Murdered Aberfeldy dogwalker died from shotgun wound to neck and chest days before birthday

A dogwalker found dead on a farm track near his home was killed by a shotgun wound to his neck and chest days before his birthday, his death certificate has revealed.

Brian Low’s body was discovered being watched over by his black Labrador at around 8.30am on Saturday, February 17 on the outskirts of Aberfeldy.

It took police six days to carry out a post-mortem on the 65-year-old after initially assessing his death as being “non-suspicious and medical-related”.

His death certificate, seen by STV News, reveals that the retired groundskeeper was found dead on a farm track at Pitillie having suffered a shotgun wound to the neck and chest three days before his 66th birthday.

Detectives then launched a murder investigation.

But more than six weeks on from the fatal shooting, the killer remains at large and the community and Mr Low’s family are still without answers.

Officers have conducted more than 100 interviews but have yet to catch the person responsible for murdering the former Edradynate Estate maintenance manager.

Scotland’s police watchdog is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the case.

The public and media were not informed that a murder inquiry had been launched until February 27, ten days after Mr Low’s body was found by a person walking on the track.

Detectives have admitted evidence may have been lost in the delay in setting up a crime scene which did not happen until four days after Low’s body was discovered.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) has confirmed that it is looking into the case.

There has been concern in the community over the lack of answers, with one man telling STV News: “I feel like the police haven’t been doing enough. We’ve had quite a lot of patrols around the first few weeks and there’s nothing now.

“They’re going around shops and houses and it just seems like they’re not actually getting anywhere.”

A local woman added that she had felt “uncomfortable” walking alone since the incident.

Zoe Dark, a local business owner from the area added: “For us here, I think it’s the effect it’s had on Brian’s family. His partner, she’s got no closure for his children, for the grandchildren.

“And that’s the really difficult thing that nothing seems to be moving forward. And we’re just stuck in this sort of limbo at the moment, wondering what’s going to happen.”

Detective superintendent Lorna Ferguson, of the Major Investigation Team, previously said that “extensive” enquiries into Mr Low’s death are ongoing as she urged anyone with information to come forward.

The superintendent said the force remained “open-minded” regarding a motive behind the case and was confident the answer to the investigation “lies within the local community”.

She said: “Somebody knows something. Even if you feel the information you hold is not important, we would still ask you to contact us. It could be crucial to getting the answers we need for Brian’s family.”

Mr Low’s family are still being supported by specialist officers while the investigation continues and wish for their privacy to be respected.

The force added that there will continue to be a “significant” police presence in the area as the enquiries continue.

“This includes uniformed and plain-clothed officers from the division and the Major Investigation Team. We are still carrying out door-to-door enquiries and speaking with local business owners.”