After 46 painful years, a jury has reached a verdict regarding the disappearance of Renee MacRae and her toddler, Andrew.
The sombre moment, late yesterday afternoon, brought people of all ages across Scotland to a standstill, such is the interest in this tragic crime. However, though Bill MacDowell has been found guilty of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice, a neat line has not been drawn under the case.
Questions cloud the minds of the MacRaes’ loved ones, former neighbours and Inverness locals – questions only MacDowell can answer.
Perhaps most pressing of all, the bodies of the mother and son have never been found.
Now aged 80, MacDowell roamed freely for more than four decades after taking two lives, enjoying his prime years without consequence. Killed at 36, Renee had that opportunity viciously snatched from her, while Andrew’s life had barely begun.
Sentence does not mean automatic atonement
The jurors and judge saw beyond the frail, terminally ill man who faced them in the dock and rightfully convicted him for his unforgivable, unfathomable actions many years ago.
MacDowell must now do the decent thing and offer up detailed information to police about the crime
MacDowell will not see freedom again, but this does not equal automatic atonement.
As lead Detective Chief Inspector Brian Geddes said yesterday, the pensioner must now do the decent thing and offer up detailed information to police about the crime, starting with the locations of of his victims’ remains. Only then will those surviving Renee and Andrew feel a real sense of closure and peace.
The Voice of the North is The Press & Journal’s editorial stance on what we think is the most important story of the day
