BrainScratch: The Blue Envelope and Alistair Wilson

How do we know the envelope was empty after the gunshots? Did Alistair put anything in it after talking to his wife?

I’m from Nairn myself and I remember when this happens as it was the talks when I was in school the bit I’m confused about is everybody is saying the wife done it but then she would of had to run up the road for a good 10 15 mins to drop the gun in the drain to where it was found as it wasn’t right next to his house it was a good couple of streets up the main road so would be hard for her to stash said gun and also kill her husband with no evidence that leads to her directly as she was up stairs at the point she may have been involved or known something but she never killed the man as she couldn’t of done it so cleanly that there was no evidence left behind

What if Victoria planned the murder and the empty envelope from the doorstep man was supposed to be given to her so she could pay him in cash for murdering her husband. In this case the doorstep man wouldn't have had to worry about the envelope being left at the home because Victoria was going to give it back to him. The story she tells authorities could have been partially fabricated to hide the fact she had to do with the murder.
It seems like a whole lot of information surrounding Victoria is being ignored by these investigations. It would be useful to get some background on her, things like if she had been interested in another man or wasn't settled with the fact Alistair was leaving his job or anything that suggests a motive for having Alistair killed. Maybe she wanted his money. We do know that at the time, Victoria's father also lived in the building, I'm not sure if that has to do with anything.
Until she's looked into, it remains a possibility she was involved.

I am wondering if the envelope was just a rouse to distract them in order to kill him.

I commented too soon, before watching video to then. My previous comment has been ruled out.

That envelope is the real brain scratch here on this one. How could it just vanish? If the perpetrator handed it to the victim, why would he show it to his wife? Did he show it to her or did he hand it to her? Business employers Like to send cards to their employees: Thank you cards holiday cards and sometimes even birthday cardS

his son spoke yesterday (12/10/2020) of the loss and the need of all the family to know who and why. It remains unsolved and a very sad case. Btw your pronounciation of Nairn is good. But Inverness was a shocker 😂

1997 is a significant cut-off not because of lack of records but because of the firearms amendment in the wake of the 1996 Dunblane massacre. Gun possession is very heavily restricted in the UK.

The police know more about this case then they are letting on. I’m curious why no efit of the killer was ever posted.
The wife first answered the door. I would surely remember the face of it was me.
Also there was a report of someone ‘acting very suspiciously in the town by a local on the same day. Why was the efit matched to what she saw.

just a thought, the enveleope could have said PAY not PAUL, if it was written by hand its easy to mistake the Y for a UL. Otherwise it seems like the envelope is a way for misleading the investigation.

So where’s the right guy that got killed after the” hitter” realized he killed the wrong person.

In the summer of 2005 I moved 400 miles from my native Yorkshire to the area 6 months after this awful crime took place. I was aware of it because it was in the news big time in the UK back in November 04. On the first anniversary of poor Alistair's murder, I parked my car close by the house for half an hour or so around the time of the killing. I don't really know why I did this for sure, a very very long shot I know, but maybe I was hoping that somehow, the perpetrator may have just paid a ghoulish trip back on the first anniversary, but all in the house was dark and nobody came near. I saw his wife a little bit later on shopping in one of the few large local supermarkets they have up there. I was tempted to go to her and offer her some kind of condolence, but I thought it probably wise to leave her in peace . More than likely, she was tired of people coming up to her in order to do the same. Nairn is a small town but a quite beautiful one with lovely views of the stormy Moray Firth from the harbourside and also scenic views of the mountains of the Highlands further beyond. Usually so peaceful, but obviously that peace was shattered on that fateful day. RIP Alistair.

14 years of investigating this case I went to the United States talk to gun experts and ex FBI agents they said to me The gun was a low callaba gun meaning the killer hug mr willson when mr wilson handled the envelope back to the killer.the killer pulled mr willson towards him put the gun to his chest fired the shots kept hold of him laid him down then shot him in the head then fled the scene. this is what they said to me of the years of experience

just wondering if anvelope was sealed?

Honestly it seems to me the guy could have simply known Alistair was the bank manager, assumed he had money, took an envelope he had to hand with him and handed it to him, assuming in his mind that Alistair would get the message to put money in the envelope. When he didn't perhaps he panicked and shot him. I think the name Paul on the envelope could just be a coincidence though it might be a clue as to the identity of the killer if he related or knew "Paul" though Paul is also a common name in Scotland so might not be as useful for narrowing it down.

Who can prove the envelope ever existed?

Something that stuck out to me was the description of a ‘blouson’ jacket by both Veronica and the witness. I live not too far from Nairn and I’ve never heard a jacket being described as a ‘blouson’. In this area it would be either an ‘anorak’, ‘bomber jacket’ or ‘Harrington’. This potentially supports the fact that the witness did not cite this description independently.

Was Veronica a victim of domestic abuse?

No one says ‘blouson’ jacket up here. Bomber perhaps. Or Harrington. But not blouson.

Wow. I remember this case, and the Crimewatch episode! I LOVED that show (the precursor of my life long interest in true crime)

(a) Blousson (mens rain/autumn waist length) jackets were popular at that time (a) the killer may have proffered the envelope as in "my mate Paul lives on this street, do you know him? They said your name in the pub as a friend of Paul's. Here's his address on the back of a card he sent me, the door number is smudged" - and Alastair went to check if his wife knew of any 'Paul living on their road. Why let your 'mark' walk away into the house? Well, how close were the neighbours? How busy was the pub across the road? Maybe the killer was buying time for nosey parkers to move on/go indoors. The mystery lies with Alastair - who did he cross? Who would care enough to know where he lived etc? OR this was a random nutter who wanted to kill someone and followed Alastair for a little while. I wish they had checked CCTV near his work/city centre at the time, for anyone showing unusual interest in Alastair. Poor man. 💐

I am wondering if he was being extorted and he was told that they would let the information out if he didn't cough up the money, he went upstairs, he declined, went upstairs to talk to his wife, tell her that he was coming clean with what ever it was, money, affair, something he had been hiding. He was leaving a good job, do they way why? Maybe he saw his wife and kids and changed his mind went down stairs to tell the guy he would pay up and they shot him.

There’s only one way the sequence of events makes sense to me:
1) wife knows this visit is happening
2) the person at the door is a lover or her father or someone close
3) the envelope is filled with money; a bribe. Leave her and it’s yours.
4) husband takes it upstairs, angrily asking wife what this is about. She either denies knowing or stands by the offer.
5) husband goes to door. Refuses bribe.
6) visitor goes with plan B. Keeps the money.

That sequence makes far more sense to me.

Wife had something to Do w it, or disgruntled employee at bank or customer who didn’t get loan he hoped for

Blouson - Scottish version of a 'members only' jacket?

I love John's thoughtful & calm style of presenting the cases. I'm here after listening to his excellent coverage of the Lindsay Buziak (2008, Victoria, BC) murder. This is another perplexing case.. Obviously planned for a dark Sunday evening when few people were around but I can't figure out what the killer would be demanding. Most people would not have the kind of money lying around to satisfy an extortion attempt, but I do think it is somehow connected to his change of employment. I enjoy reading the theories that readers are suggesting

Stories like this make me wish I was a professional sleuth 🕵️‍♂️ and could bring creeps like this to justice.

Maybe the wife hired a hit?

See the son went on live TV( last year) also I'm interested in this case, begging for information no matter how small, my heart goes out to him his brother mum & family, remember this very well it was big story and its odvious the shooter was a professional hit man but reasons to kill are unknown, maybe dodgy money, who knows? Hope they get answers real soon 🙏😔

This kinda thing usually only happens if you’ve fuc*ed someone over with money or been messing around with someone else’s wife.

Wife knows all about it. Check out her TV interview. Phoney as he'll. No mystery here. Father lives upstairs she runs across the road for help. Envelope schmenvelope

All of you criticizing the wife for running across the street to the hotel instead of calling the police from home - unless you've been involved in a similar situation, you don't know how you will react when your adrenoline starts pumping. She may have been totally involved in her husband's murder but I don't think this one little thing made a heck if a lot of difference.

This is in the news now,with new leads and information.Police have been to Canada to interview a man who had the hotel across from Alistairs house.I hope it will finally be solved for his wife and sons sake.

I’ve heard that he was a bit off a ladies man, I live about 30 miles from Nairn, so that’s the gossip going around!!

context of the letter has been witheld

So, business it was! They believe he opposed the public planning request for the Havelock Inn down the street to have a wrap around deck. Not many people were aware that he was the one that was opposed. I guess they REALLY wanted the deck.

Why would he close the door on the guy take the envelope to his wife ?

He must have thought his wife would know something about the envelope,

Or the guy at the door told him to take it to his wife.

What would he have said to the guy prior to going up the stairs with the envelope to his wife,

And the guy at the door must have known Alistair was coming back down.

Very interesting video. Thanks much for your thoughts, work and time on this. I've followed this casually since it happened and have been fascinated by it. A thought. I think the cleanliness, if the man was a professional, was designed to make his appearance as anonymous as possible. Everything I've heard in the way the killer was described is...average...absolutely nothing made the man stand out. And it worked.

Paul= pay and u live.

What did A.say why he went upstairs to his wife about the visit n the envelop? Why an envelop? Decoy? Did the guy had a Scottish accent? In the bus from Inverness...? Hitman? Shot him because he did not pay? Kill your financial source?! Financial motive. What about the gun: unusual size, hidden. Because of the long trip the murderer had to make to N.? Pocketsize, no discovery long the way? Single use....

a) What about the working hypothesis that Paul was the first name of the killer, and that he assumed AW wrote him a letter he wasn't happy about. Somehow he thought AW was the writer, but apparantly, AW was flabbergasted, as he returned inside his home to show it to his wife. It is not known what their exchange was about that blue enveloppe: did he ask his wife whether she knew something about it, and since she said she didn't, he went back to the door, said sorry man we can't help you we don't know anything about it, which angered the killer (who apparantly was out to kill, since he brought a loaded gun with him)
b) Another hypothesis is that AW had a double life, and that he used Paul as an alias. Somehow he did something to irritate the killer, either romantically (with the wife of the killer) or a law suit or any other quarrel ?
c) Only two other hypothesis possible: there was no enveloppe at all (which implies the wife lies about it, but there are no indications whatsoever in that direction at all, something else than Paul was written on it but that looked like Paul (f.i. Paid), maybe Paul is not a (first) name but a family name etc.

Note
a that not even an attempt seems to have been made to come up with a drawing of the murder suspect
b) that the obvious exchange that must have taken place between an intrigued AW holding the blue enveloppe and his wife has been released: he must have asked her something about the enveloppe, apparantly he felt the need to go back into his home to ask her about it, in stead of giving it back to the visitor, saying, sorry chap, no Paul living here. So WHAT did AW said to his wife when he showed het the enveloppe, and why wasn't that released in the press ?

Getaway car: conflicting information with withess who thinks he saw potential killer on the bus from Inverness. (At what time did he see the man, and how much time is there between his arrival in Nairn and the killing ? Did he first had to "kill time" before going to the house on Crescent Road 1O ? Did he go back by bus ?
If he walked to Marine Rd., that was not in the direction of Inverness, if he wanted to get back to Inverness by bus or a getaway car, it would have made more sense to go to the A96 King Street, which leads to Inverness. To get from Marine Rd to Inverness, he has to go back to a roundabout, then turn right, into the A96. Where is the nearest bus station ? Maybe the killer felt safe enough he wouldn't be reckognized, since he wasn't local but from Inverness, which has almost 52 000 inhabitants ?
If the killer wanted AW to put something in the enveloppe, why did AW feel the need to go back to his wife to show the blue thing ? Why not simply refuse or say "I don't want to have anything to do with this" ? Apparantly AW wrote plenty of angry letters to many local decision makers about the nuissance caused by a restaurant pub just across the street (it's easy to find via Google Streetview). It is strange that he complained about it, since he bought this house not that long before: he must have noticed that there was a pub with clients, and that this would hamper his privacy and cause noise... And anyway, what's the connection between that pub and the man potentially from Inverness ?

It's got that Jill Dando feel about it.
The conspiracy goes deep.

Pay And U LIve

They don't even have the envelope, the wife is the only source for the narrative

That sort of 999 call is why some people in the UK have talked about scrapping "Which service do you require" and just having an American-style 911 system. The first operator you speak to isn't even an emergency services worker, they work for the phone company and are not dispatchers of any kind. You then get put through to another call handler for the actual service you've asked for.

To be perfectly honest the whole thing wastes time when you're dealing with hysterical people who don't know what service they need, and all the operator can do is act like a parrot becoming more and more aggressive each time. You can even hear that right here. It's a total mess and even senior politicians have talked about doing a 911-style thing instead.

Most people don't even know that 999 can be used to summon the coastguard or cave rescue. They also don't know that you should just ask for the police if you're unsure about which service you do need.

Their was a public house restaurant,and the owner was asking the council for permission for a beer garden Mr Wilson objected and it’s thought that the pub owner was not happy

This is an intelligent video.

There was no man at door. There was two people involved the wife and another? There was also no envelope this i think was just to complicate direct detectives away on wild goose chase. Just my theory