Mrs Wilson

Detectives investigating the murder of a father-of-two Almost 18 years ago believe a planning dispute could be significant to their inquiry.

Bank Manager Alistair Wilson was shot on the doorstep of His Family home in Nairn on the evening of 28 November 2004. He later died in hospital.

Police said he had objected to a large decking area outside a hotel opposite his house shortly before he was shot.

Mr Wilson had said the decking was The Cause of noise and litter problems.

Detectives travelled to Canada in March this year to interview someone they have now described as a Key Witness regarding the planning application.

Police Scotland 's major investigation team also confirmed it believed The Answer to Mr Wilson 's killing lay in his personal life and was not connected to his work as a Business Manager at The Bank of Scotland in Inverness.

The decking at the Havelock Hotel was built in the summer of 2004 without the required planning consent.

It was the subject of a retrospective planning application at The Time of the murder. Mr Wilson had lodged an objection with Highland Council .

Det Supt Graeme Mackie said officers could not rule out any scenario and they believed the planning application could be significant.

He Said : " Shortly before his murder, Alistair had objected to The Building of a large decking area within the Car Park of the Havelock Hotel, directly opposite The Family home, which He Said was responsible for increased noise and litter in the area.

" Alistair did not disclose his disapproval regarding the decking to many people.

" However, we understand that his formal objection was sent by The Local authority to the Havelock Hotel on The Thursday before his murder and knowledge of his objections became public before his murder on the Sunday, which may be significant.

" I would also appeal to anyone who was involved in The Building of the decking area at the Havelock Hotel in 2004 to come forward. "

Det Supt Mackie said someone locally had the crucial piece of information to catching Mr Wilson 's killer and providing answers for His Family .

On the evening of The Shooting , Mr Wilson 's wife Veronica answered The Door to a stocky man wearing a Baseball Cap who asked for her husband by name.

Mr Wilson , who had been reading to his two sons, went downstairs to speak to The Man and was handed an empty blue envelope with the name Paul on it.

Mr Wilson went inside briefly And Then returned to The Door for a second time when he was shot. His wife ran to the Havelock Hotel for help.

Last month, police said two Men were seen with a gun on a beach at Nairn a month before the murder.

A Witness described seeing two Men - One in their 20s and The Other aged between 40 and 60 - on The Town '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.

The Weapon used to shot Mr Wilson - a German-made handgun - was later found down a drain by a council road sweeper a few streets from The Family home on 8 December 2004, 10 days after the murder.

Tests on The Gun failed to extract any DNA.

Police Scotland has asked anyone who believes they can assist The Investigation to contact 101 quoting incident 515 of 4 March 2022 and Operation Sorn or they can e-mail a dedicated inbox at role="text">Alistair Wilson timeline

Source of news: bbc.com