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Wife of Renee MacRae killer unlikely to face her own criminal prosecution

Rosemary MacDowell at the High Court in Inverness. Image: DC Thomson
Rosemary MacDowell at the High Court in Inverness. Image: DC Thomson

The wife of double murderer William MacDowell will not face any criminal charges herself, police have said.

MacDowell was convicted of the murders of Renee and Andrew MacRae at the High Court in Inverness last week.

The 80-year-old was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years for killing his former lover Renee and their three-year-old son in November 1976.

MacDowell’s wife Rosemary was a key witness in her husband’s trial.

She had also previously been cautioned by police in 1986 and quizzed over discrepancies of her account of the night Renee and Andrew vanished.

What did Rosemary MacDowell know?

Rosemary’s fiery testimony changed the atmosphere of the three-week trial.

Having been married to her husband for 58 years, questions have been asked about what she knew and when.

But Detective Chief Inspector Brian Geddes, who led the investigation, says there are no plans for charges to be lodged against Rosemary.

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Geddes. Image: Sandy McCook

He said: “During the review and re-investigation, every fact and everything we looked at was delivered to the Crown Office.

“It is their decision on whether or not prosecutions take place.

“The feeling is that they have proceeded with what they thought was valid.

“And that’s probably where it will stay.”

‘We will not give up until there is no hope’

This could all change, however, if MacDowell now admits his crimes.

It seems unlikely – he has kept quiet for nearly 46 years.

But then again, few thought the case would ever reach this point.

If MacDowell were to speak and implicate his wife in any way, detectives might have a few more questions for her.

Officers leading the investigation consider their job only half-finished.

Locating the remains of Renee and Andrew and finding out how they died is their second objective.

DCI Geddes added: “The case remains open. The second objective is still outstanding.

“The mechanics may never be known. But it’s clear that the circumstances delivered in court were enough to convict MacDowell.

“We would love to know more, for the sake of Renee and Andrew’s family.

“The organisation, myself and whoever comes after me, will not give up until there is no hope.

“And there is hope at the moment.”

Rosemary: ‘I never stabbed her’

Mrs MacDowell’s appearance in the witness box focused on when her husband returned home on November 12, 1976.

There was a review of a statement she had made to Detective Sergeant Peter Black in November 1986, 10 years after the disappearance.

William and Rosemary MacDowell arriving at the High Court on the day he was convicted. Image: Sandy McCook

There had been questions around what TV programme the MacDowells’ two daughters were watching before their father came home.

Detective Sergeant Peter Black pushed Mrs MacDowell to breaking point on a similar line of questioning in 1986.

On that occasion, she snapped: “I don’t know what you are getting on to me for. I never stabbed her or whatever happened to her.”

More on the Renee MacRae case:

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