Renee MacRae murderer to appeal conviction

William MacDowell denied murdering Renee MacRae and their son Andrew

An 80-year-old man sentenced to life for the murders of his former lover and their son intends to appeal his conviction, his lawyers have said.

William MacDowell was jailed for a minimum of 30 years for murdering Renee, 36, and three-year-old son Andrew MacRae in the Highlands in 1976.

He was also convicted of disposing of their bodies. The remains have never been found.

MacDowell, from Penrith, Cumbria, had denied all the charges against him.

His lawyers had lodged special defences of incrimination and alibi at his trial at the High Court in Inverness.

The bodies of Andrew MacRae, who was three, and his mother Renee have never been found

MacDowell's defence counsel Murray Macara KC confirmed a notice of intention to appeal had been lodged.

Mrs MacRae 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 trial heard the discovery exposed married MacDowell's affair with Mrs MacRae, and that she had believed they would be meeting up for a weekend away before a planned move to Shetland.

MacDowell, who lived and worked in the Inverness area at the time of the disappearance, told police he did not meet with Mrs MacRae and he had no plans to move to the Northern Isles.