Our darkest moments, by wife of Skye murder accused
THE WIFE of a man alleged to have murdered his brother-in-law has spoken for the first time about her family’s ‘darkest moments’.
Rowena MacDonald, 32, was left in a critical condition following a series of incidents on the Isle of Skye which left one dead and three people seriously injured.
Her husband, Finlay MacDonald, 39, has been charged with murdering John MacKinnon, 47.
He is also charged with attempting to murder his wife on the same day and attempting to murder local chiropractor John Don MacKenzie, 63, at Princes Street, in the mainland village of Dornie.
MacDonald, from Tarskavaig, Skye, is also charged with attempting to murder Mr MacKenzie’s wife Fay, 63, on the same day.
He appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court in August and made no plea to the allegations. Three months on, mother of four Mrs MacDonald has revealed how she has now moved to a new home and is trying to piece her life back together.
In a recent update to social media, she said: ‘We have had the darkest moment of our lives earlier this year; we are now putting them behind us and excited to start this new adventure.
‘We could not have got to this point without the staggering support of many, many (hundreds) of people, for this we shall forever be grateful.
‘From the first on scene, ambulance crew, police and neighbours to the whole emergency then major trauma teams at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow and Raigmore Hospital followed by GPs and nurses locally.
‘The support from the social services in helping making sure the kids had everything they needed and my family felt supported.
‘The Highland Council in organising temporary accommodation for us when we left hospital, furnished and well equipped with lovely helpful staff.
‘The psychologists helping the children and myself.
‘The school, Sgoil Araich and Fas Mor for their support and making it as easy for everyone as possible while keeping a caring eye on the kids.’
Mrs MacDonald also shared an image of herself and her four children inside their new home. She continued: ‘The new neighbours for being so welcoming. The positive thoughts and prayers from seemingly all around the world.’
Following his death, Mr MacKinnon’s family released a statement via police, saying: ‘John was a loving husband, father of six, brother, uncle and grandfather to his family, and was a much-loved member of the community.
‘John loved the outdoors, was a keen motorcyclist and, as a loved father, shared his activities with his family.’
The incident shook the island community and so far more than £27,000 has been raised for Rowena and her young family.
Since the incident, Westminster’s Scottish affairs committee has heard evidence that the Skye community is struggling to come to terms with what happened.
‘Putting them behind us’