UK UK - Alistair Wilson, 30, murdered at home, Nairn, Scotland, 28 Nov 2004

[Eastend Eagle]

Banker hitman in boat escape mystery. - Free Online Library

Free Online Library: Banker hitman in boat escape mystery.(News) by "Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)"; News, opinion and commentary General interest

www.thefreelibrary.com

	Dec 4, 2004

''THE gunman who murdered a banker on his doorstep may have escaped by boat.

One craft was spotted in the harbour at Nairn last Sunday, the day 30-year-old dad-of-two Alistair Wilson was shot dead at his home in the town.

Detectives are also checking reports that a speedboat was found at the Black Isle, on the opposite side of the Moray Firth.

More than 40 officers are going through Alistair's affairs,looking for a possible motive for the murder.''

2022

Men seen on Nairn beach with gun before banker murder

Police want to trace the men seen on a Nairn beach a month before Alistair Wilson was shot in 2004.

www.bbc.com

''Two men were seen with a gun on a beach at Nairn a month before a father-of-two was shot on the doorstep of his home in the town, say police.
Bank manager Alistair Wilson was shot on the evening of 28 November 2004. He later died in hospital.
Police said a witness has described seeing two men - one aged in their 20s and the other between 40 and 60 years old - on Nairn's East Beach.
The younger of the men was said to have been in possession of a handgun.
The beach is only a short walk from the Wilson's family home.''

Excellent work as always @dotr.
But I have to say the supposed sighting of the 2 men reported in 2022 seems very unlikely to me reported as it was more than 17 years after the shooting. Smacks of a red herring.

 

[shadwell]

<quoted post was removed>
Can anyone recall if cartridge cases were recovered from the scene? And if so, where?

I have a vague recollection of something being mentioned wrt this, but can’t now find any indication either way.

 

[touch]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>
In my opinion, the gun was put in the drain to hide it with the expectation that it wouldn't ever be found or wouldn't be found for a long time.
It was pure luck that the routine drain cleaning was being done at that time (the gun wasn't found by a police search or anything related to this case). If they'd been to clean it a couple of weeks earlier, the gun wouldn't have been there and if they'd been a couple of weeks later the gun would have been covered by leaves and other rubbish. It wouldn't have been lying on the top and probably wouldn't have been seen.

 

[dotr]

New image of gun used to kill Nairn banker Alistair Wilson

Police release a new image of the gun used in the nine-year-old unsolved murder of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson.

www.bbc.com

"It is a Haenal Suhl Model 1 Schmeisser's patent handgun, manufactured between 1920 and 1945 at the Schmeisser factory in Germany.
"The ammunition was .25 calibre made by Sellier and Bellot in the Czech Republic between 1983 and 1993."


An image of the type of bullet used has also been released

2005

How can a bullet be traced to a particular gun?

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

www.scientificamerican.com

''Ann L. Davis of the Virginia Division of Forensic Science and the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, explains.''
''Most modern handguns and rifles are manufactured based on blueprints that specify their configurations. One of these specifications is a characteristic known as rifling, which refers to the spiral lands and grooves placed into the firearm's barrel to impart a spin on the bullet for accuracy. The number of lands and grooves and the direction in which they twist, either right or left, can be determined by observing the rifling engravings in the barrel. The image at right (top) shows the rifling in a barrel having eight lands and grooves inclined to the left, as seen from the muzzle-end of a firearm. The lands and grooves appear as raised and lowered areas, respectively, in the barrel. These rifling characteristics are then imparted onto a projectile as it spins down the barrel, leaving land and groove impressions on the fired bullet (bottom).

Manufacturers use various cutting, swaging and electrolytic processes to introduce rifling into a barrel, and these processes, as well as others used in the finishing of a firearm, make each barrel unique.''

 

[Eastend Eagle]

In my opinion, the gun was put in the drain to hide it with the expectation that it wouldn't ever be found or wouldn't be found for a long time.
It was pure luck that the routine drain cleaning was being done at that time (the gun wasn't found by a police search or anything related to this case). If they'd been to clean it a couple of weeks earlier, the gun wouldn't have been there and if they'd been a couple of weeks later the gun would have been covered by leaves and other rubbish. It wouldn't have been lying on the top and probably wouldn't have been seen.

Thanks @touch , I take your point.
I guess the only possibility other than what you say is that whoever placed it there did it in the knowledge that the drain cleaning was due and therefore it would be possible that the gun would be discovered.

 

[dotr]

Parking this handy link here, fwiw..

The Science Behind Firearm and Tool Mark Examination

So what is the current state of the science of firearm and tool mark examinations? Are these examinations accurate, reliable and valid?

www.crime-scene-investigator.net

 

[shadwell]

A couple of points (which may or may not be of note) from going back over the BBC’s “The Doorstep Murder” from last year. First, re cartridge cases - Lyndsey Gardner (one of the women who went over to help from the Havelock) notes (at 6:00):

I remember seeing the cartridge of a bullet lying on his sort of chest, stomach sort of area…

The model 1 pistol ejects cartridges pretty much straight out the top. As can be seen in the video below of a Haenel Suhl Model 1 being fired, ejection can be quite erratic in terms of direction and distance: usually to the right, but sometimes to the left or straight up; mostly (but not always) slightly forward of the weapon (see video below).

Based on this IMO, at least one shot was fired while AW was already on the ground by a shooter positioned close to his feet (supposing the AW fell backwards into the house). On that basis, also I would say there was a definite intention to kill - IMO this was not someone who panicked, loosed off some shots and then legged it.

FWIW it seems reminiscent of the way Sylvain Mollier was apparently shot in the chest and head after initially being shot in the back in the course of the Chevaline murders. My impression in this case is that AW was initially felled by a shot to the chest (or possibly pushed over) and then received further gunshot injuries while on the ground.

ETA: of course this can only be a supposition - only police know the paths of the bullets within AW’s body.

 

[dotr]

To Catch A Killer - My Hunt for the Truth Behind the Doorstep Murder

On 28 November 2004, banker and father-of-two Alistair Wilson was shot three times on his doorstep in a killing more commonly associated with inner city gang wars than a sleepy seaside town in the Scottish Highlands. All these years later, the question remains: why?Who would wish to kill this...

books.google.ca

 

[shadwell]

A second point from the BBC “The Doorstep Murder” film, regarding where AW fell:

At 06:34 presenter Fiona Walker asks Lyndsey Gardner if she could see inside the house. She replies:

Yeah. So I remember at one point looking up to see a little boy standing at the bottom of the stairs.

So we know that at this point, both the inner and outer doors are open and those attending to AW could see into the hallway. Additonally, David James Smith notes in his Times article (link below) that

Alistair was lying where he had fallen or crumpled, backwards across the threshold of the front door, his head resting against a box in the hallway.

https://archive.is/bJJo9

While in the BBC film at 03:32 VW says

… he was lying in the porch

So overall my impression is that AW was lying across the threshold of the inner door with his legs in the porch, and upper half inside the hallway.

A couple of points re the inner door:

First - at the time it had a hydraulic spring closer mounted at the top (circled in Scottish Daily Express photo, below), presumably a hangover from when the house was a hotel.

Second - based on the way the door closer is mounted it appears (counterintuitively) that the door opened outwards.

So a number of questions come to mind - was the inner door wedged open at the time of the shooting - in late autumn and at a time when the Wilsons were apparently using only the side door? Perhaps - the Channel 5 ‘Murder on the Doorstep’ reconstruction suggested it was wedged open, though this was staged in another house with an inner door opening inwards.

Was the porch deep enough to allow both the inner and outer doors to open into the porch at the same time?

If the door wasn’t wedged open, would AW have spoken to the killer with both doors open? He would have to hold the inner door open himself to prevent it closing behind him. And if it did close behind him while he spoke to the killer, how did he fall back into the hallway through an outward opening door? Might this suggest that, rather than being involved in a conversation there before being shot, he was shot the moment he opened the inner door?

Again, supposition on my part - if anyone can find a photo of the house with both doors open it would certainly be of interest.

 

[shadwell]

Just to add to the previous post regarding doors - AW’s planning objection letter stated that the couple were uncomfortable using their front door and had apparently taken to using the side door into the driveway only. From 16:30 onward in the BBC film, David James Smith notes AB querying why the Wilsons front door was apparently never open and their curtains shut. Was this in conversation in the pub? If so, would a killer connected to the Havelock not have gone to the side door? It would appear to offer better cover from any witness on the street.

ETA: would the planning objection letter delivered to the pub have had AW’s name on it? How would a killer connected to the pub know to target AW rather than VW?

 

[shadwell]

And finally, to throw in an oddball curiosity - (at 14:07 in the BBC ‘Doorstep Murder’ film) of whom does VW’s hair style in footage of this police press conference shortly after the shooting remind you?

 

[dotr]

SHOT BANKER HAD PLANNED NEW LIFE; Dad-of-two was set to quit his job. - Free Online Library

Free Online Library: SHOT BANKER HAD PLANNED NEW LIFE; Dad-of-two was set to quit his job.(News) by "The Mirror (London, England)"; General interest

www.thefreelibrary.com

Link/Page Citation
Byline: MAGGIE BARRY rbbm.

''As police hunted for the killer last night, it was revealed that Alistair was planning to quit his high-flying job at the Bank of Scotland.

Friends said he was planning to set up a new business in his adopted home town.

The gunman asked for him by name - removing any doubt that his killing was a case of mistaken identity.

Last night a pal said: "Alistair was ready to quit the bank and set up on his own in a new business.''

''Cops cordoned off large areas of the town as they combed gardens and outhouses leading to the beach using sniffer dogs and metal detectors.

A post mortem was carried out yesterday to retrieve bullets from Alistair's body so cops can identify the type of weapon used.

Police are conducting house-to-house inquiries and studying CCTV footage from the nearby Braevale Hotel, known as the Shambles.''

 

[shadwell]

SHOT BANKER HAD PLANNED NEW LIFE; Dad-of-two was set to quit his job. - Free Online Library

Free Online Library: SHOT BANKER HAD PLANNED NEW LIFE; Dad-of-two was set to quit his job.(News) by "The Mirror (London, England)"; General interest

www.thefreelibrary.com

Link/Page Citation
Byline: MAGGIE BARRY rbbm.

''As police hunted for the killer last night, it was revealed that Alistair was planning to quit his high-flying job at the Bank of Scotland.

Friends said he was planning to set up a new business in his adopted home town.

The gunman asked for him by name - removing any doubt that his killing was a case of mistaken identity.

Last night a pal said: "Alistair was ready to quit the bank and set up on his own in a new business.''

''Cops cordoned off large areas of the town as they combed gardens and outhouses leading to the beach using sniffer dogs and metal detectors.

A post mortem was carried out yesterday to retrieve bullets from Alistair's body so cops can identify the type of weapon used.

Police are conducting house-to-house inquiries and studying CCTV footage from the nearby Braevale Hotel, known as the Shambles.''

But when Alistair went to the front door the gunman callously shot him twice in the head and once in the body.

Another variation of the description of injuries AW received - something else I noticed yesterday when watching the BBC film again, in which both Lyndsey Gardner and AB (quoted by David James Smith) noted only a single gunshot wound to AW’s left cheek.

 

[shadwell]

Independent article from 2005 with a few additional details - VW hypnotised by police, figures for AW’s estate etc.

One year on, who killed Alistair Wilson?

The shooting of a loved and respected father-of-two in close-knit Nairn 12 months ago has destroyed a family, shattered a community and left the police utterly baffled. Paul Kelbie reports

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Lonicera]

Since it is established that Alistair Wilson was the target of the killer, why not take an interest in his work at the Bank of Scotland? He was working as a business manager.
We know that this bank was suspected in money laundering cases.And " Ian Stephen the Edinburgh-based expert who was an adviser on the Cracker and Prime Suspect television shows, says : " (...)
the crime exhibited "unusual features", such as the caller coming to the door. "If he had been a professional hitman, I do not think he would have been as obvious as that. And I don't think it was mistaken identity, because he asked for Alistair Wilson by name."

He believes that similar crimes were usually related to drugs or money laundering, where someone had a particular problem or grievance. "In such cases though, whoever is behind it is normally traced within a few days as the reason for the killing emerges pretty quickly. In this case, though, there is no one in town that knows anything about it. It is one of the great unsolved mysteries - it is baffling." One year on, who killed Alistair Wilson?


I add this Heraldscotland article from 2021.

Royal Bank of Scotland group faces criminal proceedings over money laundering​

RBS group faces criminal proceedings over money laundering

 

[dotr]

Was £20bn scandal behind assassination of banker on his doorstep?

Alistair Wilson, 30, a Bank of Scotland business banking manager, was shot dead at his home in Nairn in November 2004, weeks after Paul Moore lost his job as HBoS head of risk management.

www.dailymail.co.uk

By GRAHAM GRANT, 18 May 2019
''A whistleblower who lifted the lid on a financial scandal has told of his fear banker Alistair Wilson was murdered as a result of the controversy.

Paul Moore was sacked in 2004 after raising the alarm over a loans strategy that would finally overwhelm bank giant HBoS, leading to a £20.5billion taxpayer bailout''

''Last night, police sources said it could not be 'ruled out' that Mr Moore was the Paul in question, but refused to discuss whether or not efforts had been made to interview him.

Former detective Peter Bleksley, 59 – who wrote a book on the shooting, To Catch A Killer: My Hunt for the Truth Behind the Doorstep Murder – said it was possible Mr Moore was the 'Paul' mentioned on the envelope that was handed to Mr Wilson before he was killed.

Mr Bleksley believes it is 'possible' that someone who worked at the bank knew Mr Wilson may have been about to raise the alarm about some form of financial wrongdoing, by contacting Mr Moore.''

Mr Bleksley said: 'I am convinced the reason for Alistair's murder lies within his work.'

''HBoS was acquired by Lloyds in 2009 and subsequently needed a £20.5billion cash injection from British taxpayers to prevent its collapse.

Mr Moore has previously said 'sales and marketing had got out of control' at HBoS by 2004.''

 

[Eastend Eagle]

And finally, to throw in an oddball curiosity - (at 14:07 in the BBC ‘Doorstep Murder’ film) of whom does VW’s hair style in footage of this police press conference shortly after the shooting remind you?

View attachment 410478

Sorry @shadwell, I don't know.

 

[shadwell]

Sorry @shadwell, I don't know.

Admittedly tending towards the outright bonkers, but it brought this chap to mind. Someone’s cheeky nickname for VW?

 

[shadwell]

Though of course, when it comes to people called Paul who liked to send letters, there’s always this chap:

Masonic Encylopedia Entry On Paul, Saint, the Apostle , a Freemason

Learn more about Paul, Saint, the Apostle , a Freemason from the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.

masonicshop.com

 

[Eastend Eagle]

It’s a good point - we can’t know in which direction the scent trail led, when it originated (scent trails can last for weeks in dry conditions) or even (with no comparison item) whose scent it was. With the Wilsons apparently using only the side door for some time previously, it might be a good supposition that a scent detected by dogs around the porch and front of the house belonged to the killer, but it can’t be guaranteed.

This is another example of where a historical weather record for the area would be useful - heavy rain during the day or days prior to the shooting would wash away older scents, giving a higher probability that the scent belonged to the killer.

Presumably, the scent followed by the sniffer dogs would have been the strongest and therefore likely most recent scent trail.
MOO

We know they followed a scent to the beach, do we know if they also followed a scent trail to the drain in which the gun was found?