Shot banker's widow renews plea

Widow's interview

The widow of murdered Highland banker Alistair Wilson has renewed her appeal for anyone who could help track down his killer to contact police.

Almost a year after Mr Wilson was shot dead on the doorstep of his Nairn home, his wife Veronica said she was still mystified by his death.

Mrs Wilson said she needed to have a "reason" for the shooting so she could explain it to her young sons.

She also again denied that she was involved in her husband's killing.

The 33-year-old mother-of-two said she could not understand why people would think she had something to do with his murder.

She said: "I suppose now looking at it, it makes sense for people on the outside to look at it, but it just doesn't make any sense to me, knowing our situation, that why would I have done this?

"You know, what was the game?"

The only fact I can share with them is that somebody came to our home to kill their daddy Veronica Wilson

Mrs Wilson's comments are made in an interview for a BBC Scotland Frontline documentary about the murder.

In another interview for Grampian TV's Unsolved series, she added: "I find it hard to believe that people out there could actually think that I have anything to do with this.

"I am a mother - I have two children that have lost their father.

"How could I take away my two sons' father?"

999 call

On Tuesday, police investigating the killing released Mrs Wilson's plea for help in a 999 call following her husband's murder.

They also showed the footage of the moments when one of the couple's young sons was told of his father's death.

Mrs Wilson told Frontline: "If anybody knows anything at all, if they don't want to get involved, there is a way of passing this information on to the police."

Alistair Wilson and his wife Veronica

She asked people to think of the day when her sons asked why their father was murdered.

"How much easier it will be if I had a reason to tell them and not just say that I don't know who did this or why they did this.

"The only fact I can share with them is that somebody came to our home to kill their daddy.

"An answer will never bring Alistair back, it will never fix this, but it will allow us to have some reason and some closure and to move on in some way."

'Appeal to conscience'

Police consulted Mrs Wilson before deciding to release the material in the hope that it would shake the conscience of anyone with information. Detective Chief Inspector Peter MacPhee, of Northern Constabulary, said: "To be honest I would not be expecting to get an eye witness at this stage.

"I am hoping to appeal to the conscience of someone who knows of a partner, brother, a friend, an associate, a work colleague, somebody who they suspect is involved in this, but for some reason has not come forward until this point.

"Having seen this footage I am hoping it will move them to do so."

Mr Wilson, a 30-year-old business banking manager with the Bank of Scotland, was shot by a mystery caller as he was preparing his two young sons for bed on 28 November 2004.

The gun was recovered from a drain near Mr Wilson's home 10 days after the murder but it has not provided useful DNA evidence.

'Who shot Alistair Wilson?' is on BBC One Scotland at 1900 GMT on Wednesday, 2 November.

Unsolved - Alistair Wilson is being shown on ITV in Scotland at 2200 GMT on Thursday, 3 November.

We asked what you thought of the decision to release the tape of Mrs Wilson's 999 call and of the video of her son being told his father was dead.

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The following represents the balance of opinion we received:

I echo the comments given by Jamie from Cyprus. They have not just committed one crime but given a life sentence to those that survive him. I think it's disgusting that someone knows something but are too much of a coward to do something about it and it has had to involve others to bring this person to justice.
Mirjana, Leicester

If this was your family and you had no leads - do you think you would turn down something that might find out the killer? In this instance, getting some kind of lead is the police's only hope and it is clear there is nothing to go on. The family need an answer, rather than the constant nagging feeling of "why"? Put in the same position, I am sure the majority vote would be to put this information in the public domain.
Rachel, London, UK

I think it is appalling that the video should have even been made let alone airing it on TV. It is shocking news for anyone to hear never mind two young boys being filmed receiving the news. It should have been a very private moment for the mother and her children to deal with alone together.
Sandra, Bolton, England

I have found the airing of this, unsettling, unnerving and upsetting. Being a 35-year-old man with a young son I can relate a I feel it would be a traumatic experience for my boy should my wife or family ever be put in such tragic circumstances. I hope that this works for the family's sake, but due to the callousness of the crime I feel it unlikely to tug on the heart strings of one who can carry out cold-blooded murder. These are private family moments and should remain as such
Jason, Larkhall, Scotland

I have family up in Nairn, and to be honest, I think the whole thing is strange. If the police have not been able to come up with anything up to now, I can't see how this is going to prove fruitful. Also, if this person can disappear like this, you would think that the gun would also have disappeared with him too - not found in a drain further down the town. Seems too coincidental to me.
Chris, Peterhead

I am unsure as to how this footage of the child can be released. This to me seems in direct conflict with psychological ethical guidelines which psychologists must adhere to. This child may have psychological damage for years to come and it is difficult to see how this could do anything except make it more acute. Abhorrent!
rob, glasgow

It's astonishing that its taken so long to show this. The likelihood that something will come from this is exceptional.
Rowland, London, UK

The police are trying to provoke a reaction in someone who knows the killer...the revulsion that this footage brings will hopefully prick at someone's conscious. I really hope this brings the answers the family needs....I just cannot imagine what they have gone through.
David, Glasgow

There is nothing to lose. Someone must know something and there is a chance this will help. Of course the young son is open to accusations of exploitation, but in 20 years, he will almost certainly be happy to say that he helped, especially if something comes of it.
pat, Manchester, England

I am still horrified by this whole thing! I can't believe that no-one knows anything - how can these people sleep at night. I am so sorry for the family and especially the children.
Tessa, Edinburgh

I think the airing of the video and its transcript is unnecessary, why is this family's private grief being aired in public. Is it a last desperate attempt by the police to prick the public conscience? If so, for the family's sake I hope it works.
Ralph Wright, Lincs

I think it was shocking to involve the boy in this media circus. How can you possibly think it will help to find the killer? Do you think for a minute they have a conscience? I think even less of the mother allowing such a thing.
Elspeth Johnstone, Fife, Scotland

Ignoring any possible voyeuristic accusations regarding the broadcasting of the call and footage of the little boy, one has to at least applaud the reasoning behind it. It is about time that society as a whole was shown first hand the stark reality of violent crime. Rather than the constant attention grabbing headlines and sound-bites that are simply filed away as yesterdays news. It is important for people to reflect on the emotional trauma inflicted on the survivors of such incidents. Only when one can strip away the often heavily censored and dumbed-down descriptions of events such as this can we as a society truly be made to face the reality of the spiralling culture of violence. The empathy we must feel when presented with images such as these can only help to encourage those who might know more to come forward. If not then we as a society are truly lost.
Jamie, Cyprus