Police Blunder Allowed Murderer to Roam Free After Failing to Detect Shooting for Days
In a shocking investigative failure, police only realised that a murder victim had been shot days after his body was discovered. This critical mistake meant that the killer, former gamekeeper David Campbell, remained at large for months, as the death was initially dismissed as non-suspicious.
Execution-Style Killing and Delayed Justice
On Wednesday, Campbell, aged 77, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the execution of Brian Low, a man against whom he had harboured a festering grudge for years. The murder occurred on February 16, 2024, when Campbell gunned down Mr Low, 65, as he walked his dog Millie along a secluded farm track near his cottage outside Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland.
Despite being shot in the neck, officers initially speculated that Mr Low's death might be related to a medical condition. The truth only emerged when gun pellets fell out of his body bag during preparations for a post-mortem examination. A pathologist later confirmed he died from gunshot wounds, but it took police ten days to launch a murder inquiry, having failed to seal off the crime scene initially.
Systemic Failures in the Investigation
Detective Constable Mark Chance, one of the first officers on the scene, concluded that Mr Low's injuries were consistent with a fall, overlooking the 30 injuries from shotgun pellets. Suspicion about a more sinister cause of death was raised four days later, only after the body was taken to a mortuary. Even Campbell himself criticised the investigation, telling the jury that police made a monumental shambles of the investigation.
Police Scotland has since apologised to Mr Low's family for the blunder. Lord Scott, presiding over the case at Glasgow's High Court, described the murder as carefully pre-meditated and handed Campbell a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 years behind bars.
Motivation and Premeditation
The judge highlighted Campbell's enduring bitterness, stating, The bitterness and grudge you bore Brian Low, reflected in some of things said to others, did not diminish. This led to you carrying out the sort of killing referred to as a targeted assassination or pre-planned execution.
Campbell, who worked as head gamekeeper at the Edradynate Estate from May 1984 to February 2018, had complained to colleagues about hating Mr Low, a groundsman from August 2000 to February 2023. He falsely accused Mr Low of planting evidence to implicate him in wildlife crimes, a claim supported by the estate's late owner, Michael Campbell, who told detectives of the gamekeeper's fury over a police raid.
Elaborate Cover-Up and Conviction
In a bid to conceal his actions, Campbell disabled his CCTV system and taped over his doorbell camera before using his wife's electric bike to travel to the murder site. CCTV footage later showed him riding the bike on the day of the killing. Despite his claims of innocence during the trial, the jury saw through his story and found him guilty.
Campbell showed no emotion at the verdict, delivered in front of relatives including his wife of 57 years, Betty. Their daughter, Sarah Aitchison, required comfort from her mother. Lord Scott noted he had read two moving impact statements from Mr Low's partner, Pam Curran, telling Campbell, You robbed her of the chance to say goodbye.
This case underscores significant flaws in police procedures, with the delayed recognition of a shooting allowing a murderer to evade justice temporarily, now facing a lifetime behind bars.
