Michael Ross' lawyer describes Orkney Assassin as 'well-mannered' and 'gentle' in Prime Video documentary
Michael Ross was convicted of the murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood in 2008, with his lawyer opening up on the convicted killer in a new Prime Video documentary.
Convicted murderer Michael Ross has been described as "gentle" by his lawyer in a new one-off documentary.
The Orkney Assassin: Murder In The Isles premiered on Prime Video on Sunday, June 8, providing audiences insight from officers, journalists, witnesses, and Ross's parents regarding the murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood.
In 2008, Ross faced conviction for the murder of the Indian restaurant waiter, which occurred 14 years prior and recieved a life sentence.
Throughout the trial, Donald Findlay provided Ross' defence, but as disclosed in the documentary, with more than 10 years remaining until parole eligibility, Ross sought new representation.
Lawyer Aamer Anwar was hired for the position but expressed his initial doubts about taking on the case.
Anwar commented in the documentary: "So when it came in, there was some healthy cynicism.
"'Why me? You know my reputation. You know I fight injustice, human rights and on race' but they said that's exactly the reason why Michael wanted me to have a look at the case.
"And when I met Michael, he was well mannered, considered, gentle."
Ross, since his sentencing, has consistently proclaimed his innocence and has made three attempts to escape prison, the most recent being a 2018 incident where he tried to scale a fence.
Anwar added: "And the fact that in all these years, he's maintained his innocence.
"That always strikes me when somebody refuses to take the easy option and go 'you know what, I'm guilty' to try and get out earlier.
"But he's refused to do that, he says he cannot do that, he insists he's an innocent man. And it's never ended."
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Scottish Sun
15 hours ago
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How hitman-style assassination baffled remote UK island for over a decade… before mysterious letter revealed takeaway killer's true identity
WHEN a single gunshot shattered a peaceful summer evening on the remote island of Orkney, the shockwaves would be felt by the close-knit rural community for decades to come. Families were dining in the island's only Indian restaurant when a masked man calmly walked in and killed 26-year-old waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood at point black range, before vanishing into the night without uttering a single word. 16 The murder scene shows a bullet hole in the wall where Mahmood was shot Credit: Coll MacDougall 16 Waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood was murdered with a single bullet in the Mumataz Indian Restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney Credit: Amazon 16 The murder continues to divide...
The Sun
15 hours ago
- The Sun
How ‘hitman' assassin stalked quiet UK island… until bombshell letter unmasked astonishing identity of ‘takeaway killer'
WHEN a single gunshot shattered a peaceful summer evening on the remote island of Orkney, the shockwaves would be felt by the close-knit rural community for decades to come. Families were dining in the island's only Indian restaurant when a masked man calmly walked in and killed 26-year-old waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood at point black range, before vanishing into the night without uttering a single word. 16 16 The extraordinary murder on June 2, 1994 sparked a manhunt that continues to fiercely divide the tiny island off the north coast of Scotland, which has a population of less than 22,000. Now an astonishing new Amazon Prime documentary, The Orkney Assassin: Murder in the Isles revisits the bizarre case which saw a local schoolboy, Michael Ross, eventually convicted of the murder. Ross, now 46 years old, never took the stand during his trial at the High Court in Glasgow and has never given any interviews or made a statement before. But as the thirtieth anniversary of the crime approached, he agreed to speak to a local reporter from prison in Aberdeen. He and journalist Ethan Flett struck up a friendly rapport and Ross agreed to answer questions that had never been asked - including why he made four brazen attempts to break out of jail. Ethan is the only journalist who has been allowed to visit him. He told The Sun: 'Looking into his eyes was a surreal experience. The meeting will stick in my mind for a while. 'Meeting Ross was just bizarre. 'The paradox is that here was this laid back, polite, easy going decent person who has been convicted of murder. 'The strangest thing about him is how normal he is. He's been taking the gym seriously. Horror moment Scots gangster Ross Monaghan is shot dead by hitman at Spanish pub as staff & punters flee in terror 'But we sat chatting in a room which is like any ordinary school cafeteria - except the furniture is bolted to the floor. 'I'd never been inside a prison before, it was just strange. 'When I initially asked Michael for an interview, he wrote straight back because he realised I knew the case quite well. "I have spent a lot of time looking at it, and the cold case review, but when I went to visit I made it clear that I was not in any way interested in campaigning for his innocence or trying to find someone else guilty. 'I had legitimate concerns about the case, and he was happy to proceed on that basis. He told me he was innocent but I wasn't going to take his word for it - he had been found guilty by a jury Ethan Flett 'He had serious concerns about the credibility of certain witnesses, and that various leads and motives had not been looked into properly because he was the prime and only suspect. 'He told me he was innocent but I wasn't going to take his word for it - he had been found guilty by a jury.' Cloud of suspicion The pair spent six months writing back and forth to each other, with Ross responding to each of Ethan's questions in great detail. During the original murder investigation, 2,736 statements were taken, and a pair of witnesses claimed they saw Ross wearing the same balaclava and dark clothing as the murderer in woodland a fortnight earlier. The 15-year-old was called in for questioning, accompanied by his father - a well respected local police officer, Eddy Ross. Ross proclaimed his innocence - claiming he was out for a bike ride that night and his route did not take him anywhere near the murder scene. It was a time before CCTV or mobile phones, and recalling the night of the murder, Ross confided to Ethan: 'I didn't know what the sirens were for at that point, and didn't think much more about it.' Despite the cloud of suspicion hanging over her son, his mother Moira added that he was "just his normal self' that night. Moira, who believes the real killer remains on the loose, later went upstairs to his bedroom: "I said: 'Did you shoot that man?' and he said 'no' and I just can't get over the look on his face when I asked him that." She maintains her son never set foot in the restaurant. Angus Chisholm was the detective inspector for the then Northern Constabulary in Inverness sent to oversee the manhunt. Unaware of the connection, he tasked Eddy with the ballistic side of the investigation. Its focus became the 9mm bullet casing of the single shot which passed through 26 year-old Mr Mahmood's head and became embedded in the wall. Eddy quickly identified the round as one previously used by the British Army. 16 And as the inquiry continued a reconstruction of the murder featured on the BBC's Crimewatch UK. But, unlike most TV appeals, detectives had no description of the gunman. Locals wrestled with various theories but inquiries on the island and in the waiter's native Bangladesh drew a blank. Two months later, Eddy confessed that he had discovered a box of the same 9mm bullets used in the murder - in his own home. In a jaw-dropping revelation, the father-of-three claimed he had been given the box - which was still sealed - by a pal who was a former marine. But when questioned, his friend Jim Spence said he had given Eddy two boxes - one sealed and one half full. In a separate development, a mother and daughter reported they had seen a masked male acting suspiciously in nearby Papdale Woods - and named him as PC Ross' son Michael. Eddy said later: "Basically from that point in time the finger was pointing towards us." But evidence mounted against Michael when cops searched the family home. 'Death to the English' They found school books with Nazi swastikas drawn over them, scribbles saying 'Death to the English' and SS symbols. Although Mahmood had only been on the island for six weeks, and had no known enemies, his family insisted the shooting was racially motivated. Then, in December, Ross was arrested and admitted dropping his balaclava into the sea with a heavy stone attached. But Chisholm said the teenager was unfazed by the gravity of the allegations. 16 He recalled: "He was cool, calm and collected." Although there was not enough evidence to charge Ross, the investigation left Eddy's 23 year police career in ruins - he was charged with perverting the course of justice and jailed for three years. Meanwhile Ross left school at the age of 17 and joined his father's old regiment, the Black Watch, progressing through the ranks and eventually becoming the sergeant of a sniper platoon. He married, had two daughters and was even mentioned in dispatches for showing bravery when comrades were killed during a tour of Iraq. And while he remained free, the troubling tale slipped into obscurity. But in 2006, 12 years after the murder, the cold case took a fresh twist when an anonymous letter was handed in to the local police station. This was the breakthrough that would lead to Ross's downfall. A new witness, local man William Grant, claimed he saw the killer coming out of a public toilet cubicle on the night of the murder, brandishing a gun. The shock revelation led to Ross's arrest. 'It was disbelief again,' he told Ethan. Hallmarks of professional hit Ross maintained his innocence, and Leah Seator, editor of The Orcadian, said many people on the island thought Ross would walk free. His lawyer argued it was unthinkable that a teenager could have carried out the killing - it had the hallmarks of a professional hit. Prosecutor Brian McConnachie said the case has had a lasting impact on the community which remains divided over his guilt. "I suspect it still does affect people. "I think there's always going to be two sides." 16 16 16 McConnachie described the high profile case as "challenging" but on 20 June 2008 the jury took just four hours to return a guilty verdict - only for the moment to be overshadowed by an audacious escape attempt. As he was about to be led away Ross dramatically knocked over a security guard, and jumped out of the dock. He yanked open a side door and ran, but was tackled by a court official. It later emerged that he had parked a rental car two miles from the court, containing a Skorpion machine pistol with 542 rounds of ammunition - which he had smuggled back from Kosovo - as well as an air rifle, hand grenade, smoke grenades, a sleeping bag, camping equipment and survival gear. McConnachie added: "If you are trying to look for things that point towards guilt, then you might look at the circumstances of the last day of the trial, and the motor vehicle that he had and the things he had in them when he tried to escape from the court - never mind trying to escape from the prison. "There's something unnerving about what was contained within the car." When Ross returned to court four months later, amid heightened security, he was sentenced to 25 years plus a further five for his bid to flee. In that time, he has made three further attempts to escape from custody in one of Scotland's highest security prisons. In 2014, he tried to break out of a security van on the way to hospital and, in 2016, he stole an angle grinder from the prison workshop, replacing it with a wooden replica. Most recently, in 2018, the former soldier tried to scale the perimeter fence of a sports field at HMP Shotts in Lanarkshire, using a rope ladder he fashioned. His jacket contained food, clothing and a toothbrush, and he was placed into solitary confinement for a week. Ross's lawyer said he knew the bid for freedom would fail but he wanted to attract attention to his appeal. His conviction was upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeal however, and in 2014, a review deemed that the soldier had not suffered a miscarriage of justice. He remains incarcerated and his earliest release date is 2035. Looking back at his meetings with Ross, Ethan added: 'I honestly don't know whether he is guilty. 'He answered all my questions openly, I've read his psychiatric reports and he seems sane. 'What I found most interesting was his justifications for his escape attempts. 'He says that he did it to garner a bit of publicity for his claims of innocence, and says that he would have surrendered to the authorities if he were successful. 'He admitted to saying racist things as a teenager, but claimed that it was immaturity that he regretted. 'He has expressed sorrow in an open letter to the victim's family but he does not think it would be appropriate to speak to them directly. 'There's still so much interest in this case from Orkney people, so the story is ongoing.' While the victim's family feel justice has been served, Ross's supporters have set up a petition to clear his name. The shadow of doubt still divides opinion in Orkney to this day. The Orkney Assassin is streaming on Prime Video now.
Edinburgh Live
2 days ago
- Edinburgh Live
Michael Ross' lawyer hopes The Orkney Assassin documentary will 'encourage new witnesses'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Michael Ross' lawyer is optimistic that the new Prime Video documentary The Orkney Assassin: Murder In The Isles will unearth "new evidence". It's been three decades since the appalling murder of 26 year old Shamsuddin Mahmood, who was shot dead while working at Mumtaz Restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney. The masked assailant entered the restaurant and swiftly left after firing the fatal shot, leaving onlookers in shock. Ross, who faced questioning at age 15, managed to avoid arrest for 14 years until his 2008 conviction. To commemorate the anniversary of Mahmood's murder, Prime Video has launched the documentary, featuring insights from journalists, ex-police officers, Ross' family, and eyewitnesses. (Image: PRIME VIDEO) Ross' legal representative Aamer Anwar shared the main motivations for participating in the Prime Video production. "The basis for us taking part in this was one, to ensure it was a balanced documentary," he explained. "I appreciate at the end of the day that Michael is a convicted killer and of course, this is not a case of no documentary would be doing its job if it simply presented all one side unless you could provide completely overwhelming evidence, as has happened in the past. This is not one of those cases. "But we were very much of the view that the passage of time either means that there's somebody on the island that knows more than they said at the time. (Image: PRIME VIDEO/ORKNEY PHOTOGRPAHIC) "There are people who were scared at the time, the passage of time might have taken that away or people who have a guilty conscience that they didn't come forward. "And one hopes that those people would at this stage. That would strike as new evidence, that would be people who didn't come forward, to explain what happened, who saw what happened, who knew what happened, who knew exactly who it was that pulled the trigger." In the time since his conviction, Ross has remained adamant that he isn't guilty of murdering Mahmood when he was 15. 'You still have someone who claims he is innocent, who has never given up that he is innocent, who is still fighting to prove his innocence.', Anwar added. 'He could have made his life a lot easier by saying 'I did it.' A lot more chance of parole then, a lot more chance of getting out earlier.' The Orkney Assassin: Murder In The Isles is available to watch on Prime Video.
