A man accused of murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to murder three others during a shooting spree on Skye was “fully in control” of his actions, a jury has been told.
In his closing speech at the trial of Finlay MacDonald, prosecutor Liam Ewing KC told the High Court in Edinburgh the accused was not “significantly impaired” by any psychological condition on the day he carried out the attacks.
This was shown, he said, by the “targeted, controlled behaviour” he displayed after stabbing his wife “nine times” in their family home on Skye on the morning of August 10, 2022.
MacDonald’s lawyer disputed that there was any planning or premeditation involved in his client’s actions that day.
MacDonald, 41, is accused of murdering his brother-in-law John MacKinnon by repeatedly discharging a shotgun at him in the village of Teangue on Skye.
He is accused of firing a shotgun at married couple Fay and John MacKenzie and attempting to murder them in the village of Dornie, Wester Ross, on the same day.
He is also accused of attempting to murder his wife, Rowena, by repeatedly stabbing her in the village of Tarskavaig, on Skye’s Sleat peninsula, also on August 10.
In addition, MacDonald faces a charge of possession of a shotgun “with intent by means thereof to endanger life”.
He denies all the charges against him.
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Mr Ewing told the jury that after stabbing his wife, MacDonald had been able to get into a car with a shotgun and “400 cartridges”, drive to two different houses some miles apart and select his “victims”.
He said these factors, and the fact the attacks lasted as long as they did, were “inconsistent with mental disorder and significant impairment”.
He said: “The prosecution position is the evidence of what the accused did after the stabbing of his wife shows he was fully in control of and able to determine his actions.”
The advocate depute also pointed out no mention was made of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on MacDonald’s medical records, which the court heard was linked to an assault by his brother-in-law in 2013, until 2022.
He added that people around him, including his wife, were not aware of it, despite Mrs MacDonald saying her husband “spoke about his health every day of his marriage”.
He also pointed out many people are on the autism spectrum and many people “discover unfaithfulness”, but they do not act as MacDonald did on August 10.
He also said there was no evidence MacDonald’s attack on his wife was “provoked by the discovery of sexual infidelity”, saying it was instead triggered by “mildly flirty texts” that included mention of his wife’s desire to leave him.
In his closing speech, MacDonald’s lawyer Donald Findlay KC agreed his client had targeted specific people in his attacks but said this proved he had not gone on a “killing spree”.
He told the jury his client’s actions were the result of long-standing psychological conditions – including autism, PTSD and personality disorder – coupled with a number of events that “came crowding in as we approach August 10”.
These included, he said, an increasingly difficult relationship with his wife, an osteopath treatment that left him in severe pain, and his discovery of a “pattern” of “flirty” late night and early morning text messages on his wife’s phone between her and her boss.
Police tape at the scene of a shooting in Dornie, Wester Ross (John Linton/PA)
He said his client’s autism meant he reacted very badly to the discovery of the messages – which he said would have showed he had been made a “cuckold” over a “period of time”.
Mr Findlay told the jury: “A lot of people would be very angry and they would demand an explanation.
“He’s not a lot of people. He’s autistic. He could not rationalise it the way other people can.”
He also disputed that there was any planning or premeditation involved in his client’s actions on August 10.
He pointed out MacDonald already owned multiple firearms when he bought the gun used in the alleged attacks, and he had no way of knowing whether either Mr McKinnon or Mr MacKenzie were at home when he drove to their addresses after stabbing his wife.
MacDonald has lodged a special defence against the murder charge, claiming his “ability to determine or control his conduct was substantially impaired by reason of abnormality of mind”, and a judge said he could be convicted of an alternative charge of culpable homicide if the jury believed his defence of diminished responsibility.
The trial continues in front of Judge Lady Drummond.