Man guilty of murdering brother-in-law and shooting two other people in shotgun rampage on Isle of Skye
29 November 2024, 15:28
A man has been found guilty of murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to kill three other people during a shotgun rampage on the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland.
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Finlay MacDonald, 41, carried out the spree of violence on August 10, 2022.
The attacks began that morning when the father-of-four repeatedly stabbed his wife Rowena at their home in Taskarvaig on the island's Sleat peninsula after finding "flirty" text messages on her phone between her and her boss.
Giving evidence during the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, Mrs MacDonald said the "frenzied" attack punctured both her lungs and left her "squelching blood" with every breath she took.
After attacking his wife, MacDonald got into his car with a pump-action shotgun, a "couple of hundred" cartridges and a "machete-type" knife, and drove to his brother-in-law John MacKinnon's house in the nearby village of Teangue.
His sister Lyn-Anne MacKinnon, who was outside on the driveway, told the court she saw him with the gun as he walked into the house, and said she heard "bangs" as he shot Mr MacKinnon a number of times, leaving him with fatal injuries.
A GP who lived nearby attempted to save Mr MacKinnon but he died at the scene.
The court heard MacDonald had borne a grudge against his brother-in-law since the pair had a violent falling out in 2013.
MacDonald then drove to the house in Dornie in Wester Ross, on the mainland, where his osteopath John MacKenzie lived with his wife Fay.
MacDonald claimed Mr MacKenzie had previously given him a treatment session which he said "ruined his life".
After arriving, MacDonald shot Mrs MacKenzie in the face through the windows of the house and then shot Mr MacKenzie twice, in his front and side, before being tasered and arrested by police who had trailed him to the property.
Mrs MacDonald, Mrs MacKenzie and Mr MacKenzie all survived their injuries, and gave evidence in court during the trial.
The court was shown footage of a police interview with MacDonald the day after the attacks during which he said he stabbed his wife in a "moment of madness" and he then felt a "total darkness come over me".
MacDonald's lawyer had argued for his client to be convicted of the lesser offence of culpable homicide rather than murder in relation to the killing of Mr MacKinnon, saying his ability to control his actions had been "impaired by reason of abnormality of mind".
However after three-and-a-half hours of deliberation on Friday, the jury found MacDonald guilty of one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and one count of possession of a shotgun "with intent thereof to endanger life".
A central focus of the 12-day trial was the extent to which MacDonald was in control of his actions when he carried out the attacks.
The court heard evidence about his mental state from two psychiatrists and two psychologists, who all agreed he suffered from autistic spectrum disorder and depressive disorder.
However prosecutor Liam Ewing KC said MacDonald's actions after he stabbed his wife - including the fact he drove to two different houses, was able to load and use a shotgun, and was able to select his victims - indicated he had been "fully in control" of his actions when he murdered the osteopath.
MacDonald will be sentenced by judge Lady Drummond later on Friday.
Defending, Solicitor Advocate Shahid Latif said: "He is sorry for what he did that day.
"He wishes he could undo and go back in time to try and stop himself.
"In particular he indicates he has failed his children.
"He wants them to know he is sorry."
