Did murdered banker sign his own ‘death warrant’?
As cold-case detectives focus on row over pub decking:
A LETTER written by a bank manager just days before he was gunned down on his doorstep could shed new light on one of Scotland’s most baffling unsolved murders.
Father-of-two Alistair Wilson was targeted at his home in Nairn on November 28, 2004.
Almost 18 years after the murder, police last week revealed the ‘likely motive’ for the appalling crime may have been as mundane as a neighbourhood row over decking.
Now The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal the contents of the letter written by Mr Wilson to the council planning department which officers believe could be the reason he was killed.
It spells out Mr Wilson’s objections to new decking at a hotel near his home – and his fears over noise, broken glass and invasion of his family’s privacy. Just days after sending the letter, Mr Wilson was shot by a mystery man who came to his door.
The killer has never been traced. In their attempts to crack the case, detectives spent years examining potential motives ranging from mistaken identity to links with organised crime, possibly via Mr Wilson’s work.
However, in an extraordinary development, last week police identified the decking row as a ‘likely’ motive.
Officers said they were focusing on Mr Wilson’s formal objection to work outside the Havelock Hotel, opposite his home, just five days before he was shot dead.
Detectives travelled to Canada this year to interview a ‘key witness’ with regard to the planning application. This is understood to be Andy Burnett, a former friend and golf partner of Mr Wilson who was the hotel’s owner at the time.
In the letter sent to Highland Council on November 23, 2004, Mr Wilson stated: ‘Further to the Notice for Serving on Neighbours, I write to formally object to the planning application.
‘It is with the benefit of the experience of living with a beer garden outside my front door that I raise the following points...’
The document, which runs to almost 500 words, goes on to list his grievances, including ‘noise and disturbance’ as well as finding glasses in his garden.
He added: ‘During the summer, I and my family felt uncomfortable using our front door and even looking out our front windows as we frequently had customers staring directly back at us.’
Mr Wilson’s objection was acknowledged by Highland
Council on November 25, 2004. On the same day, they sent notification to Mr Burnett inviting him to ‘reply to the points raised’.
Peter Bleksley, a former police officer turned private investigator who has written a book on the crime, said: ‘These documents lay out quite clearly that there is a fullscale dispute going on and this planning application is not going well. It appears police are now trying to re-raise the profile of this dreadful crime and may be trying to assemble a circumstantial case.
‘In most cases police can rely on forensic evidence, mobile phone records or CCTV footage but these all appear to be lacking here.
‘This is one of the reasons the crime has remained unsolved but that’s not to take away from the fact the original investigation was poor. The hope for Alistair’s family is this latest development will now lead to a breakthrough.’
Officers from Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team confirmed last week they now believe the answer to Mr Wilson’s murder lies ‘within his personal life and is not connected to his employment with the Bank of Scotland’.
Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie said: ‘The decking was built in the summer of 2004 and subject to a retrospective planning application at the time of the murder.
‘This could be significant and I am asking anyone with information to speak with officers. Alistair did not disclose his disapproval over the decking to many people.
‘However, we understand his objection was sent by the local authority to the Havelock Hotel on the Thursday and knowledge of his objections became public before his murder on the Sunday, which may be significant.
‘I would also appeal to anyone who was involved in the building of the decking area at the Havelock Hotel in 2004 to come forward.
‘We believe the answer to Alistair’s murder lies within his personal life. Someone locally will have that piece of information that could be crucial to catching his killer.’
Last month, Police Scotland also issued an appeal for information about two men seen with a handgun on Nairn East Beach a month before the murder.
Mr Wilson was targeted at around 7pm after his wife Veronica answered the door to a man who asked for her husband by name.
He went downstairs and was handed a blue envelope with the word ‘Paul’ on it. After briefly going inside Mr Wilson then returned to the door for a second time where he was fatally shot.
‘The police may be trying to assemble a circumstantial case’ ‘His objections became public before his murder’