We’re trusting people here... but now we lock our doors. Is a killer living in our midst?
The baffling murder that’s left an idyllic community mired in suspicion and fear
STANDING on the path by Pitilie high above Strath Tay, the views down the valley at this time of year can be breathtaking. From the snow-streaked summit of Schiehallion which dominates the western skyline, the eye is drawn round to the grey-brown sentinels of Beinn Eagagach and Farragon Hill and the foothills of the Grampians. Lower down, sheep and cattle munch lazily on the rich pasture that rings the market town of Aberfeldy.
Brian Low clearly loved these tranquil surroundings and would often take his black labrador Millie along the stony track, past the grassy knoll covered with thick broom and between the lines of silver birch. It was a favoured walk since the 65-year-old retired from his role as a groundsman on a sporting estate and moved to a modest cottage nearby.
But it was here one chill winter morning shortly after sunrise that Brian Low’s life would end in murder – shot dead by an unknown gunman. The victim’s frantic dog would remain by her owner’s side for an hour before another walker happened upon the pensioner’s lifeless body and raised the alarm. By then, his killer would have had ample time to melt away into the landscape.
The circumstances of Mr Low’s murder are truly horrifying, yet they are only the starting point to this deeply troubling tale.
It seems scarcely comprehensible, but not one of the four first responders who reacted to the initial 999 call at 8.34am – two police officers and two paramedics – appeared to notice the presence of a bullet wound on the victim.
Instead, Mr Low was declared dead at the scene on Saturday, February 17, and the initial cause of death for this otherwise healthy man, who had worked outdoors his entire adult life, was listed as ‘medical or non-suspicious’, possibly a heart attack or stroke. It would be four
‘There’s a sense of uncertainty and it’s very profound’
full days before an initial medical examination first established that Mr Low had injuries ‘consistent with being fatally shot’, which escalated the case to a potential suspicious death and only then prompted police to erect a cordon around the murder scene.
Such a critical delay in preserving evidence meant, as senior officers euphemistically put it, ‘something could be lost’.
A post-mortem examination which finally officially confirmed Mr Low had been shot by a third party was only carried out on Friday, February 23. Yet, for reasons best known to the police, it took detectives another four days before they decided to share the devastating news with the public.
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Macdougall, a senior officer assigned to the case, confirmed: ‘It’s being treated as a murder investigation and that’s the way the inquiry is being led, it’s not being treated as an accident, albeit we are keeping an open mind to the motive.’
For the residents of a corner of Highland Perthshire rarely acquainted with violent crime – the last recorded murder took place more than 75 years ago – news of the killing and the bizarre way the news emerged have both proved deeply unsettling. A month on, that sense of unease, that a killer still lurks among them, hangs heavily in the streets.
As the local MSP John Swinney put it, the police’s handling of the case so far has been ‘unfathomable’, while the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) has confirmed it is now investigating officers’ response.
One couple wheeling their sleeping grandson away from a church toddlers’ group said the force’s failure to warn people they might be at risk has only heightened public anxiety. The grandmother, who declined to be named, said: ‘It was very frightening and everybody is very concerned still.
‘This is the sort of community where people are very trusting, but when you found out it was a murder, then you start to lock your doors and you start to look at everybody differently. It’s not a nice feeling that there is a killer in our midst, but that is what we have been told.
‘And as time moves on, we have realised that the police are not keeping us informed.
‘I do feel that they could use the community social media pages more frequently to let us know what they are doing and keep us updated. I have this nagging feeling this could be one case that remains unsolved.’
Reverend Neil Glover, minister at Aberfeldy Parish Church, told The Times: ‘There is a sense of uncertainty here and it’s very profound. To have that level of horrific violence in our area, it is horrendous for people to think about.
‘People who knew Brian found him a loveable guy. He’d been in the area for years. He had close friends and family, and they are saddened and shocked for him.’
Postman Jedd Burke, who delivered mail to Mr Low’s bungalow, said: ‘He was one of the nicest guys I ever met. He was brilliant. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news.’
Many locals are wary of speaking openly. One woman business owner said: ‘At first, I think people were really spooked by this, especially those who live in more remote areas and the elderly. But when I went out jogging, I found myself keeping one eye over my shoulder. When you don’t know who did this, you suspect everybody.’
A helper putting up notices for the Thrift Shop on Chapel Street said: ‘People are angry with the police over how they have handled things, but you need to remember Mr Low’s family in all this.
‘His widow will be deeply upset and she will want answers.’
So far, answers are in short supply. Beyond an initial press conference, the police have said very little, preferring to play their cards close to their chest.
They have refused to reveal the
nature of the injuries Mr Low sustained, how he was shot or the weapon they suspect was used. They won’t even say if one has been recovered.
There is no indication that the dead man was involved in any criminality. He was not ‘adversely known to police’, said DCI Macdougall, who added he was not aware the former groundsman had any personal feuds. But the fact is, people don’t go around shooting people for no reason.
Newspaper reports have quoted an unnamed source describing the attack as ‘a targeted assassination by a marksman who hit Mr Low in the head from distance’.
The source continues: ‘If a shot is fired close up, there is scorching but that wasn’t the case here – meaning it was from a distance away.’
In the absence of an arrest or official updates, there are plenty of theories circulating in the cafés and pubs of Aberfeldy to fill the vacuum. In a rural area, where local knowledge is often critical, the police’s detached approach seems especially baffling.
The evidence still needs to be gathered, of course, but a seasoned local bobby might have a far better idea of where to go and who to talk to.
Aberfeldy police station, however, has long been closed, and the nearest officers are based 15 miles away at Pitlochry, the only local station to survive when Scotland’s eight forces were reformed into the single Police Scotland.
Only two are usually on duty at any one time at Pitlochry, covering an area of 1,000 square miles, and calls for the station are handled from Glasgow, a further 85 miles away. If the answer lies in the local community, long-distance detective work will need to lean heavily on local help.
Two squad cars patrolling the tight lanes of the town are the clearest visual reminder of the heightened police activity, codenamed ‘Operation Newlane’.
‘It’s over a month since the tragic shooting of Mr Low and the police very much need the public’s help with this case,’ echoed John Duff, a former senior officer with Strathclyde Police, who served for 30 years before he returned to his hometown of Aberfeldy, where he was elected as a Conservative councillor.
He said: ‘I am convinced that someone in the community holds the key to solving this crime. Something they saw or heard but perhaps haven’t connected with the shooting – a small nugget of information which could help the police crack this case – and I urge anyone with any information, no matter how small, to come forward.’
Oddly enough, Mr Duff is distantly related to the last victim of a murder in the area, Catherine McIntyre, whose battered body was found in September 1947, in the family’s tied cottage on the Tombuie Estate above Kenmore.
On that occasion, police recovered a likely murder weapon and vital clues pointing to the guilt of a Polish labourer, Stanislaw Myszka. He was convicted of murder and executed in Perth Prison in February 1948, the last hanging ever to take place there.
Such violence seems incongruous in a genteel town of gift shops and galleries, fringed by prosperous farms and sporting estates.
Back at the murder scene, now clear of police tape and forensic tents, it is hard to imagine the level of violence that was inflicted there. Aberfeldy’s history is steeped in romance and tradition – the Birks of Aberfeldy beauty spot which inspired Burns’s eponymous lyrics is less than a mile from Mr Low’s cottage, while General Wade’s famous bridge over the Tay offers military connections that only reinforce an air of solidity and wellbeing.
The author JK Rowling’s country retreat is not far while just down the road is Moness Resort, a timeshare holiday village recently acquired by Mike Meldman, the millionaire American businessman who is busy refashioning nearby Taymouth Castle as a holiday destination for the mega-rich.
This is working land, though, and the sound of early morning gunshot would not arouse suspicion. The perpetrator could walk off the hill in numerous directions following a network of local paths popular with dog walkers.
Murder has been a brutal intrusion into this serene setting: ‘It is so rare an occurrence here, residents are quite rightly concerned and anxious,’ said Mr Duff.
‘Those in the more isolated rural areas around the town are no doubt keeping their doors locked more often these days and will continue to do so until the person responsible is caught.
‘The family, grieving the loss of their loved one, will be distressed by the fact he didn’t die from natural causes as first thought and need answers as to why this has happened to Brian.’
Police will have begun the painstaking process of unpicking Mr Low’s life in the hunt for clues.
He had worked for 20 years until his retirement a year ago on the nearby 4,000-acre Edradynate Estate, owned by property developer and financier Michael Campbell.
The estate hit the headlines in 2018 when a gamekeeper was cleared of poisoning crops late at night amid a dispute with the owner.
David Campbell, no relation, was acquitted at Perth Sheriff Court of deliberately sabotaging game crops to get back at Michael Campbell after losing his job.
Sheriff Gillian Wade ruled the case against him had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
It emerged police had previously investigated activities on the estate four times in the previous 15 years.
These included a 2018 probe after three dogs and two birds of prey were poisoned. At the time, the Edradynate Estate labelled the incidents ‘appalling’ and offered a £5,000 reward for information.
In 2002, two gamekeepers were cleared when charges of poisoning
‘When you don’t know who did this, you suspect everybody’ ‘Someone in the community holds the key’
birds of prey at the estate were dropped.
There is no suggestion the estate is linked to Mr Low’s death and Michael Campbell has offered his ‘deepest condolences’ to his family.
An estate spokesman confirmed: ‘[Brian] worked for us for about 20 years and was much liked and respected and we’re very, very shocked about the news. He was lovely. A good chap, a very nice chap.
‘Hard-working. He wouldn’t say boo to a goose.’
On Saturday, March 9, three weeks after the killing, police carried out spot checks on cars and pedestrians, stopping 118 vehicles and 18 pedestrians in the space of two hours.
The questioning was carried out on the remote path where Mr Low was found dead, in Aberfeldy town centre and on the A827 north of the town.
Detective Superintendent Lorna Ferguson, who described Mr Low’s family as ‘completely devastated and heartbroken’, said there had been a ‘number of additional lines of inquiry’ and it was important to remain ‘open minded about a possible motive in this case’.
Launching a Major Incident Public Portal link to allow the public to submit information directly to the inquiry team, she said: ‘We are confident the answer to this investigation lies within the local community. Somebody knows something.’
With every passing day, however, the chances of bringing Brian Low’s killer to account will fade like the clue on a muddy footpath.