Trial Hears Osteopath Disarmed His Shooter

A murder trial has been informed that a retired osteopath managed to disarm a former patient who had shot him and his wife at their residence. Finlay MacDonald faces charges of attempting to murder John and Fay MacKenzie, both aged 65, in Dornie, Wester Ross, as part of a series of alleged assaults that occurred on 10 August 2022. The High Court in Edinburgh was told that Mr MacKenzie seized the firearm from Mr MacDonald during a confrontation, prior to his wife hitting the 41-year-old with a “hefty” metal toilet roll holder. Mr MacDonald is additionally charged with the attempted murder of his wife, Rowena MacDonald, and the murder of his brother-in-law, John MacKinnon, in Skye on the identical date. He refutes all accusations and has submitted a special defence concerning the murder charge. Mr MacKenzie testified that he was outside feeding pigs on his croft and was heading back to his residence when he heard someone yelling: “Drop the weapon. Drop the weapon.” He stated he observed Mr MacDonald positioned at a front window holding a gun. Mr MacKenzie recounted: “Straight away I knew this was a bad situation. I just knew it was bad.” Upon entering, he discovered his wife with her face covered in blood, a towel wrapped around her head, and appearing “quite distressed”. Mrs MacKenzie informed him they had to enter the bathroom and secure the door, according to court proceedings. While they were in the bathroom, she exclaimed: “There’s the man. There’s the man.” Mr MacKenzie informed the court that he placed his wife on the floor. He stated: “I lay on top of her to protect her and then he shot me in the back. “The struggle for the gun occurred after that. I got up, took the gun off him.” Subsequently, Mr MacKenzie heard shouts of “shots fired, shots fired” before law enforcement deployed a Taser. He reported losing a kidney and sustaining additional injuries from the shooting incident. Mrs MacKenzie recounted that she was consuming cereal on her patio when she noticed shouting. She stated she proceeded around the house to investigate and observed a man holding a “long thin gun” by his side. Mrs MacKenzie mentioned hearing individuals instructing her to return inside. She stated that once she was within her residence, a man was waiting for her and shot her in the face through a glass window. Mrs MacKenzie informed the court: “He was standing there pointing the gun at me when I came in through the patio door.” Advocate depute Liam Ewing KC inquired about the number of times she was shot, to which she responded that she believed it was twice. She stated: “My eyes were full of blood.” Recounting the period after her husband – whom she refers to as John Don – entered the house, she said: “I looked over John’s shoulder and the man was standing there – dark, tall. “He shot John Don at point blank range and we both fell down onto the shower area.” She further added: “He was standing there, the man, and I thought, ‘this is it, this is us going to be killed’ but then my husband rose up and took the gun off the man.” Mrs MacKenzie stated she seized the toilet roll holder and struck the man on the head a few times, ceasing when she heard a voice declare: “That will do”. She then understood that police officers had arrived. Mr MacKenzie mentioned he had practiced as an osteopath for 40 years prior to his retirement in April 2022. He stated that Mr MacDonald had previously reached out to him, reporting chest pain and respiratory issues, and had been absent from work for a year. Following two treatment sessions, he reported that Mr MacDonald asserted his back felt uncomfortable. Defence counsel Donald Findlay KC indicated that jurors would be informed Mr MacDonald grew “fixated” on Mr MacKenzie due to perceived harm he believed resulted from the treatment he received. Mr MacDonald denies all accusations and has presented a special defence regarding the murder allegation, asserting he was experiencing an abnormality of mind. The proceedings are ongoing. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.