Judge brands Skye shooter "mindlessly violent" in sentencing statement

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Passing sentence, Lady Drummond told MacDonald about the impact his actions had on his victims.

Finlay MacDonald, 41, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years behind bars after being found guilty of murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to kill three other people during a shotgun rampage on the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland.

The attacks began that morning when the father-of-four repeatedly stabbed his wife Rowena at their home in Taskarvaig on the island’s Sleat peninsula after finding “flirty” text messages on her phone between her and her boss.

Giving evidence during the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, Mrs MacDonald said the “frenzied” attack punctured both her lungs and left her “squelching blood” with every breath she took.

Lady Drummond said: “I have read victim impact statements by those affected by your crimes.

“Rowena MacDonald suffered at least 9 stab wounds, and as she describes in her victim impact statement about 17, to her chest, abdomen and back, a build-up of blood and air in her chest and small wounds to her liver and kidney which were a danger to her life.

“She has permanent scarring. She describes being in hospital for 6 weeks, requiring to have operations and a subsequent hospital admission.

“Living with the scarring is a permanent reminder to her of the trauma of your attack. The attack has had a devastating impact on her physically and huge lasting emotional and psychological impact as described in her victim impact statement all of which I take into account.

“Fay MacKenzie suffered multiple small wounds from gunshot pellets to her face, neck, chest and thumb of her right hand. Some of the pellets were removed under anaesthetic but others have been left in her face. She is left with permanent scarring on her cheek.

“John Don MacKenzie was in a critical condition due to blood loss and required to undergo emergency surgery without which he would have died. He had a single large entry gunshot wound on his left side.

“He had his kidney removed along with 30 gunshot pellets from his abdomen. He had 100 gunshot pellets in his bowel and required a further operation to repair his bowel. When in hospital he had a blood clot in the lung, a life threatening condition, caused by his injuries and surgery. He was in hospital for over six weeks.

“John MacKinnon’s, wife, sister and children’s victim impact statements are heart breaking to read.

“The event so scarring it has left them angry, shocked, sad and in deep anguish. A loving husband, brother and a wonderful father, the last two years have been unimaginably difficult for them, they miss and grieve for him daily.

“They feel they have lost the life and soul of their family and that their lives will never be what they once were.”

Lady Drummond told MacDonald that she could only impose one sentence - life imprisonment.

She added: “You carried out a series of brutal and mindlessly violent attacks with a knife and pump action shotgun within a matter of hours.

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“What began with a frenzied persistent attack with a knife on your wife continued with you deliberately targeting those you bore longstanding grudges against, shooting at them at close range within their own homes where they had no opportunity to defend themselves or escape. “That Rowena MacDonald, Fay MacKenzie and John Don MacKenzie are alive today is down to their own actions, the bravery and responsiveness of police, particularly local Portree police, the emergency services in reaching them and the medical professionals who treated them. The outcome for each was as likely to have been fatal.

“For them and the family of John MacKinnon life will never be the same again.”

She also warned MacDonald that there was no guarantee he’d be released at the end of his minimum jail term.

She added: “This does not mean that this is a sentence of 28 years. You are sentenced to life imprisonment and you will serve at least 28 years before you can be considered for release on parole.

“It will be for the Parole Board to determine when you will ultimately be released and they will consider the safety of the public in reaching that decision. The question of parole cannot arise before the punishment part has passed.”

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