William MacDowell, who murdered Renee and Andrew MacRae, died of heart failure, FAI concludes

William MacDowell, the man who killed Renee and Andrew MacRae, died of heart failure, an inquiry has found.

The 81-year-old was found guilty of the mother and son’s murders at the High Court in Inverness in September 2022.

The notorious cold case had remained unsolved since the pair disappeared in November 1976.

MacDowell told his lover, Mrs MacRae, he had accepted a job with the oil firm Texaco in Shetland, where they could set up home together.

However, she would vanish alongside their son, resulting in one of the biggest hunts in Scottish criminal history being launched, covering hundreds of square miles.

Aircraft with heat-seeking equipment were brought in, as well as diving units.

However their bodies have never been found.

MacDowell was arrested and charged with murdering his lover and their young son in late 2019. A jury found him guilty of the crimes in what was described as a “compelling circumstantial case”.

Whilst serving his sentence within HMP Glenochil, MacDowell’s health deteriorated and he was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital on February 7, 2023 where he died just over a week later.

A fatal accident inquiry into the murderer’s death was launched, as is practice with deaths in custody.

It concluded that the 81-year-old died of heart failure, and no precautions could have been taken to prevent the death.