NAIRN MURDER UPDATE - DEATH OF ALISTAIR WILSON
THE officer leading the enquiry into the murder of Nairn banker Alistair Wilson said today he remains confident of identifying the person responsible for his death.
DCI Peter MacPhee briefed the media today from the enquiry team's new custom-built Portakabin at the rear of Nairn Police Station.
DCI MacPhee said it was important that the day to day running of the Nairn Station was not affected and a decision was taken to move the investigation team into the new premises.
The premises themselves are equipped with all the necessary communication facilities required to effectively run the inquiry.
In relation to the investigation itself DCI MacPhee said: "This enquiry could take weeks, months or even a year to conclude, but with the structures we have in place I am confident we will reach a successful conclusion.
"My evaluation is based on conversations I have had with other Senior Investigating Officers who have worked on similar crimes."
DCI MacPhee has also issued a fresh appeal for the person who called with information to Crimestoppers a number of times to get back in touch with him personally.
He said: "We have had several calls to Crimestoppers, including the person who phoned in initially with interesting information. There is a possibility that other family members (related to the initial caller) have also phoned in as well.
"I am sure this person or these persons have more to tell me and I would urge them to call me personally. I can guarantee that these calls can be made in confidence."
DCI MacPhee also revealed that preliminary results have now come back to Police in relation to the weapon used in the murder as well as forensic evidence gathered at the scene.
He said: "I can confirm there were no fingerprints on the gun which was found in Seabank Road a few days after the murder. However, I am not surprised by that given that it was found down a drain.
"Further examination will now be carried out in an attempt to identify trace evidence.
"In relation to the scene itself we now have forensic evidence back from the lab. We are currently in the process of eliminating that trace evidence.
"That may have come from Police, emergency services, or even people who tried to assist Alistair after he was shot and once we have eliminated all those people we will look at what we have and analyse that."
DCI MacPhee also revealed that inquiries resulting from BBC's Crimewatch programme are now more or less completed.