-sharks linked to the Glasgow underworld to finance a business venture.
When he was unable to repay it, the 30-year-old father of two was shot dead, according to a Sunday newspaper.''

''Police went as far as to collect DNA samples from 1000 locals, to compare with saliva from a cigarette butt found close to the murder scene.

At the time, officers said 19 DNA profiles had been isolated on the doorstep and just inside the vestibule of the house where Mr Wilson was shot, but only 18 have been identified.

Two reviews by detectives from Grampian Police of evidence and information gathered by Northern Constabulary failed to identify any possible leads.''

2012

Cops Giving Up On Banker's Murder

Police Baffled Three Years On

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

''Around 250 have still to provide samples and under 50 have refused.

Mr MacPhee said: "The group who have declined are not being treated as suspects but we will have to eliminate them. However, we do not know if the DNA sample belongs to the killer."

 

[leuraman]

5th August 2007 rbbm

Claims shot Nairn banker owed gangsters £50,000

Police hunting the killer of Alistair Wilson, the Nairn banker shot on his doorstep three years ago, yesterday said they could not comment on…

www.heraldscotland.com

''Police hunting the killer of Alistair Wilson, the Nairn banker shot on his doorstep three years ago, yesterday said they could not comment on reports that he owed gangsters £50,000.


It was claimed yesterday that Mr Wilson had borrowed the money from loan-sharks linked to the Glasgow underworld to finance a business venture.
When he was unable to repay it, the 30-year-old father of two was shot dead, according to a Sunday newspaper.''

''Police went as far as to collect DNA samples from 1000 locals, to compare with saliva from a cigarette butt found close to the murder scene.

At the time, officers said 19 DNA profiles had been isolated on the doorstep and just inside the vestibule of the house where Mr Wilson was shot, but only 18 have been identified.

Two reviews by detectives from Grampian Police of evidence and information gathered by Northern Constabulary failed to identify any possible leads.''

2012

Cops Giving Up On Banker's Murder

Police Baffled Three Years On

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

''Around 250 have still to provide samples and under 50 have refused.

Mr MacPhee said: "The group who have declined are not being treated as suspects but we will have to eliminate them. However, we do not know if the DNA sample belongs to the killer."

The idea of a banker borrowing from loan sharks seems very far fetched to me. The DNA analysis is clutching at straws due to lack of evidence from the scene. Still looking for the motive if he was the intended target. Still favour mistaken identity.

 

[CSIAngus]

5th August 2007 rbbm

Claims shot Nairn banker owed gangsters £50,000

Police hunting the killer of Alistair Wilson, the Nairn banker shot on his doorstep three years ago, yesterday said they could not comment on…

www.heraldscotland.com

''Police hunting the killer of Alistair Wilson, the Nairn banker shot on his doorstep three years ago, yesterday said they could not comment on reports that he owed gangsters £50,000.


It was claimed yesterday that Mr Wilson had borrowed the money from loan-sharks linked to the Glasgow underworld to finance a business venture.
When he was unable to repay it, the 30-year-old father of two was shot dead, according to a Sunday newspaper.''

''Police went as far as to collect DNA samples from 1000 locals, to compare with saliva from a cigarette butt found close to the murder scene.

At the time, officers said 19 DNA profiles had been isolated on the doorstep and just inside the vestibule of the house where Mr Wilson was shot, but only 18 have been identified.

Two reviews by detectives from Grampian Police of evidence and information gathered by Northern Constabulary failed to identify any possible leads.''

2012

Cops Giving Up On Banker's Murder

Police Baffled Three Years On

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

''Around 250 have still to provide samples and under 50 have refused.

Mr MacPhee said: "The group who have declined are not being treated as suspects but we will have to eliminate them. However, we do not know if the DNA sample belongs to the killer."

Thanks dotr. Very interesting. I had missed the substance of that potential line of inquiry and the amount of activity that it generated. I guess it may still be useful if a suspect with no connection to the location were to be a match for the cigarrette butt, or other unidentified sample. My current belief is that the killer was unfamiliar with the town and was driven there. Targeting the wrong man in the wrong house.

 

[kenmack87]

I don't get how anyone can suggest that this was a case of mistaken identity. So the gunman just so happened to get the wrong AW who just so happened to stay in Nairn, in Crescent Road and matched the description of the other AW.

This is Nairn a small seaside town, not a built up city where people will most likely share the same name. Even with the mistaken identity theory it still wouldn't explain the envelope and the name Paul, and the time the gunman spent on the doorstep talking to his target, allowing AW to go back inside with the envelope before shooting him.

If someone calls to your house in a small seaside town in the Highlands and asks to speak to by saying your name, then you can be absolutely sure that they haven't got the wrong person or house. I can't see why this would be in any way different. The gunman wanted to speak to AW who was the AW who stayed at Cresent Road in Nairn.

 

[dotr]

10 fascinating unsolved Scottish mysteries

Over centuries Scotland has adopted various unexplained and unsolved events which fascinate people far and wide.

www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk

By
Eve Beattie 10 JAN 2023
''Bank manager Alistair Wilson was shot dead on the doorstep of his home in Nairn on 28 November 2004 by a stocky man wearing a baseball cap.

The police inquiry into the shooting has focused on a Haenel Suhl Model 1 Schmeisser’s patent handgun, made in Germany between 1920 and 1945, which was found down a street drain in the town.

The ammunition used in the shooting was made by Sellier and Bellot in the Czech Republic between 1983 and 1993.

Despite intense efforts, the police have yet to find the killer.''

Alistair Wilson murder MUST have been linked to his job, claims crime author

November 28 will mark 18 years to the day since Nairn banker Alistair Wilson was gunned down on his own doorstep. The crime remains unsolved. Author and cold case expert Nate Campbell claims there are more questions than answers in what is one of Scotland’s most baffling and long-running murder...

www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk

Nov 2022 By Nate Campbell & Douglas Dickie


''The Canada jaunt garnered lots of Media headlines, just as it was intended to do. From that point of view, it did at least catapult the case back into the public’s consciousness. But as someone in the decking business recently pointed out, ripping up forecourt paving would cost a hell of a lot less than hiring an assassin.

Where does all this leave us now? It leaves us wondering why Police Scotland and legacy force Northern Constabulary took 13 years to confirm the name "Paul" was scrawled on the envelope. It leaves us wondering why no e-fit of the man Veronica Wilson spoke to on her doorstep, up close and personal, was ever issued, particularly when another witness saw an identical man in Nairn around the same time on the same night.''

''It leaves us with more questions than answers, and a persistent feeling there is a lot more to this case than has hitherto been revealed.''

 

[leuraman]

I don't get how anyone can suggest that this was a case of mistaken identity. So the gunman just so happened to get the wrong AW who just so happened to stay in Nairn, in Crescent Road and matched the description of the other AW.

This is Nairn a small seaside town, not a built up city where people will most likely share the same name. Even with the mistaken identity theory it still wouldn't explain the envelope and the name Paul, and the time the gunman spent on the doorstep talking to his target, allowing AW to go back inside with the envelope before shooting him.

If someone calls to your house in a small seaside town in the Highlands and asks to speak to by saying your name, then you can be absolutely sure that they haven't got the wrong person or house. I can't see why this would be in any way different. The gunman wanted to speak to AW who was the AW who stayed at Cresent Road in Nairn.

I get what you say and you could be correct but there were 16 Alistair Wilsons in the general area and one only 2 minutes away. The gunman queried "Alistair Wilson?" so we know he was not sure or he would have said something like "Is Alistair in?" or "Can I speak to Alistair?" We do not know if he had any idea what he looked like or had ever seen or met him. If he was sure then he would have shot him as soon as he came to the door. I think there is some room for doubt and the lack of motive steers me towards mistaken identity. Can't find a motive for this AW but perhaps one could be found for another AW.

 

[CSIAngus]

10 fascinating unsolved Scottish mysteries

Over centuries Scotland has adopted various unexplained and unsolved events which fascinate people far and wide.

www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk

By
Eve Beattie 10 JAN 2023
''Bank manager Alistair Wilson was shot dead on the doorstep of his home in Nairn on 28 November 2004 by a stocky man wearing a baseball cap.

The police inquiry into the shooting has focused on a Haenel Suhl Model 1 Schmeisser’s patent handgun, made in Germany between 1920 and 1945, which was found down a street drain in the town.

The ammunition used in the shooting was made by Sellier and Bellot in the Czech Republic between 1983 and 1993.

Despite intense efforts, the police have yet to find the killer.''

Alistair Wilson murder MUST have been linked to his job, claims crime author

November 28 will mark 18 years to the day since Nairn banker Alistair Wilson was gunned down on his own doorstep. The crime remains unsolved. Author and cold case expert Nate Campbell claims there are more questions than answers in what is one of Scotland’s most baffling and long-running murder...

www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk

Nov 2022 By Nate Campbell & Douglas Dickie
View attachment 398441

''The Canada jaunt garnered lots of Media headlines, just as it was intended to do. From that point of view, it did at least catapult the case back into the public’s consciousness. But as someone in the decking business recently pointed out, ripping up forecourt paving would cost a hell of a lot less than hiring an assassin.

Where does all this leave us now? It leaves us wondering why Police Scotland and legacy force Northern Constabulary took 13 years to confirm the name "Paul" was scrawled on the envelope. It leaves us wondering why no e-fit of the man Veronica Wilson spoke to on her doorstep, up close and personal, was ever issued, particularly when another witness saw an identical man in Nairn around the same time on the same night.''

''It leaves us with more questions than answers, and a persistent feeling there is a lot more to this case than has hitherto been revealed.''

Killing AW would not have withdrawn his letter of objection to the retrospective planning application as it had already been received, so there was nothing to gain in the planning process by murdering him. It would be interesting to read minutes of the planning committee and the officer's report as to whether AW's objection was based on a material consideration or whether the retrospective application was almost a formality, as if often the case. Demolition would be the very last resort for the Local Planning Authority. It would be interesting to know on what basis AW was objecting. Not liking something is not sufficient grounds for objection.

It only takes VW's account, which has always left a lot to be desired from a publicly-released details point of view, to allow for a variant of 'he asked for my husband by name' to 'he asked for my husband', to make mistaken identity very plausible, IMO.

 

[CSIAngus]

I get what you say and you could be correct but there were 16 Alistair Wilsons in the general area and one only 2 minutes away. The gunman queried "Alistair Wilson?" so we know he was not sure or he would have said something like "Is Alistair in?" or "Can I speak to Alistair?" We do not know if he had any idea what he looked like or had ever seen or met him. If he was sure then he would have shot him as soon as he came to the door. I think there is some room for doubt and the lack of motive steers me towards mistaken identity. Can't find a motive for this AW but perhaps one could be found for another AW.

Not only were there 16 Alistair Wilsons in the area but there are 14 streets with 'crescent' in the title in Nairn.

 

[shadwell]

A lot of detail in this 2005 piece - answers many of the questions posed on this thread, but raises others in turn:

https://archive.is/bJJo9

 

[leuraman]

A lot of detail in this 2005 piece - answers many of the questions posed on this thread, but raises others in turn:

https://archive.is/bJJo9

It's interesting the police still think it could be mistaken identity.

 

[kenmack87]

A lot of detail in this 2005 piece - answers many of the questions posed on this thread, but raises others in turn:

https://archive.is/bJJo9

What a fantastic find, really interesting read. I certainly do think the gunman hesitated in shooting AW straight away due to the witnesses that were standing outside the pub. Would make sense if the gunman was local and didn't want to risk being seen by the regular pub goers who might have recognised him. So he handed the blue envelope to AW to distract him in order to bide himself time until the coast was clear.

 

[CSIAngus]

What a fantastic find, really interesting read. I certainly do think the gunman hesitated in shooting AW straight away due to the witnesses that were standing outside the pub. Would make sense if the gunman was local and didn't want to risk being seen by the regular pub goers who might have recognised him. So he handed the blue envelope to AW to distract him in order to bide himself time until the coast was clear.

That would necessitate the gunman having the envelope just in case he needed a distraction. Not plausible IMO. More likely, the envelope was intended to be filled with cash and returned to the gunman, who was collecting the debt for 'Paul' or from 'Paul'. An empty envelope led to retribution. Doorstep attacks linked to drug debts are very common in that world. AW was not of that world, and to me it is mistaken identity. If it wasn't, it would have been solved by now. Wrong man, wrong house.

 

[kenmack87]

That would necessitate the gunman having the envelope just in case he needed a distraction. Not plausible IMO. More likely, the envelope was intended to be filled with cash and returned to the gunman, who was collecting the debt for 'Paul' or from 'Paul'. An empty envelope led to retribution. Doorstep attacks linked to drug debts are very common in that world. AW was not of that world, and to me it is mistaken identity. If it wasn't, it would have been solved by now. Wrong man, wrong house

That would necessitate the gunman having the envelope just in case he needed a distraction. Not plausible IMO. More likely, the envelope was intended to be filled with cash and returned to the gunman, who was collecting the debt for 'Paul' or from 'Paul'. An empty envelope led to retribution. Doorstep attacks linked to drug debts are very common in that world. AW was not of that world, and to me it is mistaken identity. If it wasn't, it would have been solved by now. Wrong man, wrong house.

That would necessitate the gunman having the envelope just in case he needed a distraction. Not plausible IMO. More likely, the envelope was intended to be filled with cash and returned to the gunman, who was collecting the debt for 'Paul' or from 'Paul'. An empty envelope led to retribution. Doorstep attacks linked to drug debts are very common in that world. AW was not of that world, and to me it is mistaken identity. If it wasn't, it would have been solved by now. Wrong man, wrong