Alistair Wilson case: The doorstep murder that remains one of Britain’s longest-running unsolved cases
Imagine being four years old. One minute your dad is reading you a bedtime story. The next he is lying on the doorstep of your family home, drawing his final breaths.
Blood is seeping from bullet wounds to his face and body, pooling in the hallway, while the innocent eyes of a young boy gaze from the nearby staircase, unable to comprehend he was witnessing an event that would change his life forever.
“I still get that image of my dad in nightmares,” Andrew Wilson, now aged 24, says as he relives the childhood horror he experienced, two decades on from the gangland-style attack that killed his father, Alistair.
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‘Doorstep murder’ case explained
Warning: Contains descriptions some readers may find distressing
Andrew is quiet as he shows me a picture of him and his bank manager dad, taken hours before the fatal evening of 28 November 2004.
The beaming smiles of father and son, captured on a grainy film camera, resemble old photos that usually gather dust in well-thumbed family photo albums. The picture was taken during a relaxed walk in the woods, and shows them both wearing blue outdoor jackets, holding hands. Andrew comes up to his dad’s hip and is leaning his head on his arm.
But this is all Andrew has left. It is the last image of his father alive.
The final photo of Andrew and Alistair
The gunman vanished into the night
The contrast between the family fun on a Sunday afternoon with the brutal violence that would follow the same day is eerie.
The murder of Alistair Wilson is one of Britain’s longest-running unsolved cases.
Even the brightest and most seasoned detectives have been baffled by the fact a gunman carried out such a brutal execution in a sleepy Highland town before vanishing into the night, never to be caught.
No motive has ever been established, although in recent years police have zoned in on a planning dispute across the road.
Andrew is now 24, and grew up without a father
The absence of his father is something Andrew has been forced to come to terms with.
“A lot of my friends’ dads were very good. My uncles all tried to have their influence on me but it wasn’t the same. I remember my grandad teaching me how to kick a football properly… that’s something my dad would have taught me”, he says.
Speaking with a Highland lilt in his voice, he ponders the small but significant moments he missed out on like sharing his “first legal pint” with his dad on his 18th birthday.
“I blanked out a lot of my childhood memories,” he says.
Andrew has had to come to terms with growing up without a father
The knock at the door
It all began on Crescent Road, a long side street in Nairn. Victorian three-storey houses sit near a church, while a nearby beach looks out across the Moray Firth. Crime was rare – there hadn’t been a murder in Nairn for almost 20 years.
Alistair was upstairs with his two young boys, getting them ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. His wife, Veronica, answered a stranger who asked for her husband by name.
The house on Crescent Road
Envelope with ‘Paul’ written on it
Nothing about that interaction seemed to raise suspicion or cause alarm, and Alistair left the boys to come downstairs.
The stranger handed him an empty blue envelope with the word “Paul” written on it, and he closed the door. But bewildered, Alistair opened it again to ask questions. He was instantly shot in a gangland-style attack.
Andrew talks about the family’s plans to visit his dad’s grave, to commemorate the anniversary of his murder.
“He would have been 50 this year,” he says. His tone of voice is matter-of-fact, but his gaze wanders off.
“The whole family got together and marked it.”
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A replica of the weapon used in the murder. Pic: Police Scotland
A planning dispute
Speculation has run rife over the years in Nairn as to the motives behind the murder. Could it have been connected to Alistair’s career at the bank? Could a hitman have carried it out? Andrew says the worst part was when his mum was rumoured to be a suspect.
“It was difficult when people would say it was mum,” he says, emotion audible in his voice for the first time. Sounding protective, Andrew edges forward in his seat.
“I got in trouble at school for fighting because someone would say it was my mum,” he says. “I’d already lost a parent, and my other one was being made out to be something I knew they weren’t. That was my biggest struggle.”
Veronica and Alistair on their wedding day
Owner remains a key witness
Andrew is full of praise for how his mother dealt with being the focus of such hurtful gossip, while being both mother and father to her two sons. “She has done an amazing job,” he says.
In more recent years, police thought a possible motive could be linked to a planning objection Alastair had to a large decking area being built at the pub across the road from his house. His opposition was made public three days before he was killed.
Could a planning grievance really trigger such violence?
Police have stressed the then owner of the venue, who now lives in Canada, is a key witness and not a suspect.
Alistair was a young father when he was shot
‘Murkier and murkier’
Relations between Alistair Wilson’s family and Police Scotland were typically strong. There was no reason to question the strategy and the abilities of officers to do their jobs properly. When detectives told them, 18 months ago, that they were going to make an arrest, they were elated – finally it seemed justice might be done. But it wasn’t to be – the police went silent, and after chasing them for an answer, they found out the arrest had been cancelled.
From there it got “murkier and murkier”, Andrew says, with no explanation given. He and his family feel “let down” by the police, he says, and have no confidence they will ever catch the killer.
They are now calling for Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell, who was appointed in October 2023, to resign and take responsibility for her “callous” approach, after she refused to meet the family on multiple occasions.
Alistair and his sons
‘Committed to answers’
“If her force has let us down for 20 years and she can’t get a hold of it, how are they going to get us somewhere?” Andrew asks. Police Scotland did not address questions from Sky News about the future of the chief constable.
Sky News confronted Jo Farrell as she arrived at a meeting in Glasgow on 1 December.
“I won’t be resigning, she said, when asked if she would quit over “failing to get a grip” on this.
“I am committed to us getting answers and finding the people responsible for the murder.”
She walked away when questioned further about her competence, or lack thereof, as the Wilson family see it.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell
New senior detective in place
The new senior detective reinvestigating the murder from scratch has said she is determined to find the answers to crack the case.
Detective Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow, who has met the family face to face, admitted she is currently “not in a position” to arrest anyone and conceded the various inquiries over the years have been “protracted”.
DCS Chow defended her boss’ decision to cancel the arrest.
“The chief’s not being callous,” she said.
Andrew and his brother at their father’s grave
‘We are a tick box’
While this row between the family and police continues there are questions about whether Andrew and his family will ever find closure.
“All we can do is wait,” Andrew says. “We are a tick box to police. Ever since the arrest was pulled it is clear we are just a number to them.”
Photos from the Wilson family
A man has pleaded guilty to selling a substance online to assist with the suicide of others.
Miles Cross, 33, admitted four counts of intentionally doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide of another.
Cross provided chemicals to Shubhreet Singh on 22 August last year, Wrexham Magistrates’ Court heard during an October hearing.
Ms Singh, 26, died in West Yorkshire last year.
The three other counts relate to three victims who are alive and cannot be named due to reporting restrictions.
The incidents are said to have happened in August and September 2024.
Police are also investigating a second death in connection with the packages Cross sold online.
Cross arrives at Mold Crown Court to enter his guilty plea
Cross had set up a business selling the chemical via an internet discussion forum and interacted with others on the forum under a pseudonym.
He joined the site in July 2024 and posted a QR code, which allowed people to order the chemical directly from him and pay via his bank account.
Cross received payments of £100 from four people and sent them the chemical through the post.
Cross, from Wrexham, was arrested in January following a police investigation into sales via the forum to assist with suicide. Officers found the chemical and other paraphernalia at his address.
His devices were seized, which linked Cross to the forum, social media profiles and the bank account.
“Miles Cross preyed on four people in a distressed state and knowingly provided a substance intended to end their lives,” Alison Storey, specialist prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division, said.
“His actions were purely for financial gain, and he made the process of ordering the chemical online easy and accessible.”
Court artist drawing of Miles Cross. Pic: PA
She said the case was a “stark reminder of the dangers posed by those who aim to exploit vulnerable individuals online”, adding that the CPS hopes that Cross pleading guilty brings “some measure of justice” to the victims and their families.
North Wales Police’s Detective Superintendent Chris Bell said: “Cross took advantage and exploited his victims in their most desperate moments, profiting off their vulnerability and mental illnesses.
“I hope today’s admission provides the victims and their families with some peace of mind and relief that they are now spared the ordeal of a trial. My thoughts, and those of the whole investigation team, remain with them today.”
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He added: “This has been a highly complex and sensitive investigation over the past 10 months, and I want to acknowledge the courage of the witnesses who played an integral part in the investigation during such difficult circumstances.”
Cross will be sentenced at Mold Crown Court on 7 January.
If you’ve been affected by this story and want to talk to someone, you can call Samaritans free on 116 123 anytime day or night. You can also email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find support online.
The Princess of Wales has delivered a rare speech calling on businesses to value “time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success”, as part of her push to make society put the needs of children first.
During her first speech since she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2024, Kate reflected on the importance of love, telling 80 business leaders, “the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults”.
But in a call to action for businesses, she added: “Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave.
“Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.
“As business leaders, you will face the daily challenge of finding the balance between profitability and having a positive impact. But the two are not, and should not be incompatible.”
Princess of Wales talks with business leaders and attendees at the Future Workforce Summit. Pic: Reuters
The Princess of Wales leaves after attending the Future Workforce Summit at Salesforce Tower in London.
Pic: PA
At the Future Workforce Summit, hosted by her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce, Kate thanked her team at the Centre of Early Childhood “for holding the fort, particularly over the last couple of years”.
She was also joined by former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate as she called on business leaders to invest more in the early years development of children.
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The event came as The Royal Foundation released a new report called “The Human Advantage”, exploring how, as AI increasingly handles technical tasks, competitive advantage will rely on human skills that technology cannot replicate.
But while the survey found that 81% of business leaders believe there will be an increased need for human skills in the next five to 10 years, very few business leaders identified the unique importance of early childhood in the development of these skills.
Gareth Southgate attends the Future Workforce Summit. Pic: Reuters
In summer 2024, the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood produced a report recommending a range of interventions from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace.
Involving the chief executives of Ikea, NatWest Group and Deloitte, the report highlighted how the nation could benefit from an estimated £45.5bn.
The report followed the launch of Kate’s long-term campaign, Shaping Us, in January 2023, described as the princess’ “life’s work”, and aimed at highlighting the crucial first five years of a child’s life.
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