Former soldier who murdered Orkney waiter in 1994 to have conviction reviewed

A former soldier who was given a life sentence for the murder of a waiter in Orkney over 20 years ago is to have his conviction re-examined.

Shamsuddin Mahmood, 26, was shot in the head in front of diners as he served customers in the Mumutaz restaurant in Kirkwall in June 1994.

It was the first murder in Orkney in 20 years and left the local community in shock.

Michael Ross – who was 15 at the time of the murder – went on to become a sniper in the Black Watch and was decorated for his actions in Iraq.

Shamsuddin Mahmood was shot in the head STV News

Then, 12 years after Mahmood was murdered, a new witness came forward and Ross was convicted of the killing in 2008.

Ross was handed life in prison at the High Court in Glasgow, with a minimum sentence of 25 years.

Escape attempts

At the end of his trial, Ross attempted to flee the courtroom and was restrained by officials. Police later found he had weapons hidden in a car in Springburn.

In 2022, Ross admitted to another escape attempt in 2018, at Shotts prison in Lanarkshire, where he is currently serving his sentence.

In a separate incident in 2016, it emerged he hatched a plan to get out of jail using an angle grinder stolen from a prison workshop.

Ross, who has always maintained his innocence, launched a previous bid to have the case reviewed by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), but was rejected in 2014.

The case will now be reviewed again and could ultimately be referred back to the courts.

The SCCRC, while restricted by law regarding the information it can disclose about the cases it is reviewing, confirmed to STV News that the commission had received an application from Ross.

It has now been accepted for a stage two full review procedure.

The next stage would be a decision procedure.