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

[Cedars]

The Wilsons’ home used to be a hotel and they ran it as a restaurant for a time, IIRC. I wonder if at that point they had a CCTV system? But if they did it doesn’t seem like they kept it.

IMO, in 2004 cameras were very large and obvious to anyone looking for them.

JMO

 

[crazychris]

IMO, in 2004 cameras were very large and obvious to anyone looking for them.

JMO

Yes they were bigger than they are today and more obvious to callers.

 

[Melquiades]

I think getting hung up on whether 'professional' or 'amateur' could be a waste of energy.

To me, the point is: was the killer "hired" by someone else who had a motive, or did the killer themselves have the motive.

IMO, anyone down on their luck and willing to kill can be hired to do a job, by someone who doesn't want to be recognized. However, that does mean someone connected to Alistair had ties to some dodgy person or people (if the killer was referred). So police would prioritize looking at any dodgy connections of those around Alistair.

That's not easy to do: police can't easily get into eg. personal or business banking records. On the other hand, since there were at least 2 people involved, they may receive tips, even long after the crime was committed.

Doing the killing for himself, means the killer had some relationship/interaction with Alistair that generated an extreme personal grievance. For that, IMO, police would look at people who were not close, but were mentally disturbed/off. IMO that's actually harder to solve, unless the person did more crimes.

JMO

It's certainly possible (or even likely) that the killer was an amateur paid a small amount by someone involved in the planning dispute to pay a visit and try to intimidate the victim, and that things unexpectedly escalated.

But people pushing the 'hitman' theory uniformly tie it to his banking career which is a hard nope and doesn't make sense in any way.

 

[touch]

We only have her word that all this with the envelope, going upstairs etc even happened.

The police seem happy that Veronica is being honest with them but obviously it's pretty much impossible to independently confirm anything.

Veronica wasn't the only witness in the house that night. There was also her 2 boys and her dad. Maybe they wouldn't be aware of the detail of conversations between Veronica and Alastair but would be able to confirm the movements of everyone.

 

[davidt]

Veronica wasn't the only witness in the house that night. There was also her 2 boys and her dad. Maybe they wouldn't be aware of the detail of conversations between Veronica and Alastair but would be able to confirm the movements of everyone.

Veronica wasn't the only witness in the house that night. There was also her 2 boys and her dad. Maybe they wouldn't be aware of the detail of conversations between Veronica and Alastair but would be able to confirm the movements of everyone.

From what I've read the boys were in bed and her dad was in an upstairs room and didnsee or hear anything. How accurate that is I don’t know.

 

[alb1on]

But people pushing the 'hitman' theory uniformly tie it to his banking career which is a hard nope and doesn't make sense in any way.

No. I do not believe it is related to his banking career but the scandal at the HBOS Reading branch in the noughties says it cannot be entirely discounted. In that case a local branch scammed many businesses and was only exposed after the Lloyds takeover, having been able to get away with it for years and with no knowledge beyond the branch.

 

[tes1984]

Apparently the CCTV was either switched off or in some cases not working. We've no idea if the killer was aware of this or not and just got lucky.

Somewhat reminiscent of the murder of Joy Hewer in a tower block in London in 1995.

In this case, the killer seems to have left the block via the rear exit, where the CCTV wasn't working.

 

[rvlvr]

I think the Wilsons’ children were about 2 and 4 at the time, so almost zero chance they remember anything, imo. Veronica’s father was apparently in the flat, in what looks like a loft conversion, so it’s doubtful he’d have heard anything from up there and he’d only have seen something if he’d been at a window at the right time.

 

[Cedars]

Yes. David Wilson said that the envelope was a "ruse". But the killer had asked for AW and AW had come to the door. The killer didn't need an envelope to get AW to the door. AW was already at the door when the killer gave him the envelope. He could have shot him then.

The killer seems to have taken the envelope away with him. David Wilson says that the killer was "forensically aware" (because he dropped the gun into a drain!). If AW had returned to the door and left the envelope in the house, the killer would potentially have gifted the police valuable forensic evidence.

The only reason I can think of why a hitman wouldn't shoot AW right away is that maybe someone was walking past. Even so, he could have engaged AW in conversation for a while and then shot him.

Maybe giving Alistair the envelope - or taking it back - was partly a way to get him to fully open the door and step close to the killer, so catch him offguard and easier to aim at vital organs.

Maybe the killer choked the first time, but waited for his second chance.

Maybe Alistair had a secret from his wife and just didn't connect it with the man at the door.

Maybe the killer(s) were practising on an 'unimportant' person...

JMO

 

[wackyw]

I think the Wilsons’ children were about 2 and 4 at the time, so almost zero chance they remember anything, imo. Veronica’s father was apparently in the flat, in what looks like a loft conversion, so it’s doubtful he’d have heard anything from up there and he’d only have seen something if he’d been at a window at the right time.

DBM - going to check my comment with the mods