A Penrith man has been found guilty of murdering his lover and their son 46 years ago.
William MacDowell, now aged 80, has been sentenced to serve a minimum of 30 years after a jury at Inverness High Court returned their verdict this afternoon.
MacDowell was accused of killing Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son Andrew in Scotland in 1976. He was also accused of disposing of the bodies of Mrs MacRae and her son and also disposing of a boot hatch from his Volvo car to defeat the ends of justice, which he denied.
However, the jury deliberated for four hours and returned the guilty verdict. Lord Armstrong, presiding, told MacDowell the murders were premeditated and were executions.
Mrs MacRae and Andrew disappeared on November 12 1976. Her car was found that night on fire in a lay-by on the A9.
The trial heard Mrs MacRae believed they would be meeting up for a weekend away before a planned move to Shetland.
MacDowell has lodged two special defences. He claimed he was elsewhere at the time of the murders and the other is incrimination. MacDowell said if the murders did take place, they were committed by Mrs MacRae’s estranged husband and others.
Earlier in the trial, a worker at the same firm as the Penrith man at the time told detectives he was approached by someone who asked him if he would be willing to kill.
