Detective who has cracked notorious cold-case murders to probe shooting of Nairn banker twenty years ago

A cold case expert has been picked to head a fresh investigation into the controversial unsolved murder of banker Alistair Wilson.

Detective Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow is expected to head up the new inquiry ordered seven days ago by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Ms Chow has had previous experience of handling unsolved murders as a senior member of the forces' Homicide Governance and Review team.

She will replace Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Livingstone, whose role in the 20 year investigation was publicly criticised by the Wilson family at the weekend.

The senior officer has previously worked on cold cases with Police Scotland's Homicide Governance and Review team.

Scotland's chief prosecutor announced a fresh investigation into Alistair's murder last Monday following a meeting in July with his family including his widow, Veronica, at her offices in Edinburgh.

However at the weekend the Wilson's branded Police Scotland incompetent and criticised Chief Constable Jo Farrell for refusing to meet them to discuss their concerns over the long running investigation.

Their statement said: 'Over the past 18 months, our relationship has steadily deteriorated because of unresolved and ongoing issues that are not being properly addressed.

'The poor judgment and lack of accountability at the highest levels of Police Scotland has regrettably eroded any trust we have in their ability to secure justice for Alistair.'

The Wilson's have made a series of complaints about Police Scotland's handling of the murder investigation, including the conduct of DCS Livingstone.

They claim they were misled over the planned arrest of a suspect in May last year. Police Scotland have since apologised with a number of their complaints being upheld.

Mr Wilson, 30, died on November 28, 2004, in what has become one of Scotland's most notorious unsolved murder cases.

Around 7pm Veronica answered the door of their home in the seaside town of Nairn to a man who asked for her husband by name.

At the time Alistair was reading his two young children Andrew and Graham a bedtime story.

He went downstairs to speak to the visitor and was handed a blue birthday card-style envelope with the name 'Paul' on it.

Alistair showed it to his wife then returned to the door and the gunman opened fire. On hearing the three shots Veronica rushed to the front door and dialled 999.

An ambulance took Mr Wilson to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but he died an hour later.

He had just resigned from the Bank of Scotland and was due to begin a new job in Inverness with an environmental consultancy firm.

Detectives turned up nothing that suggested his murder was linked to his bank work, his personal life or was a case of mistaken identity.

Mystery still surrounds the envelope, which the killer took away.

Ten days later the murder weapon, an antique German pocket pistol, was found in a drain half a mile away. No forensic evidence was found linking it to any individual.

Two years ago cops revealed a minor planning dispute was now at the centre of their investigation.

Shortly before he died, Mr Wilson had objected to a large decking area built outside the Havelock Hotel, opposite his home.

Owner Andy Burnett received a copy of the letter from the council two days before Alistair's murder.

Detectives even travelled to Nova Scotia in Canada to interview him, later stressing he was a witness and not a suspect.

The 55-year-old had emigrated in 2013 with his wife after selling the hotel.

Detectives also revealed details of two men seen with a handgun on Nairn's East Beach a month before Alistair's murder.

Police Scotland's Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said yesterday: 'Officers remain committed and determined to identify Alistair's killer and to get justice for his family.

'We are in the process of identifying the investigation team and it will be overseen by a Detective Chief Superintendent in their capacity as a Strategic Senior Investigation Officer.'