Frank McPhee, May 2000. better identification of where motives can include a drug-related element). He was later convicted of the 1991 murder of 15-year-old Vicky Hamilton from Falkirk. Suspicions as to the motive for his death have centred on his work as a banker, with many seeing the mysterious blue envelope as the key to the case. For most age groups, the victimisation rate is higher for males than for females, though rates were very similar for those aged between 0 and 15 years old. Between 2018-19 and 2019-20, the number of homicide victims in Scotland increased by 2% (or one victims), from 63 to 64 (Chart 3). None of the homicides recorded in 2020-21 were reported to have had a homophobic or racial motivation. This includes 59% (34) of homicide victims in 2020-21, of which all but two involved a knife. Statistics are presented on the number of homicide cases MacDowell has vehemently denied any involvement in the case. Here are 60 Best UK Crime Podcasts worth listening to in 2023. SHE would be 73 years old today - but instead Scotland remembers her as a smiling child of 12, forever frozen in time on the day of her disappearance . In 2020-21, the median age of a person accused of homicide was 31 years old, which is two years younger than in 2019-20 when the median age was 33 years old. Tobin was also convicted in 2009 of the murder of 18-year-old Dinah McNicol from Essex in 1991. We are lucky at The Herald. Later that night, a train driver saw Renees car, a BMW, burning in a lay-by. Readers comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. WebFeb. 40, had throat slashed None of the homicides recorded in 2019-20 were reported to have had a racial motivation. The envelope which Alistair had in his hands is never seen again. WebNote that this reflects the number of unsolved murders in this database and is not a direct indication of the actual number unsolved murders for that year as there might be data missing. Statistical bulletin on crimes of homicide recorded by the police in Scotland in 2019-2020. The apparent lack of motive and other unexplained elements of the murder have led to it being described as 'Scotland's most mysterious unsolved crime' and 'one of the most baffling cases of modern times', and it has attracted ongoing press coverage ever since. Their disappearance is Britains longest-running missing persons case. Crime and prosecution statistics are not directly comparable with England and Wales. She had been raped and strangled by her attacker. Click 'Accept all cookies' to agree to all cookies that collect anonymous data. The veteran officer also believes the creation of dedicated Major Investigation Teams (MITs) and closer police liaison with Crown Office prosecutors has improved standards. It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse. The death of Darren Birt is one of more than 1000 cases in Scotland where no-one has been brought to justice. "Murder cops on trail of expat who was former neighbour of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson", "Mystery of 'weird' hitman who killed Nairn banker Alistair Wilson", "Getting away with murder: Britain's most notorious unsolved crimes", "The mysterious envelope and the death of Alistair Wilson", "On 15th anniversary of the murder of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson detectives repeat appeal for information", "Son of banker shot dead 16 years ago says his family deserves answers", "Police probe planning dispute in Nairn doorstep murder", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Alistair_Wilson&oldid=1145136022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 March 2023, at 13:36. These are ones in which "the identity of the offender(s) is not apparent, the continued risk to the public is low and the investigation or securing of evidence can be achieved within normal force resourcing arrangements". She and her son Andrew were never seen again. 50% of crimes are unsolved John Cooper (serial killer In all homicide cases in the 10 years leading up to 2020-21, 1% had a homophobic or racist motivation (Table 14). UK True Crime Podcast. A local doctor made the tough decision to administer morphine to the trapped sailors through the ships portholes to make their certain deaths less painful. We use cookies to collect anonymous data to help us improve your site browsing Note In 2020, 0.2% of violent crimes were considered a homicide (Moreau 2021)that is, first degree murder, second degree murder, infanticide or manslaughter.While homicide occurs relatively Ten days after the killing an antique gun is found in a drain not far from their house. Oscar Slater, who had gone to America and pawned a brooch, was convicted, but the sentence was eventually quashed. The only person who knew about the affair was Renees best friend Valerie Steventon. Veronica sees the killer walking away. Jemimas sister Margaret was so worried that she walked to the building and inside discovered her sisters corpse. Do not give any personal information because we cannot reply to you directly. Category:Unsolved murders in Scotland - Wikipedia Police were notified and when they got to the smouldering wreck, there was nothing to be found apart from a rug with a blood stain matching Renee. experience. COLD case officers never give up. In 2019-20, 76 persons were accused of homicide and 92% (70) of them were male (Table 6). We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com. Of those cases where the victim and accused were known to each other, 72% were acquaintances, 9% were partners or ex-partners and 19% were relatives. The report says that just one case is currently unsolved. In 2020-21 there were 48 male victims, representing 83% of all homicide victims. We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse. She had been working at Aberdeen University on a project for the Department of Energy, investigating dangers facing divers in the North Sea oil industry. As well as appealing for information about the missing suitcase, detectives also say they are interested in Leanach Quarry near Culloden and a lay-by on the A9 where MacRaes car was found burned out. This is partly because more people feel comfortable approaching the police about under-reported crimes, such as sexual offences, and because police themselves are getting better at recording crime. About 10pm that evening Renees car was discovered ablaze in a lay-by 12 miles outside of Inverness, Renee and Andrew had vanished. Table 9 shows that between 2010-11 and 2019-20, a total of 35 children under the age of 16 years were victims of homicide (where there was an accused person). The ammunition used in the shooting was made by Sellier and Bellot in the Czech Republic between 1983 and 1993. Police were left with 159,000 unsolved crimes over the last year. By the end of July police ruled out Austin, the escort agency boss, as well as the two men shed met prior to her death, and her ex-husband Dr Christopher Harrison, who later left Scotland. In 2020-21, the rates for those accused of homicide varied somewhat for the 16 to 20 (24 per million population), 21 to 30 (33 per million population) and 31 to 50 (21 per million population) years old age groups. Click 'Accept all cookies' to agree to all cookies that collect anonymous data. Over half (51%) of female victims aged between 16 and 70 years old were killed by their partner or ex-partner, 27% were killed by an acquaintance, 11% were killed by a relative and 7% were killed by a stranger. Little is known about the categorisation of homicides in Scotland as police rarely discuss the subject. Visit 'Set cookie preferences' to control specific cookies. We examine lesser known UK cases in depth, talk to true crime authors, review products/shows, and interview other experts in the field of UK True Crime to offer It was the body of a boy aged around three, still wearing what looked like a pyjama top. Veronica goes back inside, and tells her husband someone is at the door for him. All were found partially clothed or naked, their handbags missing, and all had met their killer at the Barrowland Ballroom. If you think we have made a significant mistake and you However, if police had followed the lead up, they would have found out that the driver of the bus was a man called Alexander Gartshore, on bail for raping his childrens babysitter. In the ten year period between 2010-11 and 2019-20, around half (46%) of all accused were reported to have been under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the homicide. eerie unsolved mystery Police officer numbers in Scotland have remained broadly similar since 2013, although Police Scotland has announced plans to reduce its strength by around 400 officers by 2021 to meet budget constraints. The site is also not upto date as it can take many years for a murder to be considered unsolved. Billy Sibbald, October 2002. Now McGill - who still maintains his innocence - We use cookies to collect anonymous data to help us improve your site browsing Of the 64 cases of homicide recorded for 2019-20, 63 were solved and one is currently unsolved. The second most common set of circumstances are an unknown motive with partner or ex-partner in a dwelling, accounting for a further 15% of female victims. As with south of the border there is another measure of crime in Scotland - the annual Crime and Justice Survey. The creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was involved in securing his release. Crime has been on a downward trajectory over the past 27 years, although there was a slight increase in crimes reported to the police last year. In the period 2010-11 to 2019-20, 83% of all female victims were killed in a dwelling, compared with 55% of males. There has also been a steep decline in the number of police community support officers and civilian staff, who provide vital back-up roles. The vast majority of persons accused of homicide since 2000-01 have been male, making up 92% of all accused in 2020-21. You have the Crown with a well-organised homicide unit and taking much more involvement in the day-to-day running and direction of these inquiries and whether they think the police have done enough.". There was then a larger one-year decrease of 10 cases (or 15%) in 2020-21. The Wilsons seemed a perfectly normal happy family. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. editor@scottishfield.co.uk; To only allow the cookies that make the site work, click 'Use essential cookies only.' Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests, Fighter jets are roaring over my home in Sudan, Explosion derails train in Russian border region. Kristian Nairn speaks for the first time about the 1997 murder of Belfast policeman Darren Bradshaw. More than 1000 murders in Scotland left 'unresolved' Direct comparisons between Scotland and England & Wales should be treated with some caution due to uncertainty around different counting and classification conventions. Alistair and Veronica Wilson are at home in Nairn, getting their children ready for bed. Her battered body was found the next day, the victim of a seemingly motiveless attack. The crew abandoned ship but many sailors were trapped in the mess hall. Fingerprints taken from the arm matched those of a 17-year-old local girl, Betty Hadden. [1] Victims believed or known to have been murdered The 1998 murder of Lanarkshire waiter Surjit Singh Chhokar, 32, was treated as category C. Giving evidence into an enquiry about the murder, a senior police officer said that "a category C murder is one where the identity of the offenders is known at an early stage". King Charles' coronation to include various faiths and languages Chart 6 shows the rate for accused by age group and sex for homicides since 2011-12 (i.e. On the seabed off Drumbeg in Sutherland lies an unknown wreck site. In 2020-21, the alcohol and drug status of the accused was unknown for 20 persons, 31% of all accused. The people of Tayport raised money and he was buried in the village, where community representatives pay their respects once a year. 2023 BBC. In London, a man is currently being tried in an infamous cold case involving the alleged murder to two nine-year-old girls. Glasgow City accounted for over two-fifths (41%) of this decrease in that period. In Scotland, the number of homicide cases has fallen over the longer term but remained relatively stable during 2012-13 to 2019-20 (with between 59 and 65 cases each year). He was noticeably playing with his shirt cuff. in the process of restoring those numbers. The police had revealed the type of firearm used, a 0.25 calibre Haenel Suhl pocket pistol from the 1930s and wanted help in identifying any user of such a pistol. Commentary - Homicide in Scotland 2019-2020: statistics - gov.scot Cases where the main accused and main victim were both female accounted for just 3% of the total number. Over the past 10 years, a majority of male victims were killed by an acquaintance (58%). Charging rates - and overall detection levels - vary according to what type of crime it is. The latest data published was for the 2018-19 reporting year. Betty was known to frequent the harbour, catching the eye of visiting sailors. Direct comparisons between Scotland and England & Wales should be treated with some caution due to uncertainty around different counting and classification conventions. Why would someone kill him? Of those cases where the victim and accused were known to each other, 66% were acquaintances, 24% were partners or ex-partners and 11% were relatives. Russell Bishop is on trial for a second time charged with killing Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in Brighton in 1986. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. Males are more likely to be victims compared to females, with an overall rate for males of 18 victims per million population, more than four times the rate for females (four victims per million population). This bulletin also presents victim and accused data, the circumstances associated with the homicide, and additional details relating to the method, motive and relationship between the victim and the accused. "There's a much more detailed and forensic approach. experience. Homicide in Canada, 2020 18. The story begins on Friday, November 12 1976, when Renee MacRae left her home in Inverness with her sons Gordon, 9, and Andrew, 3. His daughter, Sandra Brown, believes Gartshore was Moiras killer. All had been strangled with their own tights and raped. He had told her that hed got a job with an oil firm in Shetland and found a house for them all to live together. A category B murder is where the identity of the offender is not readily known.". By Monday, Jemima had still not arrived home. In 2019-20, the total number of individuals accused of homicide equated to 14 per million population.