Police officers who failed to identify a murder victim who was shot could face a misconduct inquiry, a former senior detective has told Sky News.
Recently retired Brian Low, 65, was found dead on a secluded path near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, in February.
Police Scotland initially classified his death as a “medical event” before launching a murder hunt a week later when they found gunshot wounds on his body.
The force, which has faced allegations of a botched investigation, admitted it still has no suspect and no motive two months after the cold-blooded execution, despite 30 officers working to crack the case.
The initial seven-day delay in declaring a murder inquiry is being examined by Scotland’s police watchdog, The Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (Pirc).
Former superintendent Martin Gallagher, who will retire from the force in 2022, says there are concerns about the officers who discovered Mr Low’s body and deemed the case non-suspicious.
Gallagher told Sky News that vital clues could have been missed and the killer may even have returned to the scene as the area was not cordoned off for days.
Martin Gallagher
He said: “There were police officers present at the crime scene who misidentified what happened. There are questions to be asked about your ability and conduct.
“Police Scotland made a mistake early on, which is very regrettable, but it happens.
“Police Scotland will learn from this and we hope a training program will be looked at in terms of how we deal with crime scenes initially in terms of homicide.”
Police Scotland refused to answer questions from Sky News in an interview.
A spokeswoman said: “The circumstances have been referred by Police Scotland to the Police Investigation and Review Commissioner.
“It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.”
Photo: PA
Authorities visited 478 properties and interviewed more than 800 people in the Perthshire area as part of the investigation now entering its third month.
Local resident Chris Clear told Sky News he believes officers are looking into the theory that the suspect may have fled the scene on a bicycle.
He said: “Yesterday they were asking me if we had bikes. In fact, they’re just looking for people who used the track where Brian was killed.
“Someone did this. They probably live here. It causes a bad feeling throughout the village.”
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