New appeal in Nairn banker case for two men seen at beach

Detectives investigating the murder of Alistair Wilson say two men were seen with a handgun on a nearby beach just a month before his death.

A witness has reported seeing one man in his 20s and another who was aged between 40 and 60 on East Beach in Nairn.

The witness also says the younger man was seen in possession of the weapon.

This comes just weeks after Police said the suspect may be younger than initially thought.

Officers also revealed this month they travelled to Canada to carry out witness interviews.

"Time is no barrier to justice"

Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie, of Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team, said officers were seeking the public’s help in identifying to two men.

He said: "We are following up this new information and I would ask anyone with information, or who may be able to identify the men, to please come forward and speak with us.

"This potential sighting was passed to officers following recent publicity around the case and I am grateful for the positive response we have received from the local community.

"As I have said recently, time is no barrier to justice.

"More than 17 years have passed since Alistair’s murder, but Police Scotland is committed to bringing his killer to justice and providing the family with the answers they deserve.

"Someone out there knows what happened to Alistair and developments in the investigation over the last few weeks are a vital reminder that it is never too late to come forward with information, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is."

Change to suspect description

Following a recent review of witness accounts, further analysis of timings from the night in question and investigative developments, officers altered the description of the man they want to trace in connection with Alistair’s murder.

Detectives believe the man who shot Alistair on his doorstep to have been aged between 20 and 40 years old at the time.

This would mean he is now aged in his mid-30s to almost 60 years old.

He was approximately 5ft 7in tall and was wearing a baseball cap and jacket.

Previous appeals described the gunman as being between 30 and 40 years old.

Mr Wilson was shot around 7pm on Sunday, 28 November 2004 after a man called at the family’s home on Crescent Road, Nairn, spoke to his wife Veronica who answered the door and asked for her husband by name.

Mr Wilson went downstairs to speak to the man and was handed a blue envelope with the word “Paul” on it. He went inside briefly and then returned to the door for a second time when he was fatally shot.

Anyone who believes they can assist police is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 515 of 4 March 2022 and Operation Sorn or you can e-mail a dedicated inbox at SCDHOLMESAberdeen@scotland.pnn.police.uk

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