In 2004, a 30-year-old banker and father of two was shot dead right outside his Nairn, Scotland, residence. His slaying, infamously known as the “doorstep murder,” has gone unsolved for over 20 years, but now, a re-investigation of the murder has been called for by Scotland’s top law officer.
Alistair Wilson and his wife, Veronica, had been bathing their two sons on the evening of Sunday, November 28, 2004, when a man rang the doorbell of their home, located on Crescent Road, at about 7:00 p.m.
Veronica answered the door, and the man, described as wearing a baseball cap and being between 20 and 40 years old, asked for Alistair by name. She went upstairs, informed her husband, and Alistair headed down to speak to him.
The man reportedly talked to Alistair for three to five minutes before handing him a blue envelope, which had the name “Paul” written on it. Alistair brought the envelope, which was supposedly empty, inside.
However, he then walked back outside to his doorstep to speak to the man again. They interacted for a minute or two before the man opened fire. Alistair was shot three times with a handgun and found by his wife. He ultimately died due to the injuries after being transported to the hospital.
Over a week later, council workers who were gully cleaning stumbled upon the murder weapon. The German-made gun, a 1930s Haenel Suhl pocket pistol, was found in a drain located on Seabank Road, and forensic analysis confirmed it was the gun that’d killed Alistair. However, no DNA could be extracted, and the man behind the murder has never been identified.
In the 20 years since the crime took place, the police have reportedly spoken to nearly 14,000 people and taken down 3,500 statements. Officers visited over 1,000 addresses as they went door to door, and they’ve collected and reviewed CCTV footage from 670 different sources.
Some had speculated that perhaps Alistair’s work as a banker had been a motive for his murder. It wasn’t until April 2022 that authorities expressed a different belief.
That year, Police Scotland detailed how, shortly before he was killed, Alistair had objected to the construction of a large decking area outside the Havelock Hotel, which was across the street from his home.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
According to a Police Scotland press release, the decking had been built during the summer of 2004 and was “subject to a retrospective planning application at the time of the murder.” Alistair reportedly claimed the decking area contributed to more noise and litter in the area.
“While we cannot rule out any scenario, we believe this could be significant to our inquiries, and I am asking anyone with information about this issue to please come forward and speak with officers,” the release reads.
“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 Sunday, which may be significant.”
Authorities also issued a renewed plea for information from community members regarding two men who were spotted with a handgun at a nearby beach one month before Alistair’s death.
At East Beach in Nairn, a witness had seen two men: one in his twenties and another between 40 and 60 years old. The man in his twenties was reportedly holding the gun.
Most recently, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has called for a re-investigation of Alistair’s case. This will be carried out by new prosecutorial teams from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), as well as Police Scotland officers, and overseen by a detective chief superintendent.
“There have been strenuous efforts made over many years to resolve this case, and a great deal of evidence has been gathered. However, I have decided that it is appropriate for all the details of the case to be considered afresh and for further investigations to be made,” she stated.
“It is my sincere hope that this secures justice for Alistair Wilson’s family and for the wider community who have been affected by this violent crime.”
In December 2023, Alistair’s family complained about the investigation’s handling to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner. Earlier that year, it also came out that a possible suspect whose identity wasn’t made public had been jailed in connection to an unrelated offense.
Alistair’s wife, Veronica, issued a statement in November 2017, saying it would “mean the world” to her family to get justice.
“As a family, it has been difficult to understand why someone would do this to Alistair, and it has been a dark shadow over us for the past 13 years,” she said.
“Alistair was a loving, caring husband and father, and nothing will ever change that. We cherish the time we had together, which for our boys was cruelly short. We will always remain hopeful that the person who killed Alistair will be caught, and I would urge anyone who has information to come forward.”
Police Scotland’s Assistance Chief Constable Steve Johnson echoed Veronica’s sentiment in September 2024, urging anyone with information to speak up.
“We are now approaching the 20th anniversary of the murder of Alistair Wilson, and our thoughts remain with his family and the loss they have suffered. Unresolved murder cases are never closed in Scotland, and there is no time bar to providing the police with information,” Johnson noted.
“We would appeal to anyone who may have information not yet shared with the police to come forward and report it.”
Investigators believe the man who shot Alistair was 20 to 40 years old at the time, meaning he’d be in his mid-thirties to 60 years old today. He was described as being about five foot seven and wore a jacket and baseball cap. Anyone with information is urged to contact Police Scotland.
Peter Bleksley, a former Met Police undercover cop, has penned a book on Alistair’s murder entitled “To Catch A Killer: My Hunt for the Truth Behind the Doorstep Murder.” He also runs a Facebook page, “The Unsolved Murder of Alistair Wilson.”
