Dozens of Press and Journal readers gathered in Aberdeen Sheriff Court last night as a retired murder detective shared his stories of catching Scotland’s most infamous killers.
Gary Winter, a former detective inspector, lifted the lid on his 30-year career investigating the area’s most shocking crimes.
During the exclusive subscribers’ event – called “How To (Almost) Get Away With Murder” – Mr Winter spoke about the challenges of solving the region’s highest-profile cases.
Watch: Exclusive subscribers event at historic sheriff court
He revealed his most difficult one was unmasking Steven Sidebottom as the violent robber responsible for the brutal beating of 67-year-old Rothienorman mechanic Brian McKandie in March 2016.
Mr Winter told last night’s audience how close Sidebottom came to escaping being brought to justice.
They also heard of the painstaking, and sometimes intrusive, work that was carried out to eliminate dozens of men – some of them unfaithful – to identify person responsible for the February 2016 death of a sex worker in Aberdeen.
Proving that Nigerian national and Robert Gordon University student Bala Chinda had raped and strangled married mum-of-one Jessica McGraa, 37, was no straightforward task, the audience learned.
Mr Winter also told them that the murder of talented Aberdeen scientist Dr Brenda Page was, potentially, predictable and preventable.
A jury found Christopher Harrisson, 82, guilty of beating to death his ex-wife Brenda at her Allan Street flat in July 1978.
Her head and face had been struck at least 20 times during the brutal attack.
Harrisson’s 32-year-old victim had previously suffered long-term domestic abuse and coercive control at his hands over the years.
He was eventually jailed for life with a judge ordering he serve a minimum of 20 years before he can apply for parole, having evaded justice and remained free for four decades.
Explaining events behind the scenes between 1978 and 2015, Mr Winter suggested that Harrisson could have been prosecuted 45 years ago if prosecutors had a greater appetite for a circumstantial court case.
Mr Winter also revealed his gut feeling that Brenda would still be alive today if modern public protection standards existed in the 1970s.
He believes Harrisson would have been locked up for stalking before the research scientist could bludgeon his ex-wife to death.
Last night’s true crime event, the first of its kind to be hosted by The Press and Journal’s Crime and Courts Team, also welcomed another special guest.
The nephew of 58-year-old taxi driver George Murdoch, who was viciously garrotted with a cheese wire by a passenger on Pitfodels Station Road, near Cults, in September 1983, made a surprise appearance.
In just over two weeks, Alex McKay, 67, will mark the 41st anniversary of his uncle’s murder.
He made a heartfelt appeal for help from anyone with information that might unveil his beloved uncle’s killer.
Mr McKay told the audience he was convinced the case could still be solved.
Just over a year ago, The P&J revealed that a live police inquiry had recovered the so-called Cheese Wire Killer’s DNA profile.
The genetic sample was identified from evidence gathered after the stricken cabbie was discovered dying on the pavement.
Advancements in forensic analysis allowed scientists to make a major breakthrough towards the end of 2018, with the DNA profile being used to eliminate dozens of people from the ongoing investigation ever since.
Mystery man with blood on his hands in chip shop revealed
In May, earlier this year, this newspaper exclusively reported that the mystery of a man allegedly seen with blood on his hands in a chip shop the night of Mr Murdoch’s death may finally have been solved.
A woman working at Mr Chips on Great Western Road in Mannofield – just over a mile from the horrific crime scene – later reported her suspicious customer to detectives.
The alleged sighting sparked a major manhunt for the mystery man, who was never officially traced.
However, The Press and Journal tracked down who we believed to be that man and he told us he visited the chip shop the night BEFORE Mr Murdoch’s murder.
In his only interview with the media, Ronald Paterson, 68, from Northfield, revealed he did have blood on his hands when he went to pick up a fish supper for his wife, but said it was from gutting rabbits.
Detectives were soon after able to conclusively rule Mr Paterson out of their investigation using the DNA profile.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
