Police have revisited the scene of Donnie McKinnon’s murder in Soufriere as the hunt for his killers continues on the Caribbean island.
The 48-year-old, father of one originally from Fort William, Inverness-shire, was shot as he enjoyed a drink with his friend Peter Jackson,72, a fellow Brit outside a bar in St Lucia.
Police stepped up their search for the killers on the third anniversary of the horrific murder, which took place on December 4 2022. Detectives investigating the killing returned to the area today where they spoke to people in an attempt to jog their memories and to gather fresh information.
Police have so far made two arrests but to date no-one has been charged.
A man in his 30s was arrested in December a week after the shooting but was released and is no longer a suspect. A second man was arrested around the same time and was also released without charge.
A police source told AfroSaxonVoice :”The police are under a lot of pressure to solve this murder. They are going all out to bring closure for the families and everyone concerned. It is incumbent on them to speak to people in the area again to ascertain who may know something about this vile murder.”
Police revealed earlier in the year that they have not found the murder weapon.
A number of house-to-house inquiries have been carried out and CCTV cameras were seized and looked at.
More than 50 witness statements have been taken, but police still have no concrete leads. This week’s scene visit by officers are in the hope that those covering up for McKinnon’s killers may have changed their allegiances since last year.
” People changed allegiances quickly in this town and they will not keep secrets after they do so. We are urging them to please come forward and to relieve their consciences of guilt. We need them to come forward to speak to us about what they know. It is imperative that they do so.” said the Police source who spoke to AfroSaxonVoice anonymously. “We want to get to the bottom of this.”
Locally a few plausible theories have emerged over the past year. The first is that his killers could have been paid by a disgruntled employee of the estate where he worked to carry out the hit. Police discounted that theory but are said to be looking into this possibility again.
A rumour circulating in the seaside town is that his assassins were from Scotland and that they were sent to teach him a lesson for something he did while he was living in the UK.
But police have always dismissed this theory, saying it was most likely that the killers were local men. A similar theory was put forward by someone who posted an audio on social media saying that he wasn’t the model citizen that he was purporting to be and that it was only a matter of time before “things caught up with him”
“You do get rumours coming out from all over the place. But none of them are leads. We would say they’re rumours and speculation. Nothing’s come in that is concrete. The police needs concrete evidence before suspects can be brought in.” said the police source.
Speaking before the police operation a Town council official said that the police will continue their search for the killer.
“The death of Donnie McKinnon has left pain and heartache to his caring family, Their world have been turned upside down and it is for this reason the police will do their best to bring in those responsible for his death.” said the official.