Former Gamekeeper Found Guilty of Murder in Highland Perthshire
A former gamekeeper, David Campbell, 77, has been convicted of murdering his ex-colleague Brian Low on a remote country path in Highland Perthshire. The incident occurred in February 2024 on Leafy Lane, Aberfeldy, after Campbell disabled a CCTV camera at his nearby home in an apparent attempt to conceal his actions.
Initially, police treated Low's death as non-suspicious. However, a forensic examination days later revealed that the 65-year-old retired groundsman had been shot. Campbell, described by acquaintances as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character, was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow following a 15-day trial.
The verdict brings closure to a troubling chapter that caused fear and suspicion within the close-knit community.
Low's body was discovered on the morning of 17 February 2024, with his dog Millie beside him.
Detective Constable Mark Chance, one of the first officers at the scene, testified that he observed blood on Low's face and hands and initially believed the injuries were consistent with a fall during a walk.
The first paramedic on site also suspected Low had died from a "sudden medical event." This led to the death being treated as non-suspicious for four days, until a shotgun pellet fell out of the body bag while Low's body was being prepared for a post-mortem examination.
Consultant histopathologist Dr Tamara McNamee noted facial injuries on Low, prompting an escalation of the case and a comprehensive two-doctor post-mortem the following day.
The post-mortem revealed Low had sustained injuries to his chest, right upper arm, left upper arm, neck, and face. Pellets were found lodged in his lung, and his clothing was punctured with multiple holes.
The trial heard that Low was shot "face-on" from a distance between 19 meters and 45 meters (62 feet to 147 feet), sustaining approximately 30 pellet injuries.
Shotgun cartridges containing pellets of a similar size were later discovered in Campbell's home, although the murder weapon itself has never been recovered.
Low's partner of 22 years, Pamela Curran, expressed disbelief upon learning five days after his death that he had been shot.
"I couldn't believe it," she told the trial.
Ten days after Low's body was found, detectives announced the launch of a murder investigation.
In the days following, many in the town questioned how the shooting had initially gone undetected.
Campbell's name soon circulated locally, though most residents refrained from making direct accusations, possibly due to his reputation as the former head gamekeeper.
Police held press conferences and conducted "days of action" in Aberfeldy, questioning hundreds but obtaining few answers.
Over the subsequent three months, police interviewed 800 witnesses and reviewed 2,400 hours of CCTV footage from 56 cameras.
Police Scotland's watchdog also launched an investigation into the force's handling of the case.
On 24 May, officers surrounded Campbell's home in Aberfeldy, near the murder scene, and arrested him while he was on the toilet, naked.
Following the arrest, local residents began speaking more openly, though cautiously.
"I wouldn't want to be left alone in a room with him, put it that way," said one local woman who knew Campbell.
Low and Campbell had worked together for nearly 20 years at the nearby Edradynate Estate, where Campbell served as head gamekeeper and Low as groundsman.
The trial revealed longstanding animosity between the two men. Campbell once suspected Low of "planting" items found during a raid on his home on the estate following alleged bird poisonings.
Campbell admitted during the trial,
"He didn't like me and I didn't like him,"
but denied hating Low.
Campbell's temper had been evident nearly 30 years earlier during an encounter with retired police inspector and wildlife crime coordinator Alan Stewart, who had investigated alleged bird poisoning on the Edradynate Estate.
Stewart recounted an incident at a game fair in summer 1995, where Campbell made a threatening remark.
"He looked across and said: 'It is great what vermin you see when you have not got a gun'."
The trial also detailed Campbell's efforts to evade detection before and after the murder.
On the morning of the shooting, at approximately 07:35, Campbell covered a doorbell camera at his home with duct tape. CCTV footage showed him looking toward the camera minutes later, but no further movement was recorded until 19:30 that evening.
Brian Low's phone showed no movement data after 16:52 on the day of the shooting.
CCTV also captured a cyclist near Campbell's home less than an hour before the shooting. Campbell denied being the cyclist and also denied attempting to obstruct justice by having the tyres changed on a bike used in the killing.
He later claimed in court that the tyre change on his wife's bike was a "romantic gesture."
Campbell testified that on the day of the shooting he remained at home all afternoon after visiting a property he owned nearby in the morning. He stated he had no contact with Brian Low since 2017 and was unaware Low had left Edradynate Estate until seeing it on television.
After the two-week trial, the jury at the High Court in Glasgow found Campbell guilty of murder.
A portrait of Campbell, a married grandfather who became a murderer at age 75, has now emerged.
"David could be a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character," said John Duff, a local councillor and former police superintendent born and raised in Aberfeldy.
"At times he could be quite charming, and other times you could see another, tougher side to his character."
Duff noted that previous incidents, which were "well known in the community," may have raised suspicion toward Campbell, though few knew the specifics of the murder.
He said initial fears in the area following the shooting began to ease when no further incidents occurred.
"It was assumed this was a one-off incident, it wasn't a random shooting,"
he said.
Duff acknowledged that police likely recognized "lapses in their normal procedures" by initially treating the death as non-suspicious but understood why this occurred.
He explained that there was no visual evidence indicating the nature of the crime, and several people had seen Low's body without realizing he had been shot.
"You don't expect somebody out walking their dog in the middle of nowhere to be shot,"
he added.
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