Chilling true crime documentary about 'Scotland's most controversial murder' leaves viewers baffled

Daily Record

16 hours ago

The Amazon Prime Video documentary delves into the brutal 1994 murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood on a small Scottish island that was a cold case for years before an arrest was finally made.
Amazon Prime Video has a number of gripping true crime docuseries on its streaming platform with one recently uploaded programme about one of Scotland's most controversial murder cases leaving viewers hooked. The Orkney Assassin: Murder in the Isles was uploaded to Amazon Prime earlier this summer and recounts the chilling 1994 murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood, a waiter at the Indian restaurant Mumtaz in Kirkwall, in a 90-minute documentary.
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The 26-year-old Bangladeshi national was brutally gunned down by a masked man in front of horrified diners, including families with children. Before his murder, Mahmood had been planning to return to Bangladesh and marry his girlfriend after working on the island the year before he was killed.
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After the shocking crime, the assassin vanished, leaving a long lasting impact on the island that still resonates today. The unusual case is now under scrutiny once more after the Orkney Assassin landed on the streaming platform in June.
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At the time of the crime, 15-year-old Michael Ross was the main suspect and was questioned but was never charged. The case gained notoriety due to Ross' young age and the fact he was an army cadet but he was ultimately released.
However, after a lengthy 14-year investigation, a breakthrough in the case occurred when a witness came forward and said they had seen Ross on the night of the murder.
Ross was finally convicted of Mahmood's murder in 2008 at the High Court in Glasgow.
Upon hearing his guilty verdict, the ex-Black Watch soldier attempted to flee court before he was arrested.
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Ross' car was later found in a nearby supermarket car park, filled with weapons and camping gear, which he had been planning to use whilst on the run before his escape plan failed.
Despite all this, Michael Ross has always insisted he is innocent. He is currently serving a 25-year sentence at HMP Shotts in Lanarkshire, one of Scotland's highest security prisons.
Since his imprisonment, he has attempted to escape three times, which he claims are efforts to bring his case back into the public eye.
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His family, including father and former policeman Eddy Ross, mother Moira, and other members of the Orkney community are campaigning for his release as part of the J4MR - Justice 4 Michael Ross group.
Viewers have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the documentary as one wrote on Letterboxd: "Worth a watch but be ready to shout at the TV."
Another wrote on X: "Put on the Orkney Assassin documentary. It's such a surprising case. I would have been about 7 when it started and I was on Lewis - which tends to have a lot of connection with Orkney - but I don't remember this case at ALL."
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A third remarked: "Watching The Orkney Assassin, and it shows the difference between the islands and the mainland. Stuff like this simply doesn't happen on the islands. Hell, they don't even lock their doors!"
The 1994 murder continues to divide the Orkney community to this day with local newspaper reporter Ethan Fleet explaining "There are a lot of inconsistencies and unanswered questions surrounding the case and the investigations that preceded the trial, dubious witnesses whose evidence seems to be rather important in the case, changing positions. Things like that got my interest in that."
Prosecutor Brian McConnachie KC added: "I think there's always going to be two sides."
He described the Orkney murder as a "challenging" case and his most high-profile one, saying: "The number of times I have been asked about the case is incredible by comparison to any other case I've ever been involved in."