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Murderer died in hospital from cancer and liver cirrhosis

Peter Jolly Northpix William MacDowell is an older man with grey/white hair. He is wearing a dark blue suit jacket over a light blue shirt and dark blue tie.Peter Jolly Northpix
William MacDowell died in hospital less than five months after he was jailed for the 1976 murders

A murderer jailed for killing his lover and their son died in hospital from cancer and alcoholic liver cirrhosis, an inquiry has found.

William MacDowell, 81, died at Forth Valley Hospital in February 2023 - less than five months after being jailed for killing Renee MacRae and their three-year-old son Andrew.

MacDowell had been receiving end of life care, but a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) was mandatory because his death occurred while in custody.

Renee and Andrew MacRae were murdered in the Highlands in 1976. Their bodies were never found.

The 81-year-old, from Penrith in Cumbria was known to palliative care services in Carlisle before he was jailed.

The FAI noted a do not resuscitate order was put in place in August 2022, before he was jailed.

MacDowell was sent to HMP Grampian before being transferred to Glenochil to ensure his care was more appropriately managed.

He arrived at the prison with a life expectancy of "weeks to a couple of months".

He received end of life care at the prison until his health deteriorated and he was transferred to Forth Valley Hospital on 7 February.

While he was in hospital he was under 24-hour guard by prison officers but it was not deemed necessary to handcuff him.

MacDowell was pronounced dead on 15 February.

His cause of death was listed as cardiac failure, hypertension, alcoholic liver cirrhosis and lymphoma, a cancer affecting part of the immune system.

Sheriff Euan Gosney concluded MacDowell received "compassionate care" and there was no evidence to suggest any precautions could have been taken to avoid his death.

Renee MacRae family A 1970s colour photograph of Andrew. He is a young boy and is smiling up at the camera as he sits in bubbles in a bath. In a separate, black and white, image is a portrait of his mother Renee. She is a young woman with light, wavy hair. She is smiling as she looks off to the distance.Renee MacRae family
Andrew and Renee MacRae were murdered almost 50 years ago

MacDowell was given a life sentence with a minimum 30 years after a jury found him guilty in September 2022.

He denied all the charges against him but was convicted following a trial at the High Court in Inverness.

Sentencing the killer, judge Lord Armstrong told MacDowell the murders appeared to have been premeditated and planned "in a most calculating way".

The judge added: "These appear to be, in effect, executions. You murdered your victims and disposed of their bodies and you took various steps to avoid detection."

MacRae, 36, and Andrew disappeared on 12 November 1976. Her car was found that night on fire in a lay-by on the A9 at Dalmagarry, south of Inverness.

The jury was told how MacDowell, who was living near Inverness at the time and better known by the name Bill MacDowell, was company secretary at a building firm owned by MacRae's estranged husband, Gordon.

Earlier this month, police carried out a 10-day search on land surrounding MacDowell's old home.

Police said that officers will continue to follow all available lines of inquiry to ensure the family of Renee and Andrew MacRae "get the answers they deserve."