Will DNA testing unlock St Lucia shooting mystery?
POLICE investigating the fatal shooting of a Scots father on a Caribbean island are awaiting the results of DNA tests in the hope it could unlock the mystery of his murder.
Donnie McKinnon, 48, died last month after being shot as he enjoyed a drink with a friend outside a bar on St Lucia.
The father of one, originally from Fort
William, Inverness-shire, moved to the island 13 years ago and lived there with his partner and four-year-old son Donald.
No one has been charged in connection with his death but detectives believe forensic tests being carried out at a new laboratory on the island could be the key to solving it.
Two men were arrested and questioned last month before being released without charge. Their DNA is being analysed to be compared with samples taken from the crime scene at Steve’s Bar in Soufriere.
A police source said: ‘We know how DNA can help solve criminal cases, especially murders. The suspects who were arrested had their DNA taken. It will be sent to the lab in Castries which will help to eliminate or incriminate them from our inquiries.
‘We collected evidence from the crime scene and are doing all in our power to bring those responsible to justice.’ Mr McKinnon, who previously managed a five-star hotel in Aberdeen, was the managing director of the Soufriere estate.
On the day of his death he had been at work before joining his friend, fellow expat Peter Jackson, 72, for a drink.
Mr Jackson, originally from Accrington, Lancashire, said he knew his friend had ‘no chance’ when he saw him shot in the back outside the bar in a targeted attack.
Mr McKinnon died at the scene and was the 67th murder victim on St Lucia last year.
Last month relatives attended a service for him in Vieux Fort before his body was repatriated to Scotland.
A funeral service was held for him in Fort William last week before he was laid to rest at Glen Nevis Cemetery.
A spokesman for the forensic lab in Castries said: ‘The operations of the forensic lab will strengthen the legal system in its fight against crime.’