The Killers In Our Communities. Jonathan MacKinnon and Stefan Millar.

Killing For Kicks - The Liam Aitchison Murder. 

Stefan Millar and Jonathan MacKinnon.

    

How did one of the safest communities in the UK produce two such brutal killers?

The Background:

The Western Isles or Outer Hebrides are situated off the North West coast of Scotland. The community is a tight knit one with a reputation for being welcoming. The Northern island of Lewis is a stronghold of Presbyterianism with many of the churches boasting large congregations.  The islands are also rich in Gaelic culture and many of its inhabitants are fluent Gaelic speakers. Its remoteness is a draw for many and a repellant for others. The main centre is Stornoway a quaint small fishing town, which like many others in Scotland has suffered from the depletion of the fishing industry and declining stocks of shellfish and prawns. Many of the youngsters in the Southern Islands of the Uists and Benbecula find themselves drawn to Stornoway for work or education at the large college campus which is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. It was the former that brought 16 year-old Liam Aitchison to Stornoway having secured a casual job aboard one of the fishing vessels still plying its trade in the Minch and Atlantic fisheries surrounding the islands.  Liam was a free spirit, a likeable young man who let life lead him where it would. It led him to Stornoway and set off a chain of events that would rock a community and shock a nation.

Whilst in Stornoway Liam found himself always short of money, due mainly to the casual nature of crewing a fishing boat but also due to the hostility of the the welfare system to independent teenagers. This led him to rely on the kindness of his social circle and due to his affability and good-nature this was a social circle that became larger daily. It was inevitable that he would cross paths with Stefan Miller. Stefan was also working the fishing boats, and although six years older than Liam he came from a similar background. It was this friendship with Millar that fatefully brought him into the same social circle as another boat worker, Jonathan MacKinnon. When I asked people to describe MacKinnon they would use words like "dangerous", "a bully" and according to one taxi-driver I spoke to "a wanna-be hard-man". This is, of course, with the benefit of hindsight.

  

Liam was a party loving teen, he would work a few days earn enough money then, party. He would go to some of these parties with MacKinnon and Millar. Believing them to be his friends, he began spending more time with them. Sometimes this was at various drinking places, others at MacKinnon's home just outside Stornoway.  Liam had some entanglement with the legal system, as many teenagers do, but these were minor and mostly alcohol related. MacKinnon on the other hand had a police record that involved serious crimes, assault and fire-raising being the two most recent. At the time of the murder he was on probation and the proud owner of an ankle tag that should have prohibited him from being out after dark. MacKinnon had a fascination with knives and had shared violent desires with workmates around stabbing somebody 'to see what it felt like'.

    

The night of the 22nd November 2011 Liam, Millar and MacKinnon were at MacKinnon's home. they were in MacKinnon's room, drinking and listening to music. This was probably a heavy drinking session, there was talk at trial of Liam having brought a bottle of vodka, that became quite rowdy. This is where the violence started, Mackinnon punched Liam but dismissed it as 'a joke', he then pulled out a meat cleaver and started messing about with it, 'trying to look cool'. Whether Liam had pushed him or he had just been careless MacKinnon cut his hand. This leads to more arguments and rowdiness, until MacKinnon's mother throws them out of the house.

The three of them then trudged the streets heading up Simon's Road towards Steinish, MacKinnon again hit Liam, this time because a bottle of his aftershave had fallen out of Liam's pocket. Whether this theft was a catalyst to what happened next is difficult to say, but I believe at this point MacKinnon had already decided to kill Liam Aitchison. This was a November night, which in the Hebrides are long and dark, there is very little shelter. MacKinnon however, does know somewhere to get shelter and heads towards an abandoned RAF building near the airport, it's dry, it's carpeted and it is accessible. The three of them enter the building, but only two will leave. In that building Millar and MacKinnon violently turned on Liam.

The RAF building outside Steinish.

The position of the building in relation to Steinish and Plasterfield.

The Crime:

 You can read a detailed analysis of how these injuries were probably caused, in the following student review: 

A representation of Liam's injuries taken from data within the public domain.

This diagram shows the number of injuries Liam suffered and the extent of damage to his body.

The attack would have started with blows to the head and body with closed fist, this would result in bruising and tissue damage to the face and scalp, the evidence suggested that a bottle was used to deliver blunt force injuries to the head and face. This is constant with a frenzied violent attack where anything to hand can become a weapon, the blows would have given way to a weaponised attack in this case bladed stab wounds.

    Liam Aitchison suffered a total of twenty stab wounds, eight to the neck, seven to the torso and five to the abdomen. Of these stab wounds two would have been fatal. The carotid artery was severed as was the aorta (the wounds marked in red above) this would have caused fatal blood loss within minutes. There were extensive incision marks to the hands and arms, indicative of defensive wounds. There was post mortem damage to his head and face, the result of a number of kicks and stamps. 

    It is impossible to say which of the fatal wounds was dealt first, but the evidence would suggest that in such a frenzied attack the carotid artery would have been most likely to have been the first fatal wound due to the number of defensive wounds. However, looking at the evidence the first stab wounds would have been delivered to the torso, in a stabbing motion with thumb nearest the blade. It is possible that the victim did not realise these were stabs until after they had been delivered as they would be delivered in a underhanded punch type movement. This would probably result in the victim taking a defensive 'cowering' position in the corner of the room. The assailants would then have changed the grip of the knife to a small finger nearest the blade grip to deliver the blows in a more overhanded way. These would deliver more penetrating blows, these would be entered around the neck and chest with the blows being defensively pushed up towards the neck area and then as the victim weakened towards the chest.

    The victim would then probably have slumped forward face downwards, this is when the stamps to the head would have been delivered. The contusions to the skull would suggest the both assailants delivered kicks and stamps, but the damage to the lower jaw suggests a more deliberate targeted attack. The force required to dislodge and sever the jaw would have been immense especially as the blows were delivered to a limp body and the head would been wrenched back dissipating a lot of the force. It is therefore our opinion that one assailant's foot was placed on the victim's head whist the other delivered the kick stopping the force from being dissipated. This would result in the teeth that were discovered with the body being dislodged.

By the time they had finished the brutal assault, Liam was left lying face down at the back of the shack (meaning his assailants would have been between him and the only escape route) wearing only a T-shirt, underpants and socks, the bloody extent of his injuries clear to see. He had 20 stab wounds to his head, neck and torso, with further blunt force trauma, including fractures to his nose and jaw, and defensive wounds on both hands and arms.

The Investigation:

Millar and MacKinnon relied on putting as much time between the murder and the discovery of the body as possible, they hoped this would give them time to cover their tracks. However, this was reliant on nobody missing Liam, he was a drifter who would move around and just turn up at various places around the islands. He would often not contact his family and friends for days on end, then suddenly turn up. This is the line that Millar and MacKinnon pushed, they said Liam had left them and probably gone off somewhere, this could have worked, Liam often didn't contact his friends for days but they didn't factor in Liam's girlfriend. Liam kept in constant contact with his girlfriend and when she didn't hear from him she was persistent in her enquiries. After not getting a satisfactory reply from Miller or MacKinnon she went to the Police on the 26th of November five days from the last time she had heard from him. This kicked off a massive missing persons alert across the islands and highlands, involving Police, Coastguards and community volunteers. This would probably have surprised Millar and MacKinnon, who would not have expected things to happen so quickly. They had been fielding calls and texts from concerned friends since the night Liam disappeared. They could not deny having been with Liam so they had to set up an alternative narrative, where they had fought with Liam but that he had gone off by himself and had been perfectly OK when they left him. This did not sit well with Liam's friends, and they continued to ask questions.

On the 29th November Coastguard volunteer Robert MacLean was searching for Liam around Steinish, he found him laying face down in an old RAF accommodation block close to the airport. Liam was laying next to a window in only his socks, underwear and a t-shirt. The extent of his injuries plain to see. The news that Liam had been found dead filtered through to the community. Although the exact circumstances were not officially released, in a small community like this it is difficult to stop details leaking out. This put even more pressure on Millar and MacKinnon, who could probably feel the net closing in on them. The scene was taped off to protect it whilst awaiting crime scene officers. The SOCO (Scene of Crimes Officer) in this case was Judy Busby, she would later describe the scene that met her as, 'the worst in her eight year career'. The usual forensic evidence gathering was carried out in the building with hundreds of samples being taken for analysis. However few were found only two pieces of blood evidence were found. Both of these were MacKinnon's, one on the handle of the shack door and a small spot on Liam's sock Even though over sixty Police officers scoured the area, finger tip searches were done all over Steinish, drains were lifted and wheelie bins sifted through, actual hard evidence was lacking. No murder weapon no blood drenched clothing, no transfer from Liam's body to anywhere outside the shack.

The Police played it as unexplained at first, not declaring it a murder investigation until the teams could be gathered from the mainland. The lack of forensic and hard evidence led to a line of enquiry that relied on proving not that Millar and McKinnon murdered Liam Aitchison, but that nobody else could have. A burden of proof that could well have failed in an English court. To do this the Police interviewed everyone within Liam's circle, and those that knew and worked with Millar and/or MacKinnon. MacKinnon's house was thoroughly searched to find any clothing or weapon that could have been discarded, the family car was forensically examined for any DNA or blood (it was thought at first that they may have used a vehicle). They searched the boats Millar and MacKinnon worked on and questioned everyone they worked with. This turned up a witness that said MacKinnon had verbalised a fantasy of stabbing someone, a supposedly damning statement when presented at trial. 

The SIO (Senior Investigating Officer) was Detective Inspector Andy Logan. He set up an investigating team of 126 Police Officers and set about collating the 520 witness statements and 1,320 pieces of evidence. The statements and the evidence gave him a picture of Liam's last hours, the movements of Millar and MacKinnon on the morning of the 23rd November left a 90 minute window when they had been 'dark', not using their mobile phones. This 90 minutes of phone silence was never accounted for in Millar and MacKinnon's statements to police.

The Trial:

Lord Kinclaven (Alexander Wylie) Judge. 

 

                                                       

           Frances MacMenamin QC Defence

    

              Iain McSporran QC Prosecution

Without finding anything solid  to link them to the murder, the prosecution built up an inferential case against the two, it was this case they presented at trial. 

The following witnesses were called by the prosecution:

Stephanie Flanigan the ex-girlfriend of MacKinnon who MacKinnon had phoned at 3:00am to see if Liam had arrived back at Pemma MacLennan's home. She was babysitting for Pemma which MacKinnon knew.  He told her he and Liam had been fighting and that Liam had gone off to Pemma (Peggie) MacLennan's house. This was an important witness for the prosecution as it set up the 90 minute window where neither MacKinnon nor Millar had used their phones. The obvious point being made why did MacKinnon wait so long if they had left Liam at midnight as they claimed? She also testified about a number of text messages between herself and Stefan Millar the days after Liam's disappearance one particular message where she texted him after Liam had been found where she asked, 'What happened when he left yous truth please.'  When asked why she had ended with 'truth please' she replied that Millar had often lied to her before. It was also in texts to Ms Flanigan that Millar revealed he had been with MacKinnon the whole of that night.

Amy Burns had been at MacKinnon's house the night before Liam was murdered (the last time Liam had been seen) she told the court that Mackinnon was drunk and cut his hand whilst messing about with a meat  cleaver he had stolen from his work. She testified that Liam had turned up MacKinnon's house with a bottle of vodka and that he Millar and MacKinnon had later gone gone out. She also testified that MacKinnon said he could remember nothing about the night and had to asked Millar about it.

Warren Mackay testified that he had been told that MacKinnon and Liam had been fighting that night and that Millar and MacKinnon had left him 'rolling about on the road'. In his police statement Mr Mackay claimed that Mr Millar told him that he and Mr Mackinnon and Liam were "throwing punches" and that Liam had fallen into a ditch. He was reminded of his statement where he told police that Mr Millar said he and Mr Mackinnon watched Liam get out of the ditch and walk off. Previously in evidence Mr Mackay had claimed that he could not remember the conversation with Millar. But he confirmed to prosecutor Iain McSporran that was what he told the police. This was not exactly damning and indeed Ms MacMenamin got to her feet to object to this as hearsay, Lord Kinclaven disagreed.

Ellen MacLennan was the first witness called she was Liam Aitchison's girlfriend and had reported him missing. This evidence was key to the prosecution's case, as it she was in contact with the accused on the days following Liam's disappearance. When asked why she had taken so long to report him missing, Miss McLennan said that he was expected to appear at Stornoway Sheriff Court and she thought that he might have been in detention.The prosecution then asked Miss McLennan if anyone mentioned Liam ending up in a ditch and if there was any discussion with Mr Millar about this. She replied: "I can't remember." the prosecutor then took her back to her police statement and she was asked if the statement was truthful she confirmed she would have done her best to tell the truth.

    The prosecutor at this point was keen to push the part about the ditch obviously to set up Warren Mackay's evidence later, he asked her if she had spoken to Millar about this she replied; 'I was speaking to Stefan about it. I asked Stefan why he left Liam in a ditch.' Prosecutor Iain McSporran then asked: 'From what you have already told us had you heard about this ditch business from someone else?'she replied: 'Yes.' (The prosecutor wanted to concentrate on her conversations with Stefan Millar, probably to set up Dominic Long's evidence), He said: "In your statement it goes on to say 'Stefan said 'Because he was rolling about and being an idiot'.' Do you remember that?"Miss McLennan replied: 'Yes.'

Ellen MacLennan was a 16 year old she dealt with this occasion well and even though she was a little teary under cross examination there was also a noticeable amount of chin up defiance.

    The cross examination by Ms MacMenamin was not pretty, she also concentrated on the ditch statement pushing Ellen to admit that Millar actually said Liam was "rolling about the road". In fact Millar's response to her question was 'we never left Liam in a ditch he was rolling about the road.' This hurt the prosecution as they were trying to find inconsistencies in the accused stories, hoping to prove they had given different explanations to different witnesses.

Peggie (Pemma) MacLennan was Ellen's sister she testified that she had allowed Liam to stay with her, 'as he had nowhere else to go'. She also testified that she had been expecting him to stay at her house on the 22nd November. This was important in counteraction of the later defence evidence that Liam was living in that RAF shack.

Robert MacLean a coastguard volunteer involved in the search for Liam who discovered the body at the old RAF building in Steinish. He described the scene he found and outlined how the search was carried out and was questioned on his experience with the coastguard.

Jody Busby was the SOCO (Scene of Crimes Officer) at the scene she described how the body was situated, (face down at the far end of the shack, under a window) the evidence gathering procedure etc..  She presented the DNA evidence, the blood on Liam's sock and the handle of the shack both belonging to MacKinnon checked through DNA analysis. In answer to to the prosecutions question regarding if she she had similar crime scenes she would reply that it was the worst in her 8 years on the job. Under cross examination she was asked about the amount of forensic evidence gathered and why this evidence had not been presented in court. A question she couldn't and wasn't really expected to answer but merely to underline the lack of forensics to the jury. She was also asked if this blood evidence could be dated and if it could have been deposited maybe even years earlier. It couldn't be dated but it was unlikely that blood would have remained for years on a door that was often used by a large number of people.

Dominic Long was a witness who declared that Millar had confessed to him as they shared a cell in Inverness Prison whilst on remand  This was the break the Police hoped would get the two accused to turn on each other. This was not to be Millar denied the confession had happened, and the two remained resolute in their denials. When the prosecution produced this star witness he at first stated that he heard what the 'confession' but really didn't want to get involved. Prosecutor McSporran placed a photo of Liam in front of Dominic who then agreed to answer any questions. Upon cross examination Ms MacMenamin attacked this evidence as made up and at best exaggerated, she put it the witness that what he had actually heard was Millar merely recounting what he was being accused of. Although Long's testimony was compelling he did not perform well under cross examination which lessened the impact of his evidence.

Rosslyn Rankin was the pathologist, her evidence had been the most eagerly awaited of the trial, she would be presenting the autopsy and cause of death evidence. She stated that in her opinion the teenager was struck on the head and body with a knife and bottle as well having his head stamped on, and that some of Liam's injuries suggested that he had tried to defend himself. He also had a fractured jaw and nose. Dr Rankin, discovered at post-mortem examination, that Liam had twenty stab wounds to his neck, chest and abdomen. There were eight stab wounds to the neck, seven to the chest and five to the abdomen. Two major arteries were struck - the carotid and the aorta - which Dr Rankin said would have proved "fatal". Dr Rankin also told the trial that Mr Aitchison suffered multiple blunt force head injuries.

Det Sgt Iain Morrison was the final prosecution witness in the case. He was one of the lead officers in the police team investigating the death of Liam, who had originally been reported missing. His evidence involved discussing the resources and methods used by the police in the investigation, the first question he was asked was about the murder weapon. Prosecutor Iain McSporran put it to the officer that no murder weapon by "scientific or any other means" was identified. Det Sgt Morrison replied: "That is correct despite a very significant deployment of police resources?"

In cross examination, Mr MacKinnon's lawyer Iain Paterson asked the detective about the resources and asserted that every police officer in Stornoway would be aware of the investigation, the detective agreed. The defence then went one to ask about the weapon, the clothing Liam had been wearing and any other evidence linking the accused to the murder asking 'Where is it?'  A question that couldn't be answered but again designed to show the lack of physical evidence in this case.

Maureen Stewart  a medical worker who spoke to Mackinnon during the visit to the hospital  in the early hours of the 23rd November told the jury that "out of the blue" Mackinnon asked: "Do you think I am mentally disturbed?" Asked if she could provide, "Any context around that quotation?" She replied that she could not. This was an attempt to show MacKinnon as unstable, as a psychotic mess, but under cross-examination Stewart accepted that Mackinnon had appeared "calm and polite" and that there had been no difficulties with him.

Defence:

Sarah Jones the defences scenes of crimes expert, brought in to temper the physical evidence. She also answered questions on collecting evidenced on blood longevity in an attempt to overcome the main physical evidence against MacKinnon. However, under cross examination she admitted that although the DNA within the blood could last for years the blood stain itself being on the handle would be unlikely to have remained intact. In an attempt to throw shade on the work of the police scenes of crimes she was asked if it would have been possible for this murder to have been committed by the accused without them being covered in blood. She replied that in her opinion with the extent of the violence directed at the victim it would be impossible for the perpetrators not to have significant amounts of blood on their shoes and clothing.

Professor Anthony Busuttil was the defences pathologist, he had been involved in the Dunblane massacre and the Lockerbie air crash investigation. He is a renowned professor of Pathology at Edinburgh University. He was asked by the defence about rigour mortis and decomposition of the body, his testimony was compelling he described the timelines of rigour and the rate of decomposition in great detail. When asked for his opinion on whether Liam had been killed during the 90 minute window on the 23rd November he said it was 'highly unlikely' and it more probable that he had been killed later perhaps even days later. Under cross-examination the prosecution set about repairing the damage that Professor Busuttil's evidence had created. This was done by getting the Professor to talk about the effect that cold temperatures and moisture laden environments would have on both rigour onset and decomposition. He was also asked about the catastrophic loss of blood pressure on rigour, although he admitted that all these would have some effect he was adamant that it would be negligible. The prosecutor then asked if he had examined the body or if his findings were from the autopsy report, this was of course to remind the jury that he had not even seen Liam's body.

Donald John MacRae was called as a defence witness by MacKinnon's defence team led by Iain Paterson told the court how Mr Aitchison was "a great guy". But Donald MacRae said he had found the teenager to be "down" and that Liam had been sleeping rough in the derelict building where his body was later discovered. The 41-year-old told the jury: "The twice I recall taking him out, he was on his own. He told me his circumstances - he talked to me quite a lot. I knew that he was down." Mr Paterson asked the witness what the teenager was doing at the building. Mr MacRae replied: "He was sleeping there. On Lewis, he was a homeless kind of guy." Mr MacRae went on: "His last words to me were: 'If I last that long'. I feel guilty because I thought it was maybe the drink talking. I still feel guilty, but that is something that I have to live with." This was important to the defence as they tried to sow doubt in the juries mind about Liam Aitchison's movements that night, had he left Millar and MacKinnon and gone to Steinish by himself, disturbing somebody already there? The mad stranger rumour, of drug dealers and a dangerous 'godfather' figure had been prevalent as an alternative theory amongst those desperate for a perpetrator not of the community.

Jonathan Mackinnon did not take the stand, as the defence was a shared alibi MacKinnon's counsel did not want to risk any discrepancies between the two accused being brought out under cross-examination. He was worried about an unstable MacKinnon falling into the prosecutions traps. Stefan Millar was thought the most stable of the two so it was he who took the stand.


Stefan Millar took the stand in his own defence told the court he did not know what they were talking about when the police asked about the teenager's murder. He was asked to discuss his police statements, he told the court how he had been interviewed after the discovery of Liam's body in a derelict building and how he had been asked by a detective to say what his involvement was in the murder. He stated he had said "I don't know what you are talking about." Asked what he said when police put to him that they had information that Mr Millar hit the teenager with a bottle. Mr Millar said he told them: "I don't know who is giving you this information as it is not true." He was also asked about an allegation that co-accused Mr MacKinnon had previously punched Liam amid claims the teenager had taken a bottle of aftershave. Mr Millar, who claimed to be aware of the incident, was asked why he had not mentioned it. "It did not seem important." Mr Millar said there was a "big difference" between punching someone and murder.
Mr Millar told the court how he had got to know Liam while they worked separately on fishing boats. They soon started socialising together and on 22 November 2011 they went to Mr MacKinnon's home in Stornoway on Lewis. Mr Millar's QC Frances McMenamin asked: "What was the atmosphere like in the room?" He replied: "Happy - having fun." The court heard the trio left the house in the early hours and Mr Millar recalled Liam "messing about", including sitting in puddles. Mr Millar said he then remembered a bottle of aftershave falling out of Liam's pocket before Mr MacKinnon allegedly punched the teenager.
Ms McMenamin then asked: "Did you ever lay a finger in anger on Liam Aitchison?" He replied: "No." Mr Millar claimed they later parted company with Liam. Mr Millar said he believed the teenager was going to a friend's house. He also denied there was any "fall out" before they went their separate ways.
Ms McMenamin asked: "Did you murder Liam Aitchison?" Mr Millar said: "No." "Did you play any part in his murder?" Mr Millar replied: "Not at all."


Millar also denied that he had said anything to Dominic Long. Although under cross-examination he admitted to talking to number of prisoners, and that he ay have mentioned the allegations against him. The prosecution tried a trap baited with a detail about the murder, namely the brand of aftershave. Asked how Mr Long could have known the brand, Millar replied again that he was aware of that incident and may have mentioned it. This was not the big hit the prosecution tried to play it as, Millar had already mentioned the aftershave incident and it had not been proven as relavent to Liam's death

He was also asked about the property where Liam's partially-clothed remains were found. 

Ms McMenamin: "Your position is that you have never been in the house?" Mr Millar said: "Never in my life." This was important to the defence has there had been no physical evidence linking Millar to the Steinish property.


Millar claimed the first he learned about the teenager's death was the day the body was discovered. He said he was out at sea when the skipper of his fishing boat told him. The QC asked about when he had been detained for murder by the police: "Were you worried about your situation?" Millar: "No. There was no reason to worry because I did not do anything." He added that after being charged with the murder he recalled being "pretty devastated".

He was asked about his movements on the night of the 22nd November and early hours of the 23rd, he kept to his story about meeting up Liam after receiving a text or voicemail from him. He was then asked (under cross-examination) about his movements after leaving Liam, this was to set up the attack on his alibi.

Millar and MacKinnon's alibi was that they had left Liam and headed back into Stornoway, then that they had hung around Fusion Takeaway which is near the junction of a number of roads. This was a good choice as the junction and roundabout that Fusion is on was not (at that time) covered by the towns CCTV system. It is also a popular place for young people to meet. However, the defence had been unable to provide any witnesses that had seen them there. This was a weakness as it is a busy roundabout serving 80% of the traffic in and  70% of the traffic out of Stornoway.

Google Earth (TM) picture of Fusion's position. Notice proximity to the hospital.

Millar was asked about his trek from Fusion back to Plasterfield, in order for MacKinnon to get his mother to take him to Western Isles Hospital for his bleeding hand. Millar stated that MacKinnon wanted his mother to take him so they had gone to Plasterfield. The prosecutor why when the hospital was only yards from Fusion. Millar replied that they had been heading back anyways and that MacKinnon's hand had got worse. 

Google Earth (TM) photo of Fusion in relation to Plasterfield and MacKinnon's home.

The weakness in the alibi was obvious as the photos above show, and the prosecutor scored a few minor hits but nothing damning. McSporran then moved on to questions about clothing, why had they changed their cloths before going to the hospital, this was met with because they were wet. The prosecution inferred this was due to the amount of Liam's blood on them, this was of course denied. Where McSporran did make decent hit was when he asked who's clothes Liam had been wearing, the reply that they were borrowed from MacKinnon caused a little buzz in the court room. But the follow up about whether all the clothes stripped from Liam's body had been MacKinnon's, caused a stir when Millar replied that yes they had been MacKinnon's. The prosecutor then asked a question that would have sailed close to the edge of the judges patience, he asked Millar where would be good place to hide a weapon. Millar should not have replied to this with anything but I don't know but he added maybe the moor. The prosecutor replied immediately 'or at sea?' a reference to where Millar had been when Liam's body had been found. Cheap but effective.

Millar was questioned about what Liam had been wearing that night, this was to enable them to introduce the theory that Liam had been stripped of his clothing because that clothing had belonged to MacKinnon.

Millar had been calm on the stand, even under cross-examination, and it was the defence who were happier as he took his place next to MacKinnon in the dock.

Closing Arguments:

Ian McSporran (Prosecution): The prosecution recapped the evidence; the blood evidence linking MacKinnon to the scene, the witness statements putting Liam in the accused' company, the violence directed towards Liam and the alibi evidence of them being in a place so near the hospital but walking all the way back to MacKinnon's home, then going to the hospital. He talked about the clothing, and MacKinnon's fascination with knives. He went on to discuss how these two had sealed a deal between them that linked their fates.

'These two accused have sought to lay a false trail leading away from the obvious conclusion, that they were responsible for taking Liam Aitchison's life that dark November morning. These two accused have conspired together, murdered together and through their conspiracy linked their fates together. There was no one else that dark November morning, no murderous strangers prowling the Hebridean streets, the only people who could have murdered Liam Aitchison stand in the dock, no-one else could be to blame and if you believe one committed this atrocity then you must believe that both did. Therefore, there is no verdict that can bring Justice to Liam, his family and his friends, many who have testified here before you, other than guilty.'

It was left to Millar's council to speak for the defence, mainly due to her seniority but also due to the perceived weakness of the case against Millar. She had only to prove that Millar did not commit the crime beyond reasonable doubt, if she did that then both would have to be acquitted.

Frances MacMenamin Q.C.:Told the jury that Liam Aitchision’s family are suffering a “deep and painful loss” she went on “You would have to be made of stone not to feel anything when you saw the photographs of that room in Steinish especially when the battered and bloodied body of Liam Aitchison could still be seen.” She then asked the jury why if guilty Stefan Millar spent three hours being questioned by the police without a solicitor present by his own choice. She then went on to discuss how the lilting accents of some of the witnesses could make it difficult to spot evasion or outright lies. She had said Liam was a “free spirit” with a lifestyle such that he “stayed wherever the fancy took him” and could have gone off for more drink after he left the two accused. The QC had said there was “no basis whatsoever in evidence” of the prosecution’s suggestion that Mr Millar stabbed Liam to “seal the pact” with Mr Mackinnon.

'It is not the jury that should be looking for someone to blame for Liam Aitchison's death you must set aside any feelings of emotion, sympathy or a sense of duty, it is the job of the Police to find those to blame. It is then the prosecution's job to present evidence of that person or persons' guilt. If you believe as I do that the prosecution have failed to do this; then you must acquit. 

The Verdict

The jury were sent out to consider their verdict, and after two days deliberation they returned a verdict of guilty by a majority verdict. The defence (due to the majority verdict) were given leave to appeal and sentencing was set for the 28th June 2013.

    On the 28th of June Lord Kinclaven recalled the court for sentencing having assessed the background reports, any mitigation towards sentencing, and the aggravating factors of the crime. These factors included in mitigation the ages of the perpetrators, and in aggravation, the violence of the crime, and the lack of remorse. Chief Justice Lord Kinclaven sentenced them to life imprisonment, with each to serve a minimum of eighteen years.

    The appeal was heard at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh on the 29th of October 2014 in front of Lady Dorrian, Lord Bracadale and Lord Drummond Young.  The defence led with two grounds for appeal, a mis-carriage of justice due to Lord Kinclaven's mis-direction of the jury regarding the standard of  doubt the jury should convict on, and the evidence did not prove their guilt. They argued that a properly directed jury would not have convicted.

    The judges disagreed and dismissed the appeal on the grounds that under Scottish law the jury had not been mis-directed and that the weight of evidence made this a reasonable decision by the jury.

The Psychology of the Crime:

There is no doubt, Millar and MacKinnon were a killer couple, although they resembled Leopold and Loeb more than Bonnie And Clyde.  We know from the investigation that MacKinnon had expressed a desire to stab somebody, but it also must have fulfilled some need within Millar, scratched his itch so to speak. There is very little evidence to point towards a psycho-sexual motive, but Millar's almost slavish devotion to MacKinnon during and after the trial is in its self evidence of an Ersatz sexual motive. Millar must have derived satisfaction, whether sexual or not, from fulfilling MacKinnon's fantasy. Psychologists would deem this 'folie à deux'.

"Folie à deux' is undoubtedly an intriguing condition of great relevance to the understanding of human psychopathology.It is perhaps the most impressive example of a pathological relationship and, therefore, an understanding of its underlying mechanism has theoretical implications for other kinds of disturbed interpersonal relationships." - Suresh Kumar. et al. 2005 (The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology Vol 30, 2019 - Issue 3 419-428 M.Pettigrew Indian J Psychiatry. 2005 Jul-Sep;47(3): 164–166. P.N. Suresh Kumar. et al.)

There are two ways of gaining attention in the Western Isles, by excelling and by being notorious. MacKinnon chose the second, as is his nature he derived satisfaction from being feared. To fit the profile of 'folie à deux' Millar would have to have feared MacKinnon, he would also have admire this notoriety. He may even have craved some of that notoriety, but there is no evidence that he was anything but an average person. It seems that it was only when in MacKinnon's company that his dark side emerged. This assessment is problematic, no-one I spoke to found Millar to be in awe or fearful of MacKinnon, they were just mates.

If Millar and MacKinnon's relationship was typical of abused and abuser, MacKinnon's violence towards Millar would have been relentless, ranging from ridicule to threats of violence and even violence itself. Whether subconsciously or knowingly Millar could have seen Liam as a pressure valve to take some of this abuse away from him. He could have seen it as a an opportunity to ingratiate himself with MacKinnon by offering up an alternative target. If he saw Liam as a hopeless, hapless, homeless drifter that nobody cared about. However, in this respect he was wrong, Liam Aitchison was cared about. Liam had a steady girlfriend a large social circle and was well liked, both Millar and MacKinnon were well within this circle.

Millar and MacKinnon know what happened that night, but could there be someone else? There was conjecture from the very beginning that another person had been involved somebody older. Someone that Millar, MacKinnon and Liam were afraid of, somebody with a long reach and a violent nature. This is quite normal for people to question something that is almost unthinkable; that two members of of our community could commit something so brutal. The community at the time of Millar and MacKinnon's arrests were in defensive mode, the need to find something, anything to move the blame away from the community was strong. Many theories were put forward from Polish drug dealers to foreign fisherman committing a revenge killing. All of these fall apart when when you examine the crime from the means, motive and opportunity standpoint.

The only people with the means, motive and opportunity that night were Millar and MacKinnon. 

The so Called Unanswered Questions:

Why was there so little forensic evidence?

There were actually over 500 pieces of forensic evidence collected, the real problem was proving they were linked to the crime. Many had been deemed inadmissible in court as the shack had been used by many different groups of teenagers for drinking, smoking and drug use, the detritus of this muddied the forensic evidence. The bloodstain on the door handle was quite damning. If it had been from a previous visit by MacKinnon, it would have been smudged or even wiped away by subsequent 'users' of the shack. 

Why would Stefan Millar brag about his involvement to a total stranger?

After the murder Millar had always had MacKinnon as his "confidente". They were each others alibi's, they were both involved in laying the false trail, the phone calls, the alternative narrative of Liam's movements etc.. However, on remand Millar did not have this, he was alone. He would naturally look for a way to protect himself to mask his own fear by trying to in-still fear into someone else. 

What was the motive for such a brutal crime?

This is the simplest question to answer, this was a killing for kicks. MacKinnon wanted to kill somebody, if it hadn't been Liam it would have been somebody else, maybe even Millar. 

Why was no attempt made to hide the body?

There are thousands of places across the Western Isles to hide a body, bogs, deep lochs and hundreds of square miles of sea. However, transporting a body is not so easy especially without a vehicle. Opportunity was the problem, they could not risk drawing attention to themselves during the daytime and at night a vehicle becomes a beacon and the slightest noise can be heard for miles.

How did MacKinnon get to Western Isles Hospital, clean and calm so soon after killing Liam?

People often mistake remote for distant, this is especially true in the islands where distances expand markedly. The vehicular route to some places can be three times as long as the pedestrian route, peat roads and old cart-tracks criss-cross the moors making places accessible very quickly if you know the area.

Sources:

Photos curtesy of Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts Service and Google Earth.

Text drawn from:

Hebrides News

BBC News.

The Daily Record

The Scotsman 

The Sunday Post

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

The Herald.

WikiNews

Police Scotland

Scottish Courts Service.