Skye shooter Finlay MacDonald loses bid to appeal murder conviction

BBC News

08-05-2025

A man jailed for carrying out a series of shootings in the Scottish Highlands has had his appeal against his murder conviction refused.Finlay MacDonald, 41, was given at least 28 years in prison for murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to kill his wife and two other people in August 2022.MacDonald repeatedly stabbed his wife Rowena at their home on Skye before driving 17 minutes to another village, where he shot and killed his brother-in-law John MacKinnon.The marine engineer then drove for another 40 minutes before shooting and injuring Fay MacKenzie and her husband John in their home in Dornie on the Highland mainland.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service said MacDonald's appeal was refused at second sift - a legal process where a senior judge or sheriff decides whether or not to grant permission for an appeal to proceed.
During his trial last year, father-of-four MacDonald denied all the charges against him and claimed he was suffering from an abnormality of mind at the time.He was found guilty by a jury in November at the High Court in Edinburgh.His lawyers later indicated his intention to appeal.The attacks took place over a period of about an hour, starting before 09:00 on Wednesday 10 August 2022.The first incident was in the MacDonalds' family home in Tarskavaig on the Sleat peninsula.During a row, he stabbed his wife.He then went to his sister Lyn Anne MacKinnon's home in nearby Teangue, where he shot her 47-year-old husband John in the kitchen.
Back injury
He then headed for the home of John MacKenzie - a retired osteopath who MacDonald blamed for making a back injury worse.When he arrived, he shot 65-year-old Mrs MacKenzie through a window of the house. He then shot Mr MacKenzie in the back while he tried to protect his wife.The couple then tackled MacDonald just as police arrived. One officer struck him with a baton while his colleague used a Taser.The trial heard that at the time of the attacks, MacDonald was affected by autism and post traumatic stress disorder with depression, anxiety and a personality disorder in the background.He told a consultant forensic psychiatrist that he had difficulties dealing with people and situations and he saw himself as a victim.