Allegations against a pensioner accused of murdering his secret lover Renee MacRae and their toddler son Andrew are “so grotesque it is absurd” the 80-year-old’s defence counsel told a jury.
William (Bill) McDowell, 80, has been standing trial at the High Court in Inverness for the last 11 days, accused of killing the 36-year-old housewife and their three-year-old son.
Now the jury, addressed by McDowell’s defence team for the final time, has been told the pair “were not murdered” and that their disappearance in 1976 is “still a mystery”.
The wheelchair-bound accused’s defence counsel Murray Macara KC told the jury of eight women and seven men he “did not concede” that Renee and Andrew were murdered.
‘It is still a mystery’
During his closing speech, he said: “There are so many unanswered questions. The defence does not concede they were murdered or that Bill MacDowell has been implicated.
“It is still a mystery. To provide answers involves indulging in speculation, not drawing inferences.
“You have heard a lot of questions from me but my final questions are, if he had concern, love and affection for Andrew, his only son, how did he benefit from his death?
“Why did he murder his own son?”
Mr Macara KC told the jury in a detailed presentation of his interpretation of the evidence why he believed a lot of the Crown’s case shouldn’t be believed.
The remarks lasted almost 150 minutes and at the conclusion, he urged the jury to acquit his client of three charges.
‘Suffered 45 years of suspicion’
He told the jury: “Bill MacDowell has suffered 45 years of suspicion. He is now a dying man.
“At an early stage he was the principal focus of the investigation but the proof that he murdered them is lacking.
“It is speculation. It is not for the defence to prove that crimes have been committed and that the accused is implicated in them.”
Mr Macara KC spoke about the age of the case and questioned why a prosecution had not been brought earlier, as he said the evidence was largely the same as what was gathered almost 46 years ago.
“Distant memories can distort the truth,” he added. “Some people are more observant than others in this case and many were travelling in cars or lorries passing landmarks in a matter of seconds in the dark.”
Countering the opening remarks of Mr Prentice’s closing speech, Mr Macara KC argued: “It was not a ‘blood-curdling scream’.
“What was actually told to the police was that the witness heard a distinct screech.”
Accusation ‘so grotesque it is absurd’
He then said there was evidence that the noise came from the other direction from the Dalmagarry lay-by on the A9 where Mrs MacRae’s burnt-out BMW was found.
The Crown claims that the mother and son were killed there, however Mr Macara KC told the jury that there were doubts about whether a Volvo estate – a company car which MacDowell drove – was seen at the lay-by and on a nearby road.
He said this was crucial to the prosecution’s case.
Jurors were also urged to consider an earlier statement, that referenced MacDowell offering to pay a convicted criminal to kill the pair, as “unreliable”.
Mr Macara KC: “Killing your paramour and your only son must make him a callous, cold-hearted psychopath. But it would be a gross overreaction, so grotesque it is absurd.”
MacDowell denies murdering Renee and Andrew, disposing of their bodies, destroying evidence by burning the BMW and disposing of evidence – including a pushchair and Volvo boot hatch on November 12, 1976.
He has lodged special defences of incrimination – accusing Renee’s husband Gordon and unknown others of killing the pair – and alibi, claiming he was elsewhere in Inverness when the MacRaes went missing.
After hearing legal direction from judge Lord Armstrong, the jury will begin to consider its verdict.
