Ex-gamekeeper hunted alleged victim down ‘like he was quarry’, murder trial told

An ex-gamekeeper accused of shooting a man with a shotgun near Aberfeldy in 2024 hunted his victim down “like he was quarry”, a court has been told.

David Campbell, 77, is accused of murdering Brian Low, 65, on February 16 2024, having allegedly previously disabled CCTV cameras at his home in the Perthshire town in an attempt to conceal his whereabouts.

He is accused of shooting Mr Low at Leafy Lane near Pitilie “having previously evinced malice and ill-will towards him”, leaving him so severely injured that he died at the scene.

Both men had worked at Edradynate Estate, where Campbell was head gamekeeper between May 1984 and February 2018 and Mr Low was a groundsman between August 2000 and February 2023.

Delivering his closing speech at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, prosecutor Greg Farrell said Campbell had carried out a “brazen, brutal and planned execution”.

He told the court: “Having disabled his CCTV system and taped over his only doorbell camera, the accused David Campbell, wearing a hooded jacket, with a shotgun in a bag on his back, took his wife’s bike from his home address.”

He told the jury Campbell headed out to the site of the shooting, on a track in countryside near Aberfeldy.

He continued: “There using his shotgun he shot Brian Low, hitting him on the face, chest and neck, and left him for dead.

“Brian Low was out with his dog Millie, going about his ordinary peaceful life. He was left to die on that track alone.

“That shotgun blast killed him within minutes or perhaps seconds. Brian Low had no chance. He was unarmed and unaware.

“This was a brazen, brutal and planned execution at a rural spot, a cowardly ambush motivated by nothing more than sheer malice.”

The prosecutor added: “David Campbell was an expert shot. He hunted Brian Low down like he was quarry.”

He told the court the ex-gamekeeper had harboured a “festering grievance” against Mr Low for years, having suspected him of planting evidence on the estate to frame him for the illegal poisoning of birds of prey.

He told the jury the evidence indicated Mr Low was shot at or around 4.52pm on February 16, saying at this point his mobile phone, which was found on his body, stopped recording any movement.

The court was shown CCTV footage from the day of the killing showing a hooded cyclist with a bag on their back, riding a bike Mr Farrell said matched that belonging to Campbell’s wife.

He explained it showed the cyclist at 4.18pm heading down a road towards the track where the shooting occurred, and then coming back the other way shortly after 5pm.

“If this isn’t the accused it just so happens this cyclist was (caught on camera) at the beginning of his journey right around the corner from the accused’s house, and is last seen right around the corner from the accused’s house,” he said.

He added that despite the fact the bike’s tyres were changed in the days following Mr Low’s death, analysis of soil found elsewhere on the bike indicated it had been at the site of the alleged murder.

Mr Farrell also accused Campbell of “arrogance”, which he said was reflected in comments caught on his doorbell camera following Mr Low’s death, where he appeared to question why the police had invested so many resources in trying to find the killer.

He also said Campbell had lied during police interviews and when giving evidence during the trial, and that he had been “hostile” under questioning from the prosecution.

“David Campbell isn’t nearly as clever as he thinks he is,” Mr Farrell told the court.

“He is arrogant, but he is also careless.

“He covered his tracks, but not carefully enough.”

Mr Farrell told the jury: “The evidence leads you, inexorably and overwhelmingly, to the conclusion that the person, and the only person, with the means, motive and opportunity to carry out his murder was the accused, David Campbell.”

Campbell had originally faced eight charges, including murder, breaches of the peace and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

However on Friday all but the murder charge were dropped. He denies murder, saying he was at home in Aberfeldy at the time of the alleged crime.

Tony Lenehan KC, representing Campbell, is expected to give his closing speech on Friday afternoon.

The trial continues before Lord Scott.