Shooting murder accused says police inquiry was 'monumental shambles'

A former gamekeeper has called the police investigation into the death of a man he is accused of murdering a "monumental shambles".

David Campbell, 77, is accused of shooting dog walker Brian Low at the Leafy Lane, near the Pitilie Track, Aberfeldy on 16 February 2024.

Campbell told a trial that he had last made contact with Low, 65, in 2017 and had not had access to a rifle in Scotland for 11 years.

He denies a total of eight charges and has lodged a special defence of alibi on the murder charge.

Campbell was continuing to give evidence in his defence on the eleventh day of the trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Tony Lenehan KC, defending, asked Campbell if he claimed the police were trying to "save face."

Campbell told the court: "They made a monumental shambles of the investigation.

"To say after the pictures I've seen and to hear that it was a non-suspicious death is ridiculous."

Jurors had earlier heard that Low's death was initially deemed non-suspicious, but it emerged later that he had actually been shot.

When asked by Lenehan about the last time he made contact with Low, Campbell replied: "2017."

He also said that he was unaware that Low had left the Edradynate Estate, where they had worked together, until he saw it on television.

Campbell also claimed the last time he had access to a rifle in Scotland was 11 years ago.

Lenehan took Campbell through his whereabouts and actions on the day Low was killed.

Jurors were told that Campbell covered his doorbell CCTV with tape on two occasions.

The accused claimed that he had wrongly believed that another video doorbell camera at the other side of his house had been stolen.

Campbell said that covering the doorbell was to help his wife find the perpetrator using the stolen camera.

He told the jury that his wife's phone gave a notification when someone was at the door and he thought covering up one camera might show the location of the other one.

Campbell later told jurors that he reviewed seven-and-a-half hours of further CCTV footage of his home between 15 and 16 February 2024 in a bid to catch the alleged thief.

When asked who logged out of the CCTV - which had no access on the day of the shooting - Campbell replied: "It must have been me. I don't know how to work it."

Lenehan put to Campbell that he initially claimed that the police were responsible and the witness admitted he was "wrong".

Campbell also said that he phoned the council about an issue with his garage and stayed in the house for the rest of the day.

The advocate asked his client if he had anything to do with Low's death and he replied: "I most certainly did not."

Prosecutor Greg Farrell asked Campbell why he initially said Low's death was not a murder.

Campbell said: "As he was hit with a stray pellet."

The accused also said that he was told to lie by Michael Campbell, his former boss at the Edradynate Estate, that Low had planted rat poison on his property in 2012.

Farrell asked: "Michael Campbell wanted rid of him?"

Campbell replied: "At the time he did."

Farrell said: "Why not just fire him?"

Campbell replied: "You can't get away from something like that...things are different nowadays."

When Campbell was asked if he ever threatened to kill Low he replied: "I did not and I never had a heated argument or shouting match, not even once."

Campbell also told the court that he could not remember the year Low died.

When asked why not, he replied: "Months, years and days mean nothing to me."

Campbell, from Aberfeldy, is accused of murdering Low, having previously shown ill-will and malice toward him.

He is alleged to have disabled CCTV cameras at an address in Aberfeldy on the same day, in an attempt to conceal his whereabouts.

Campbell is also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of the alleged murder weapon and an airgun, and having replacement tyres fitted on an electric bike between February and May 2024.

He is further accused of possessing an air rifle without a licence and discharging it on various occasions, and faces five charges of breach of the peace dating back to July 1995.

Campbell is alleged to have acted in a disorderly manner putting three men and two women in a "state of fear and alarm".

His legal team has lodged a special defence of alibi in connection with the murder accusation.

They say Campbell was not in Leafy Lane, where the body was found, at the time of the killing and was instead at home in Aberfeldy.

Campbell denies all the charges.

The trial, before Lord Scott, continues.