A man accused of a fatal shooting spree in the Scottish Highlands had threatened to kill an osteopath who he claimed “ruined his life” and alleged his brother-in-law tried “to gouge his eyes out”, a court has heard.
Finlay MacDonald, 41, denies murder and two charges of attempted murder after allegedly shooting three people – his brother-in-law and a married couple – on 10 August 2022.
He also denies attempting to murder his wife, Rowena MacDonald, 34, by repeatedly stabbing her on the same day in the village of Tarskavaig, on the Isle of Skye’s Sleat peninsula.
MacDonald has been accused of murdering brother-in-law John MacKinnon, 47, at his home in Teangue, Skye, with a shotgun.
He has launched a special defence against the murder charge, claiming his “ability to determine or control his conduct was substantially impaired by reason of abnormality of mind”.
MacDonald further denies attempting to murder Fay and John MacKenzie, during an alleged shooting spree in the village of Dornie, Wester Ross, on the mainland in the Highlands.
Giving evidence, Mrs MacDonald told the court she knew her husband had bought a pump-action shotgun in June 2022 as well as ammunition.
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She said he was signed off sick in March 2022 with a back injury and began telling her to sort out life insurance for both of them, and that he visited osteopath Mr MacKenzie, but then became “fixated” on the idea that he had caused “irreparable” damage.
Mrs MacDonald said her husband became obsessed with suing Mr MacKenzie, also known as John Don, as well as threatening to kill him.
She told the court: “He wasn’t happy. He thought John Don had made his injuries much worse. He claimed that John Don had injured him. He told me that he had ruined his life.
“He was very, very upset for a very long time, he would rant about it every single day. He was in the process of trying to sue John Don and was trying to get a second opinion.
“He would frequently say ‘I am going to kill him, I’m going to bloody kill him for what he’s done ruining my life’.”
Read more from the court case:
Wife of man accused of shooting spree tells court how he attacked her with knife
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The court heard that in 2013, when Mrs MacDonald was eight months pregnant, there was an “altercation” between MacDonald and his brother-in-law Mr MacKinnon.
During cross-examination by defence advocate Donald Findlay KC, the court heard Mr MacKinnon reportedly drove 15 minutes after being told something before assaulting MacDonald by trying “to gouge his eyes out”.
Mr Findlay put it to Mrs MacDonald that his client required hospital treatment, but neither she nor her husband reported the incident to police.
The court heard that on the morning of the alleged attacks, the couple “struggled” over Mrs MacDonald’s phone, which had a series of messages from her male boss, including some saying “virtual hugs” which were sent late at night.
The court heard how Mrs MacDonald had gone with her friend to visit a house she planned to buy.
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Mr Findlay told the court MacDonald was diagnosed with autism after being taken into custody and described the attack on Mrs MacDonald as “frenzied”, but he put it to her that the accused “did not finish the job”.
Mr Findlay added: “He’s a man with autism, he’s a man who fixates, he’s a man who needs routine, a needy kind of a man.
“He is somebody who has had a problem with his brother-in-law that has resulted in two sides of a family pretty much severing contact until his sister approaches him in the weeks and months before this.
“Then he has health issues, he has a particular issue with a chiropractor and believes his physical life has been damaged.
“He has a problem in his marriage. You had lost all interest. He then finds text messages which show a man and you have been exchanging messages; that this man knows what you are planning, knows it’s all coming to a head, knows you have been looking at property.
“All of that is confronted to your husband in early hours of the morning.”
The trial continues in front of Judge Lady Drummond.
