The former husband of Renee MacRae has welcomed the news that William MacDowell has finally been convicted of her murder.
A jury at the High Court in Inverness today convicted 80-year-old MacDowell of killing Renee and her three-year-old son Andrew in November 1976.
The decision followed a three-week trial filled with witnesses in their 80s and 90s, and numerous statements from beyond the grave.
Renee’s estranged husband Gordon MacRae was one of those witnesses.
MacDowell had issued a defence of incrimination, blaming Mr MacRae for their deaths.
But his claims were rejected by the jury, who found him guilty of killing Renee and Andrew, as well attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Speaking to the Press and Journal at his home, Mr MacRae said: “I’m pleased with the verdict, and that justice has been seen to be done.”
‘Pain of losing Renee and Andrew never fades’
In the aftermath of the verdict, Renee’s older sister Morag Govans gave an emotional statement outside the court.
The 84-year-old said they will never comprehend why MacDowell took their lives “in such a calculated and callous manner”.
She said: “The pain of losing Renee and Andrew in such a cruel fashion never fades.
“Today there is final justice for them. It’s a day we feared would never come.”
MacDowell’s heinous crimes had gone unpunished for more than four decades.
But now he begins a 30-year-long sentence, locked up behind bars, where the ailing and elderly offender is expected to spend what’s left of his life.
After securing his conviction, the police’s attention will now turn to extracting more information from MacDowell.
In particular, the whereabouts of Renee and Andrew’s bodies.
That is at the forefront of their family’s minds.
Mrs Govans said: “Not knowing where their remains lie only compounds the pain.
“Thinking of the terror they both must have felt before they died continues to haunt us.
“If William MacDowell has a shred of decency in his body, he will now reveal where they both lie.”
Could the police find the final missing piece?
The chances of MacDowell now telling police everything he knows seem slim.
After all, he has kept quiet for nearly 46 years.
But before news of MacDowell’s arrest broke in 2019, few could have scarcely believed we’d ever see someone convicted of the murders of Renee and Andrew.
With that level of sheer determination to solve things from the police and Renee’s family, you can never rule out another major piece of the puzzle fitting into place.
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