Renee MacRae killer William MacDowell granted more than £50k of legal aid to fund his failed defence at the High Court in Inverness
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A double murderer was handed legal aid of more than £50,000 during his trial at the High Court in Inverness, according to reports.
The Scottish Sun claims that William MacDowell was granted £52,000 from the Scottish Legal Aid Board in order to pay for his defence.
Legal aid is granted in certain circumstances in order for an accused party to fund their defence and pay for legal representation.
MacDowell (81) was convicted last year of the murder of Renee MacRae (36) and her son Andrew (3) more than 40 years ago.
A jury found him guilty of two counts of murder relating to the disappearance of the mother and son as well as a further charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a punishment period of 30 years.
MacDowell’s legal team confirmed in October last year that an appeal was to be lodged against the conviction .
However the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service confirmed that this was deemed abandoned on December 7.
This was due to a time bar running out without the requisite paperwork being lodged.
MacDowell can re-raise the appeal at any time.
Mrs MacRae and Andrew left their home in Inverness on November 12, 1976, heading south on the A9.
Her BMW car was discovered on fire in a lay-by near Dalmagarry later that evening.
Neither Mrs MacRae nor Andrew have been seen since and their bodies have never been found.
MacDowell’s health is believed to have been failing since he was imprisoned.
He regularly attended at the High Court in Inverness during the trial in a wheelchair.
One of Scotland’s longest unsolved murder cases, MacDowell was arrested in September 2019 after an extensive review and re-investigation of the case carried out by detectives from Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team and local officers.
This built on decades of work carried out since 1976.
