A man of 80 has been judged fit to stand trial for the murder of Renee MacRae and her son 45 years ago.
William MacDowell will be tried by a jury for the alleged crimes at the High Court in Inverness in September.
He is accused of killing Renee, who has been missing since 1976 and is presumed to have been murdered, and her son Andrew.
MacDowell’s trial will hear evidence from beyond the grave in the form of police statements given by witnesses now dead.
There had been concerns about the accused’s fitness to stand trial after he injured his neck falling off a wall in a “bizarre accident” at his home in Penrith, Cumbria.
His solicitor Murray Macara QC told the High Court at Livingston yesterday that MacDowell was still wearing a neck brace and was consulting his GP.
However, Mr Macara said that, following discussions with the Crown, he accepted that a trial date should be set while preparation of the case and attempts to trace “a number of potential witnesses” continued.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC said the age of the case presented “significant challenges” but stressed that the Crown was nevertheless ready for trial.
MacDowell is accused of assaulting Andrew and the boy’s mum at a lay-by on the A9 trunk road near Dalmagarry, Inverness-shire, or elsewhere, on November 12, 1976. He is charged with causing them injury by unknown means, as a result of which they died, and thereby murdering them.
He is also charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of the two bodies by means unknown.
He is further alleged to have disposed of a pushchair, set fire to a BMW vehicle and disposed of a boot hatch from a Volvo to conceal the alleged crimes.
He denies all the charges.
