Skye murder accused felt 'humiliated' by brother-in-law

A man accused of murder has claimed an attack on him by his alleged victim – his brother-in-law – was the beginning of all his problems.

Finlay MacDonald, 41, said he was humiliated and left with low self-esteem after John MacKinnon assaulted him in 2013, and his father had to intervene to stop him from being beaten up.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that MacDonald told a psychiatrist: “That was the start of all of this.

“Something happened in my mind that day.”

He told Dr Suraj Shenoy: “The beginning of all my problems was John MacKinnon attacking me in 2013.”

The psychiatrist told the court: “He said that since that incident in 2013, he had tried to avoid any contact with his brother-in-law.”

MacDonald is accused of attempting to murder three people, including his wife. He denies all the charges and has lodged a special defence of diminished responsibility, claiming that at the time, he was impaired by an abnormality of mind.

The court heard that the psychiatrist had concluded that MacDonald was affected by autism spectrum disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the alleged murder on August 10, 2022.

He said in the background were depression with anxiety and paranoid and dependent personality disorder.

MacDonald has denied murdering distillery worker Mr MacKinnon at his home at Teangue on the Isle of Skye by firing a shotgun at him.

He has also denied attempting to murder his wife Rowena, 34 at her home in the village of Tarskavaig, on Skye, by struggling with her and repeatedly stabbing her with a knife.

He has further denied attempting to murder retired osteopath John MacKenzie and his wife Fay, both 65, on the same day at their home in Dornie, in Ross-shire, by discharging a shotgun at them.

The court heard that MacDonald told Dr Sujay: “I depended on my ex-wife to make all the decisions at home, but she let me down.”

Defence counsel Donald Findlay KC said: “The triggering event seems to have been his wife’s betrayal as he saw it.”

The psychiatrist said: “As he saw it.”

The trial before judge Lady Drummond continues.