Finlay MacDonald: Defendant who shot Skye said he stabbed his wife in a ‘moment of madness’, court heard | UK News

A man accused of attempting to murder his wife stabbed her in a “moment of madness” after reading messages she had sent to his boss saying he was leaving her, a court heard.

Finlay MacDonald, 41, is on trial accused of murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to kill three other people on August 10, 2022.

Edinburgh High Court heard MacDonald told officers in a police interview that he felt “completely dark” after stabbing his wife in the kitchen.

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

In the interview, he said his eight-year-old daughter appeared outside as he was leaving, and as he drove away he could see his injured wife “lying on the ground”.

MacDonald is accused of murdering his brother-in-law, John MacKinnon, 47, by repeatedly firing a shotgun at Teangue on the Isle of Skye.

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

He is also 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.

MacDonald explained that his life had been in a “downward spiral” in the months leading up to the incident.

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

He added that when he went to Mr MacKenzie for osteopathy treatment he was “subject to brutal manipulation” which left him in “chronic pain”.

He said this led to spinal problems that he felt robbed him of his “chance at life”.

MacDonald also told police how his marriage had suffered due to his deteriorating mental and physical health.

He said he became “angry” at his wife’s health condition and became cold towards her, telling her that he no longer loved her.

Read the rest of the case:
The defendant’s wife told the court about the knife attack
Defendant claimed osteopathy ruined his life, court heard
Woman ‘was afraid that she and her husband would be killed’
Murder suspect felt ‘humiliated’ by brother-in-law

The defendant said he became “suspicious” on the morning of the alleged attacks and looked at his wife’s phone and read messages between her and her boss in which she said she was leaving MacDonald.

He took photos of the messages with his own phone before confronting Ms MacDonald.

MacDonald claimed he tried to snatch his wife’s mobile phone and the pair “wrestled” before he stabbed her with the knife he used to chop wood.

“I had a moment of madness and then I realized what I had done and I was devastated,” he said in the interview.

He claimed that he “didn’t know” what to do when he got into his car with a shotgun, “several hundred” cartridges and a knife, but that he started thinking about the grievances he had with his brother-in-law. and osteopath.

The court heard the man first told police he went to Mr McKinnon’s home, where he “confronted him and said he was bullying me and was being horrible to me”.

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

He said he then drove 10 to 15 miles to Mr MacKenzie’s house and shot through the window when no one was there.

Mr MacDonald told police Mr MacKenzie then left the house and the pair went to the kitchen and began “wrestling” for the gun before “firing” it.

He later told the court he remembered being shocked by the police, who he had previously heard had followed him to Mr MacKenzie’s home.

MacDonald denies all charges and offers a special defense to the murder charge, claiming that “his ability to determine or control his behavior is substantially impaired by mental abnormality.”

The hearing before Judge Lady Drummond continues.