The son of murdered Nairn banker Alistair Wilson says he still has “nightmares” about his dad’s death 20 years on.
Andrew Wilson saw his father lying in a pool of blood after he was shot on the doorstep of the family home in the Highland town.
Dad of two Alistair, 30, was gunned down on November 28, 2004, in what became one of Scotland’s most notorious unsolved murder cases.
On the 20th anniversary of Alistair’s death, cops announced they were to re-examine 10,000 documents relating to the case. It came after the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain ordered a reinvestigation in September of the case with a new team of police officers and prosecutors.
Andrew, who was four at the time of the murder, has accused Police Scotland of “kicking the can down the road” while the suspect in his dad’s doorstep killer “walks free”. The 24-year-old also revealed he “blanked out” many of his childhood memories in order to deal with the murder.
He told Sky News: “All I saw was my dad on the floor in a pool of his own blood. My mum over him. I still get the image of my dad himself in nightmares and stuff from time to time. I blanked out a lot of my childhood memories, that was my way of dealing with it, just kind of closing the door on that kind of part of my life.”
Alistair had been reading a bedtime story to his sons when his wife, Veronica, answered the door to a man who asked for her husband by name. Alistair went downstairs to speak to the visitor and was handed a blue birthday card-style envelope with the word ‘Paul’ on it.
He showed it to his wife then returned to the door and the gunman opened fire. Alistair was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but he died an hour later. His killer has never been caught.
Twenty years on, Andrew has told how he feels let down by police, who made an 11th-hour decision to stop the planned arrest of a potential suspect on May 15, 2023.
Speaking to the Press and Journal, he said: “I feel betrayed by the establishment that’s there to uphold justice. I have zero faith in Police Scotland. How can we trust anyone if we can’t even trust the police?”
It comes after Alistair’s family said earlier this year that they had “lost confidence” in police. Veronica and Andrew labelled police “incompetent” and their relationship had “steadily deteriorated” in the past 18 months due to unresolved issues not being addressed.
The fresh probe, named Operation Sabine, will see around 14,000 actions carried out by cops re-examined since the death. The team of 14 officers has been drawn from a range of specialists, including complex investigations, homicide and murder inquiries and forensics and intelligence gathering.
Andrew said: “I feel the force are just trying to hide behind the ‘live investigation line’ to silence us and kick the can down the road while a murder suspect walks free.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Police Scotland is committed to the reinvestigation of Alistair Wilson’s murder and both CS Chow and DCI Semple will continue to support the Wilson family and keep them updated of any developments.”
Last week, on the 20th anniversary of Alistair‘s murder, police launched a new Major Investigation Public Portal, where members of the public can send officers information about his death directly and anonymously.
Detective Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow said: “The team reinvestigating Alistair’s murder are absolutely committed to doing everything they can to get justice for his family. We are exploring all new opportunities available to us, including advanced technology around forensics and DNA analysis.
“Alistair’s wife Veronica, their two sons and wider family, have suffered 20 years of pain and their unanswered questions about why he was murdered and who was responsible remain. The thoughts of everyone at Police Scotland are very much with them at this time and we are keeping them informed of any updates we have as the reinvestigation progresses.”
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