The family of murder victim Brian Low have spoken of their anger at the fact police initially missed that he had been fatally shot.
In a new BBC documentary on the case, Mr Low’s brother Douglas said he was “so angry and so sad” when he heard in court that police did not immediately recognise the shotgun injuries.
Background to the Murder
Ex-gamekeeper David Campbell, 77, shot his former colleague Mr Low, 65, on February 16 2024 on a country track near Aberfeldy. Campbell had disabled CCTV cameras at his home in Aberfeldy in an attempt to conceal his whereabouts. However he was found guilty following a three-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year.
The jury heard police initially treated Mr Low’s death as non-suspicious and only began treating it as murder five days later. This was despite the fact Mr Low, who was killed while walking his dog, had around 30 injuries from shotgun pellets.
Family's Reaction in Documentary
The BBC documentary, titled The Murder Trial: Death Of A Dog Walker, heard from prosecutors involved in the case who believed Campbell carried out the murder due to a long-held grudge against Mr Low. This is thought to have stemmed from the time when they worked at the Edradynate Estate in Perthshire together.
Members of Mr Low’s family spoke in the documentary about their experience of attending the trial, where they saw graphic images of the shotgun wounds on his body. Douglas Low said: “I was so angry and so sad at the same time. How could this happen?” He said the images were “so horrific I barely kept my breakfast down”.
He added: “I can’t imagine why someone would say that’s a medical event.” Brian Low’s niece Jacqui Low said: “It just seems incredible that they didn’t see the marks on his face, the shot.”
Police Response and Aftermath
A detective constable who had arrived at the scene of Mr Low’s murder initially assessed that cuts on the victim’s hands and face were “consistent with him having fallen”. Campbell’s defence lawyer challenged the detective, saying it had been a “glaring mistake”.
Pam Curran, who was Mr Low’s partner of 22 years, also spoke on the documentary. She said: “Everyone who met Brian liked him – I don’t think he had a bad bone in his body.” She said she had been “shocked” to discover he had been shot. Ms Curran told the documentary Campbell appeared to have fallen out with Mr Low due to the fact they had both worked at the Edradynate Estate seven years prior to the murder. She said Campbell had been investigated over wildlife crime at the estate and was angered by something he believed Mr Low had told police.
Campbell was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 19 years behind bars by judge Lord Scott. He later appealed against his conviction but this was refused. The Crown Office has said it will not be investigating Police Scotland’s initial response to Mr Low’s death any further, having received a report from the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.
Detective Chief Superintendent Lorna Ferguson said: “We are aware of the conclusions made by the procurator fiscal. We acknowledge that our initial response to this inquiry fell short of what Police Scotland and the public rightly expects. We have reflected carefully on this and have learned valuable lessons. A review of all policies and procedures around attendance at unexplained deaths has been completed. Our thoughts remain with Mr Low’s family.”
