Family handoutThe family of a banker who was murdered on his doorstep in the Highlands has criticised the chief constable of Police Scotland as “callous” and “insulting”.
Alistair Wilson’s family said they are “still being kept in the dark” by the force and have not been contacted since raising concerns about the investigation last week.
Earlier this month, Scotland’s top law officer ordered a complete investigation into the unsolved case.
The 30-year-old father-of-two was shot in Nairn in November 2004 and his killer has never been found.
Family handoutMr Wilson’s family said it was “insulting” that Jo Farrell told STV News she has not “got any plans” to meet them, instead of telling the family first.
“Learning of this impersonal response from her through media reports was a devastating blow dealt by a callous police chief,” they said.
“And hearing Jo Farrell repeatedly referring to us as ‘that family’ in broadcast media interviews left us feeling like nothing more than a case number.”
Farrell said earlier this week that she was “absolutely committed to solving and getting justice for” the Wilson family.
The chief constable told STV News earlier this week there was a new senior investigating officer (SIO) and team working on the investigation alongside new family liaison officers who will “build a relationship” with the family.
However, the family said they have still not heard from the new officers.
Family handoutThey said: “On Tuesday, we contacted our existing family liaison officer, after having no contact from the force since our first statement, who told us their replacements have not yet been appointed.”
Veronica Wilson, Mr Wilson’s 53-year-old wife, added: “Jo Farrell was further contradicted when the family liaison officer told us that, although a new SIO had been identified, they were actually abroad on holiday the day after the chief constable said ‘a new SIO and team’ were ‘working now’.”
“Astonishingly, we were also informed that nobody will be back at work until next week,” the family’s statement went on.
“We are baffled as to how the chief constable can claim that ‘a new SIO and team’ is ‘working now’.”
Mr Wilson’s oldest son, 24-year-old Andrew, who was four when his father was killed, criticised Farrell’s leadership.
He said: “It remains a mystery to us, and we question why our family is still being kept in the dark while Jo Farrell is basking in the media spotlight as she talks of building bridges and providing confidence to our family.
“We don’t know whether Jo Farrell has been confused or perhaps even caught in a lie, but she has certainly failed to reassure us that she has a grip on this worsening situation.”
Family handoutThe family ended their statement by saying the announcement of a reinvestigation earlier this month was “upsetting and a huge disappointment”.
“Far from the good news story that Police Scotland wanted it to be,” they said, “it means fresh faces will take months, maybe even years to catch up to the progress already made, due to the scale of the investigation.
“It appears there won’t be any continuity from the previous investigation team who have built up the required knowledge.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The chief constable was referencing the Strategic Senior Investigating Officer, detective chief superintendent Suzanne Chow, who was in contact with the family last week via family liaison officers.
“A senior investigating officer has also been appointed and the wider team, which will take forward the reinvestigation, is being identified. The family have been kept updated on this work.”
Anyone who believes they can assist police is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 515 of March 4, 2022 and Operation Sorn or you can e-mail a dedicated inbox at SCDHOLMESAberdeen@scotland.pnn.police.uk
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