Dramatic new evidence has emerged in the unsolved doorstep murder of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson – only days before the 20th anniversary of his death.
The Sunday Mail can reveal that a distressed man seen sitting on a bench in the seaside town could hold the key to finally bringing Alistair’s killer to justice.
It comes just two months after Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain announced a fresh probe into one of Scotland’s last unsolved cold cases after a series of police failings.
Former Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley claims he has information that after the murder a tearful elderly man was spoken to by a concerned passer-by who asked him what was wrong and if he could help.
The key witness is then heard to have said: “I cannot believe that I have raised a son who would do such a thing.”
Bleksley is appealing for the concerned passer-by to contact the police or speak to him.
Dad of two Alistair, 30, was gunned down on the doorstep of his home in the town’s Crescent Road on November 28 2004 after bathing his sons before bed.
Bleksley said: “I was told that the father was sitting on a bench and was very distressed and a person approached him and said, ‘What is wrong, can I help, why are you so upset?’
“It was then he said to this person, ‘I cannot believe that I have raised a son who would do such a thing.’”
Bleksley said the police must investigate this new lead as sources suggest other people living in the town may be aware of the incident.
The retired former officer, who has taken a keen interest in the case, also claims to know the identity of the Alistair’s killer and said the man on the bench may have died a number of years ago.
The son, now thought to be in his early 40’s, was recently released from prison after serving an unrelated sentence for drug offences and is believed to have gone to ground.
A regular in the Havelock House Hotel at the time of Alistair’s murder, he is also said to have had access to firearms.
Blecksley, who served for 21 years as an undercover officer, visits the seaside town every year and next week will be at the Havelock Hotel, opposite the Wilson home.
He urged anyone the information to go to the new police team but also said that he would be willing to speak to the male witness or anyone else aware of the incident.
Blecksley said: “He can find me at the Havelock or he can contact me on social media. I will go wherever he wants me to go to meet him. I would like to hear this story directly from him rather than second hand.”
Bleksley is the author of a book ‘To Catch a Killer’ written about the baffling case that remains one of the country’s unsolved murders.
He said: “I am not giving up. I will not rest and people know that. I am only trying to discover the truth.”
In September this year the Lord Advocate, who is responsible for all prosecutions in Scotland, announced a fresh probe following a meeting with Alistair’s family.
She is said to have identified 150 ‘points of concern’ with the original police inquiries.
Bleksley, who co presented Channel Four’s Hunted, said: “The blame for nobody being caught lies fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the police.
“The case has been bedevilled by mistakes, oversights, lack of leadership and errors throughout. The Lord Advocate’s decision to order a investigation is a very bad judgement on everything that has gone before.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow who works with Police Scotland’s Homicide Governance and Review team now leads the new inquiry.
She replaced DCS Paul Livingstone whose role in the 20 year probe was publicly criticised by the Wilson family.
They made a series of complaints about Police Scotland’s handling of the murder investigation, including the conduct of DCS Livingstone, after claims they were misled over the planned arrest of a suspect in May last year. The force have since apologised.
The unexplained murder of the banker has cast a shadow over Police Scotland who took over investigations from the old Northern Constabulary in 2013 when all eight regional forces were merged.
Around 7pm on the day of the killing, Alistair’s wife Veronica answered the door of their home to a man who asked for her husband by name.
At the time Alistair was reading a bedtime story to his two young sons.
He went downstairs to speak to the visitor and was handed a blue birthday card-style envelope with the name ‘Paul’ on it.
Alistair showed it to his wife revealing it was empty and then returned to the door and the gunman opened fire.
On hearing the three shots, Veronica rushed to the front door to find her hsuabnd in a pool of blood and dialled 999.
An ambulance rushed Alistair to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but he would die an hour later.
The dad, who was originally from Ayrshire, had just resigned from his job at the Bank of Scotland and was due to begin a new job in Inverness with an environmental consultancy firm.
The killer is believed to have taken the mystery envelope with him.
Ten days later the murder weapon, an antique German pocket pistol, was found in a drain half a mile away by council workers. No forensic evidence was found linking it to any individual.
Two years ago, police revealed a minor planning dispute was at the centre of their investigation.
Shortly before he died, Alistair had objected to a large decking area built outside the Havelock Hotel, opposite his home.
Owner Andy Burnett received a copy of the letter from the council two days before Alistair’s murder.
Detectives travelled to Nova Scotia in Canada to interview him, later stressing he was a witness and not a suspect.
The 55-year-old had emigrated in 2013 with his wife after selling the hotel.
Detectives also revealed details of two men seen with a handgun on Nairn’s East Beach a month before Alistair’s murder. But despite repeated appeals by both Veronica and the couple’s grown-up sons, there have been no new breakthroughs in the case until now.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We remain committed to identifying the person or people responsible for the murder of Alistair Wilson.
“The senior investigating officer has met with Mrs Wilson and briefed her on the reinvestigation of the case.
“We continue to support Alistair’s family through our specially trained officers.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.