Finlay MacDonald: Skye shooting accused said he stabbed wife in 'moment of madness', court told

21 November 2024, 14:07 | Updated: 21 November 2024, 16:01

A man accused of attempting to murder his wife said he stabbed her in a "moment of madness" after reading messages she sent her boss saying she was going to leave him, a court has heard.

Finlay MacDonald, 41, is on trial accused of murdering his brother-in-law and the attempted murder of three other people on 10 August 2022.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard MacDonald told officers in a police interview that after stabbing his wife in their kitchen he felt a "total darkness" wash over him.

He then admitted getting into his car with a shotgun and a "machete-type knife" before carrying out the other alleged attacks, jurors heard.

His eight-year-old daughter appeared outside just as he was leaving, and as he drove off he could see his injured wife "lying down on the ground", he said in the interview.

MacDonald has been accused of murdering brother-in-law John MacKinnon, 47, by repeatedly discharging a shotgun at him in Teangue on the Isle of Skye

He is also accused of firing a shotgun at married couple Fay and John MacKenzie and attempting to murder them in the village of Dornie, Wester Ross.

He is further accused of attempting to murder his wife, Rowena MacDonald, 34, by repeatedly stabbing her at their home in Tarskavaig, on Skye's Sleat peninsula.

On Thursday, the court was shown footage of a police interview the day after the alleged attacks.

In it, MacDonald explained his life had been on a "downward spiral" in the months leading up to the incident.

He said he was suffering from a number of physical problems that left him in pain and unable to work, including a lung condition and a displaced bone in his chest.

He added that when he went for osteopathy treatment from Mr MacKenzie, he was "subjected to a brutal manipulation" which left him in "chronic pain".

He said this left him with spinal problems he felt had taken his "life chances away".

MacDonald also told police how his marriage suffered as a result of his deteriorating mental and physical health.

He said his wife "resented" his health conditions and became cold towards him, and that she had told him she did not love him anymore.

Read more from the court case:
Wife of accused tells court about knife attack
Defendant claimed osteopath ruined his life, court told
Woman 'feared she and husband were going to be killed'
Murder accused felt 'humiliated' by brother-in-law

The accused said on the morning of the alleged attacks he had become "suspicious" and looked at his wife's phone and read messages between her and her boss in which she said she was going to leave MacDonald.

He took pictures of the texts with his own phone before confronting Mrs MacDonald.

MacDonald claimed his wife tried to grab his mobile, and that the pair "wrestled" before he stabbed her with a knife he had been using for whittling wood.

"I just had a moment of madness and then I realised what I had done and I just broke down," he said in the interview.

He claimed he "didn't know" what he was going to do when he got into his car with a shotgun, "a couple of hundred" cartridges and a knife, but that he began thinking about grievances with his brother-in-law and osteopath.

The court heard he told police he first drove to Mr McKinnon's house, where he "confronted him and said he had bullied me and he is horrible to me".

He said his brother-in-law "came towards" him and he shot him twice, once in the front and once in the side.

He said he then drove the 10-15 miles to Mr MacKenzie's house, and that he fired through the window when nobody appeared to be there.

MacDonald told police Mr MacKenzie then came out of the house, and that the pair went into the kitchen where they began "wrestling" for the gun, before it "went off".

He said he next remembered being tasered by police, who the court earlier heard had followed him to Mr MacKenzie's house.

MacDonald denies all the charges and has lodged a special defence against the murder charge, claiming his "ability to determine or control his conduct was substantially impaired by reason of abnormality of mind".

The trial, in front of judge Lady Drummond, continues.

(c) Sky News 2024: Finlay MacDonald: Skye shooting accused said he stabbed wife in 'moment of madness', court told