Michael Ross, convicted of the 1994 murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood, may have his case reviewed following the emergence of new evidence. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) has confirmed it is reviewing Ross's conviction, a decision that follows the uncovering of fresh information that Ross's supporters believe warrants referral back to the appeal court.
Ross was 15 years old and a schoolboy at the time of the murder of the 26-year-old waiter at the Mumutaz restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney. The crime, the first murder in Orkney in a generation, had the hallmarks of a contract killing. Without a word, the gunman, wearing a balaclava, shot Mr. Mahmood in the head and fled the scene, with the entire incident lasting only seconds.
Concerns have been raised about the admissibility of police interviews with the then-teenager, as well as the apparent disappearance of numerous documents from the original investigation. Doubts have also emerged regarding the thoroughness of interviews with the victim’s colleagues at the restaurant. An internal review conducted weeks after the murder, which came to light this year, revealed an investigating officer's strong suspicions that witnesses had not been entirely truthful.
Ross's father, a police officer and firearms expert, was initially tasked with investigating a key clue: a rare 9mm bullet casing found at the scene. Ten weeks into the inquiry, he admitted to colleagues that he possessed a sealed box of the same type of bullets at home, which he claimed were supplied by a retired Royal Marine. While the officer stated he had only one box, the Royal Marine told police he had supplied two, one of which was open.
Suspicion later fell on the younger Ross. A witness reported seeing him in woods shortly before the murder in clothing similar to the killer's, and he was also reported to have been part of a group that shouted racist abuse outside the restaurant days earlier. A search of the family home uncovered a notebook with a swastika and an SS symbol in the teenager's room. Detectives began to form a theory that the waiter was executed by a gun-obsessed teenager due to his race. However, there was no forensic, DNA, or fingerprint evidence linking the teenager to the scene. Additionally, witness descriptions of the gunman as 6ft tall contrasted with Ross's height of 5ft 7in.
The prosecution did not proceed against the teenager, but his father, Eddy Ross, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. During his trial, it became apparent the murder probe had heavily focused on his son. The elder Ross was convicted, lost his job, and served two years in prison.
Investigations into the murder appeared to stall until 2006, when an anonymous letter was delivered to the police, alleging the writer had seen Michael Ross with a gun in a public toilet minutes before the murder. The letter writer was identified as William Grant, whose testimony became crucial for a prosecution.
Ross was charged and went to trial in 2008. However, Mr. Grant proved to be an unreliable witness, changing his story multiple times and admitting to fabricating parts of his statement. He was also accused of being fed Ross's name by a detective. Despite the prosecution and defense both considering Grant unreliable, the jury convicted Ross based on other evidence.
Following his conviction, Ross attempted to escape from custody, vaulting the dock partition and fleeing down a corridor before being tackled by a court official. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years for murder, plus an additional five years for the escape attempt. His subsequent appeals were rejected, and a 2014 review by the SCCRC found insufficient evidence to re-examine his case. Ross has made several further escape attempts from prison, which his legal team claims were aimed at drawing attention to his alleged wrongful conviction.
Lawyer Aamer Anwar has been handling the bid to overturn Ross's conviction since 2019. He described Ross as "well-mannered, considered, gentle" and highlighted that Ross has consistently maintained his innocence. As it stands, Ross is eligible for parole in 2035, but his repeated escape attempts have added to his sentence. The SCCRC's current review offers a new possibility for re-examining the conviction that has cast a long shadow over Orkney.