Police yesterday quizzed drivers using a road passing tragic pensioner Brian McKandie’s home.
Detectives investigating the mechanic’s murder set up road checks in Rothienorman and asked passing motorists if they had been in the area on March 11, and if they had seen anything.
The checks were carried out on the B9001 Rothienorman to Turriff road, between 2pm and midnight.
DCI Iain Smith said: “There may be people who use that road regularly who haven’t necessarily contacted us yet, and these stops might help us establish some of the vehicles we’re looking for, and hopefully fill in some of the gaps in the timeline we had leading up to the hours that Brian died.
“We’ve got a pretty good timeline of Mr McKandie’s movements.
“But it’s really from 4pm onwards going into the evening, that’s what we’re really interested in.
“We believe he was attacked at some point during the evening of Friday March 11, but we’re really keen to speak to anybody who spoke to Mr McKandie before that evening. They might know if he had plans to meet someone later on, or if he was expecting a call from anybody.”
Dive teams were also searching streams and undergrowth near Mr McKandie’s home for the weapon used in the attack, which is believed to have had a “lot of weight” behind it.
DCI Smith said: “The best way to describe the weapon is that it is a weighted object. I don’t know how heavy it was but it was clearly heavy enough to cause him damage.”
The teams also hunted for other items such as blood-stained footwear and clothes which could give vital clues about the person responsible for his murder.
Anyone with information is urged to phone the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you wish to remain anonymous.
