Renee and Andrew MacRae's killer evaded justice for 45 years

28 August 2023 , 19:30

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Their murderer William MacDowell was found guilty last year - but served only ten years before his death (Image: PA)

The disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae is one of the UK's longest murder inquiries, and tonight's BBC viewers will see for themselves why police were stumped for so long and how their evil killer served just ten months of justice.

Back in November 1976, mother Renee went missing along with her three-year-old son Andrew. Not far off 50 years later, and neither have ever been found. William MacDowell, 81, was convicted last year of killing his lover and their boy in the Scottish Highlands but served less than a year behind bars before his death.

Yet still, their remains have not been discovered as he refused to admit to his crimes. Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae will feature footage of MacDowell's trial and interviews with key figures in the heartbreaking case.

Renee MacRae was 36 when she disappeared with her three-year-old son (PA)

Viewers will tonight see how the tot and his mum were killed 46 years ago (PA)

Renee lived in Inverness and had two children with her husband Gordon, but the couple had separated. On the Friday in November she disappeared, she left her oldest son, also called Gordon, at her husband's house. She then headed to Kilmarnock, allegedly to visit her sister, but never arrived. On the same night, a train driver spotted her burning car in a ditch 12 miles away and called the police.

When they arrived, the car was empty and charred. All they found was a rug stained with blood which matched the MacRaes' blood type.The police searched but found nothing. As the police continued to investigate, they discovered Renee had been having an affair with MacDowell, who was Andrew's real father. Only Renee's friend, Valerie Steventon, knew about it and she told police Renee was actually travelling to Perthshire to visit him on the night she was murdered.

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Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae will revisit the trial (Morag Govans)

MacDowell was married with two children and Steventon said Renee had told her MacDowell had found a home for them both to live in. While MacDowell admitted to the affair, he denied involvement in the murder. He was interviewed a few days later and told journalist Stuart Lindsey she had called him twice on the night she went missing. He had not told the police and said it had "slipped his mind".

For years nothing was ever found and the case was closed. However, a documentary renewed interest in the case and it was reopened in 2004. An extensive search took place at a nearby quarry, but nothing was found. Police investigated a second quarry and investigated a number of possible sightings, still finding nothing.

It took more than a decade of further investigation until police finally charged a suspect. In September 2019, 43 years after Renee and Andrew's disappearance, the police charged MacDowell with the murders and of attempting to pervert the cause of justice.

The trial continued for years, with MacDowell constantly denying his involvement, but a witness, Dennis Tyronney, told police he had been offered £500 by MacDowell to kill the pair in an acid attack. MacDowell had also burnt the boot floor from his car after the disappearance. In September 2022, he was found guilty of both murders and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He died a year into his sentence, never admitting to the crime.

Sebastian McCormick