Who is William MacDowell and where is he now?

On September 29, 2022, WILLIAM MacDowell finally paid the price for the 1976 murders of his secret lover Renee MacRae and their son Andrew.

But who is William MacDowell and where is he now?

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Who is William MacDowell?

William MacDowell, also known as Bill, was company secretary in Renee MacCrae’s husband’s company – Hugh Macrae & Co.

He was known in the Inverness area for having a short temper and hating “losing face”.

MacDowell had an affair with Renee MacRae, which reportedly began in 1973, and their child, Andrew, was born the following year.

Despite the birth of her son, Renee kept her lover’s identity a secret, even after she moved out of the home she shared with husband Gordon.

The only person Renee told about the identity of Andrew’s father was Val Stevenson, her best friend.

Ms Stevenson told reporters that Renee was doting on MacDowell and believed she would move to remote Shetland with him and their three-year-old son.

Ms Stevenson recalls, “He really took Renee in completely. She even packed everything.”

“Things got a little hot for MacDowell because little Andrew started pointing at him and calling him daddy.”

“I think he knew Renee was getting into him more than he was into her.”

What happened to Renee and Andrew MacRae?

The disappearance of Christina Catherine MacRae, better known as Renee, and her son Andrew was one of Scotland’s most notorious unsolved crimes for over four decades.

Renee and Andrew MacRae were murdered by William MacDowell in 1976, but the crime remained unsolved until September 2022, when justice finally caught up with MacDowell.

Police believe MacDowell’s motive for the heinous crime was that he feared losing his comfortable lifestyle if the affair came to light.

After MacDowell murdered his mistress and son, he placed their bodies and the boy’s stroller in Renee’s BMW and set it on fire. The discovery of the burned-out vehicle led investigators to suspect a crime, with suspicion falling on MacDowell.

After three separate investigations, he finally paid the price for his crimes at the age of 80.

Judge Lord Armstrong told MacDowell in court: “From the evidence at your trial, these murders appear to have been premeditated, planned and carried out by you in the most calculated manner – not a spontaneous event or spontaneous.

“They do appear to be executions.”

Investigators never found the bodies of the 36-year-old mother and her three-year-old son.

Where is William MacDowell now?

Following his conviction for the murders of Renee and Andrew MacRae, William MacDowell was sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is serving in Glenochil Prison.

The cold-blooded killer died on February 15, 2023, just a year after serving his sentence.

At the time of his death he was 81 years old.