An 80-year-old man has been convicted of murdering his lover and their three-year-old son in the Scottish Highlands in 1976. William MacDowell, from Penrith, Cumbria, was found guilty at the High Court in Inverness of killing Renee MacRae and Andrew MacRae, and disposing of their bodies.
MacDowell, who denied all charges, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years. The judge, Lord Armstrong, described the murders as premeditated and calculated, stating they were effectively executions. The court heard that MacDowell took steps to avoid detection after the killings.
The victims disappeared on 12 November 1976, and Mrs MacRae's car was later found on fire in a lay-by on the A9. The trial revealed that MacDowell, then company secretary at a building firm owned by Mrs MacRae's estranged husband, had been having an affair with her. He was sacked over the relationship.
In a statement read to the court, Mrs MacRae's sister, Morag Govans, expressed the ongoing pain of losing them, noting that not knowing how they died or where their remains lie compounds the anguish. Detective Chief Inspector Brian Geddes, who led the reinvestigation, appealed to MacDowell to disclose the location of the bodies to provide closure for the family.
