A man has been found guilty of murdering Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son, more than 45 years ago
William MacDowell, 80, was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Inverness today and handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 30 years, over the horrific crimes.
He was also found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of their bodies and personal effects.
The court had heard how Renee, who was separated from her husband, had been having an affair with married MacDowell at the time she and Andrew disappeared.
MacDowell, of Penrith, Cumbria, was on trial charged with assaulting Renee and her son Andrew at the Dalmagarry layby on the A9 trunk road south of Inverness, or elsewhere, by means unknown, and as a result murdering them on November 12, 1976.
He was also accused of disposing of their bodies and disposing a boot hatch from his Volvo car to defeat the ends of justice.
MacDowell denied both of the murders and one charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
He lodged two special defences in court - one of alibi, claiming he was elsewhere at the time, including in the Mercury Motor Inn with three colleagues before going home.
The other, incrimination, alleged that if the murders did happen, they were committed by Renee's estranged husband Gordon MacRae, acting with others.
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