SKYE MAN DENIED APPEAL AFTER BRUTAL MURDER AND ATTEMPTED MURDERS
A man from Skye, Finlay Macdonald, who was convicted of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, has been officially denied permission to appeal his conviction and sentence.He was found guilty in November for the killing of John MacKinnon and the attempted murders of his wife Rowena and two others, using a knife and a shotgun in August 2022.
Macdonald was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison.
During the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, Macdonald claimed he had diminished responsibility due to mental health issues at the time.
The appeal process involved two stages: the 'first sift' judged the case for legal grounds, which was refused, and the 'second sift' reviewed the case further, which was also refused on April 30.
During sentencing, Lady Drummond detailed the brutal attack: Macdonald believed there was trouble in his marriage, accessed his wife's phone, and found messages indicating she planned to leave him.
He confronted her, then stabbed her multiple times, going outside to load a shotgun, before driving to his brother-in-law's house and shooting John MacKinnon to death with multiple gunshot wounds.
He then proceeded to shoot his sister-in-law, Lyn-Anne MacKinnon, through her window, hitting her in the face and head, and also shot John MacKinnon's husband who was shielding her.
The victims' families expressed deep anguish, grieving the loss of loved ones.
The court dismissed Macdonald's appeal, confirming the conviction and sentence.
The case highlights a tragic instance of domestic violence escalating to murder.
