Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Renee and Andrew MacRae: Does a guilty verdict bring hope for other cases?

A composite picture of Renee and Andrew MacRae, George Murdoch and Alistair Wilson
Could other north and north east cases be solved like the Renee and Andrew MacRae murders?

This week, Bill MacDowell starts a life sentence for the double murders of Renee and Andrew MacRae.

The case is 46 years old this year. Many people despaired of there ever being a result.

But at the High Court in Inverness on Thursday, after a long trial, a jury decided MacDowell should finally face what he did.

The 80-year-old will die in prison.

But what of the north and north east’s other unsolved murders and unexplained deaths? Does this change things for them?

We take a look at some of the most notorious cases – and their current status – here.

Alistair Wilson, Nairn

Young father-of-two Alistair Wilson was shot dead on his own doorstep on November 28, 2004.

The Nairn banker, 30 at the time of his death, went to the door after a man with a mysterious blue envelope asked for him by name.

Alistair Wilson and his family

Since then, police have explored theory after theory – was there a financial motive? Was it something in his personal life?

But to date, almost 18 years on, there have been no real answers.

Watch our documentary to catch up with the story.

And then read about the latest developments, which put a local planning application front and centre of the action.

George Murdoch, Aberdeen

George “Dod” Murdoch picked up his last fare in Aberdeen on September 29, 1983.

The 58-year-old was killed on Pitfodels Station Road. He was garrotted with a cheese wire.

Police began a hunt for the so-called Cheese Wire Killer – and a £25,000 reward for information is still on offer.

Now, 39 years on, police believe a man who was wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt may hold the key to solving the notorious murder.

Dorothy Park, New Pitsligo

Almost as old as the Renee and Andrew MacRae case is the mystery of New Pitsligo postmistress Dorothy Park.

She was left for dead in what looked to be a bungled robbery in June 1981.

There was a theory that it was a copycat case after the reign of terror of Black Panther Donald Neilson.

He carried out a series of raids and assaults in England in the years prior to Dorothy’s death.

But despite rewards, photofits and investigations, the case remains stubbornly unsolved, more than 40 years later.

Sandy Ingram, Newmachar

Sandy Ingram went out to look for intruders on his Newmachar farm on June 19, 2010.

When he didn’t come back in, his wife Ann went to look for the 79-year-old.

She found him lying injured.

He underwent brain surgery, but died almost exactly a year later.

Police launched a major investigation and appeal for information.

They searched for a red Vauxhall car, and revealed bathroom and kitchen taps had gone missing from his farm prior to him being injured.

Detectives made a fresh appeal seven years after the tragedy, but there are still no answers.

On the 10th anniversary, we revisited the story.

Elizabeth Sutherland, Culbokie

Elizabeth Sutherland was a housewife from the Highland village of Culbokie.

Standing at 4ft 9in and just 6st 4lb, she was known as Totsie to her friends and family.

On Monday, September 24, 1984, the 30-year-old mother-of-two was brutally murdered in her Black Isle home.

She had been strangled and stabbed seven times and her throat had been slit.

The horror of the scene was compounded by the fact she was found by her 10-year-old daughter Jane.

George MacPhee, 50, was later jailed for life for the crime.

But in 2005, Mr MacPhee was released after appeal judges found his trial had been flawed.

To this day, no-one else has been charged with the murder.

Conversation