Killer on loose brings terror to sleepy hamlet
POLICE last night were hunting a killer who subjected a pensioner to a ‘brutal and sustained’ attack at his country home.
The body of handyman and mechanic Brian McKandie was discovered eight days ago at his cottage in the small hamlet of Badenscoth, Aberdeenshire.
The death of the well-liked 67-yearold was initially classed by police as unexplained but a post-mortem examination revealed injuries so severe it could only be treated as murder.
Yesterday, the officer leading the investigation described the attack as ‘senseless’ as his team carried out inquiries in Badenscoth and the nearby village of Rothienorman.
Residents expressed concern that others could also be at risk from an on-the-run killer – although police said they had no reason to think the public were in danger.
Detective Chief Inspector Iain Smith declined to provide details about Mr McKandie’s injuries but described the attack that caused his death as ‘sustained and brutal’.
He continued: ‘On the face of it, at the moment, it seems a senseless death and why Mr McKandie would die in the circumstances he has done, in a remote area of Aberdeenshire, is strange.
‘Murder is a fairly rare thing in the North-East of Scotland and an exceptionally rare thing in Aberdeenshire. We look at the circumstances of this, we try to understand why it happened.’
Mr McKandie lived alone in the home where he first lived as a small boy more than 60 years ago. It is understood that he never married and was a man who chose his friends carefully. There has been no suggestion of him being involved in any argument or altercation in the days leading up to his death.
Mr McKandie was well-known as a self-employed car mechanic who also turned his hand to repairing other electrical items like televisions and washing machines.
It meant a ‘fairly regular’ stream of visitors travelled to and from his house, which was among a row of cottages on a main road a few miles north of Rothienorman. He was last seen alive during the afternoon of March 11. Later, when a worried local resident was unable to contact him, police were called and made the grim discovery at his home around 4pm on March 12.
DCI Smith said: ‘The injuries that Mr McKandie had suffered weren’t particularly obvious in terms of their severity. During the postmortem examination, the injuries were identified as being severe and couldn’t have been sustained accidentally.’
Yesterday, specialist detectives, forensic and uniformed officers worked on the case as door-to-door inquiries were carried out in a bid to establish Mr McKandie’s movements in the days and hours leading up to his death.
Police were especially keen to hear from anyone who might have information about his activities between noon on March 11 and the afternoon of the following day.
Judith Munro, owner of Badenscoth House nursing home, paid tribute to Mr McKandie, saying: ‘He was very self-sufficient, his life was his work.
‘He was a very private man but a very nice man, very well-known and well-respected. It’s a big loss and it’s very upsetting.’