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00:00My journey to Orkney began on the return flight from Bangladesh where the gentleman I was sitting next to.
00:08He offered a job with his brother's restaurant. I thought, why not? Never been to an island. Let's go.
00:15I was around about 20, 21 when my brother asked me to join him in the Orkney Isles.
00:23And it was like a experience of a lifetime.
00:27And then Shamil joined us in the restaurant.
00:32He was always smiling. He had like a little giggle constantly. He was full of life.
00:40We all called him handsome because of his dress sense.
00:45All the customers used to call him handsome as well. And he liked it.
00:50He was a friendly type of a fella. He wasn't danger to anybody.
00:57What we're seeing here is a live ram being fired at point-blank range, which is what happened with Shamshidan.
01:10So his perpetrator literally went up as close as he possibly could.
01:14It was like a scene out in an American gangster movie.
01:22Doesn't sweat. Doesn't hesitate.
01:25Calm.
01:27Cool.
01:28No sweat.
01:29Which is what you need to be to walk into a restaurant and kill somebody at point-blank range.
01:33Asking your son if you killed a man is horrendous.
01:44Ballistic evidence should have led detectives straight to 15-year-old Ross.
01:48But his father, seen here, was a police officer involved in the inquiry.
01:52And he covered up evidence to protect him.
01:59Michael Ross is a racist murderer.
02:01The punishment, 25 years in prison.
02:05Michael was not just like any other 15-year-old.
02:08He had access to guns.
02:10How could this have been a 15-year-old boy?
02:17It is not the kind of crime that is committed by a 15-year-old boy in Orkney.
02:22Well, I believe this to be the good man.
02:25And that's not Michael Ross.
02:30Although it seems like odd behavior, there is a convincing explanation.
02:34But then, Michael does something with his balacalava, which is harder to explain.
02:44Somebody came out of the toilet.
02:46It was a young boy.
02:48He had a gun in his hand.
02:50And I knew who he was.
02:52I was terrified.
02:58This call is from a Scottish prison.
03:01It will be logged and recorded and may be monitored.
03:03If not Michael, who did kill Sean?
03:15A man with a mask on came in and thought he was in to shoot everyone.
03:33Welcome to Orkney.
03:49The murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood, who was affectionately known as Shamal, is one of those cases which, I think, shocks you.
03:59Let me fill you in on where we're up to.
04:04So, in 1994, the 26-year-old Bangladeshi waiter was killed in cold blood by a man in a balaclava.
04:13From the outset, police suspected 15-year-old Michael Ross, but with no motive, no forensics and no weapon, the case collapsed against the schoolboy.
04:27Then, 14 years later, following a new witness coming forward, he was charged and convicted of the murder.
04:35Yet, to this day, many in Orkney don't believe Michael Ross murdered Shamsuddin Mahmood.
04:43Orkney is a landscape of wild, unspoiled beauty, varying from gently undulating countryside to cliffs that rise perpendicular to the sea.
05:05I suppose Orkney was the kind of place where very little happened then.
05:14Then, you would be kicking about in the street with your friends and playing Kirby and running about in the parks.
05:22And there was no crime as such, other than minor petty crime.
05:28I just remember it being really safe, I suppose.
05:30My name's Karen. I've been involved in Michael's campaign for 13 years.
05:40The first I knew that Michael's name was being entered into the frame, if you like, was my mum coming home from work and saying,
05:49you're never going to believe this, but Moira's family are somehow implicated in this.
05:55And they're saying that it was her son and her husband, who's a police officer, that have had something to do with it.
06:08It was so out of this world, like something you would never, ever expect in a place like this.
06:15How could this have been a 15-year-old boy?
06:17It's not the kind of crime that is committed by a 15-year-old boy in Orkney.
06:22It just seemed to me to be absolutely ludicrous then.
06:27And I feel even more so now that it was a wild theory that went completely out of control.
06:35Michael Ross is a racist murderer.
06:38The punishment, 25 years in prison.
06:41Whoever committed that crime was beyond psychopathic.
06:48I'm interested to know what kind of person could carry out a murder like this.
06:53Do they have to be a psychopath or could an ordinary person do it?
06:57Is it really something a 15-year-old could do?
07:00This particular gun is a Glock 9mm.
07:25And interestingly, it's the exact same calibre that was used in the shooting of Shamshuddin Mahmood.
07:32My name is Dr. Shaham Das, and I am a doctor in forensic psychiatry.
07:37So I've seen a range of murders.
07:39I've seen knife crime, murders by gunfire.
07:41I think it's very rare in general in the UK.
07:43So what we're seeing here is a live ram being fired at point-blank range,
07:55which is what happened with Shamshuddin.
07:57So his perpetrator literally went up as close as he possibly could.
08:01And they're literally looking at somebody in the eye,
08:03and they can see the fear.
08:04They can see their expression.
08:06It's a very intimate and visceral way to win somebody's life, I think.
08:09I think it's fair to say that society sometimes glamorises killings.
08:19I mean, if we look at media, TV shows, films,
08:22I'm thinking of characters like James Bond.
08:25But in reality, to take somebody's life is actually psychologically quite taxing.
08:30It's very rare to see somebody just completely out of the blue
08:33do something so brazen and so public.
08:35Those individuals tend to lack empathy.
08:42And sometimes there's early warning signs,
08:44like there's a lack of closeness,
08:46and sometimes even more obvious warning signs,
08:49like cruelty towards animals, towards pets.
08:52When we think about the psychology or the reasons for killing,
08:55there's a lot of understandable motivations,
08:57like rage, hatred.
08:59It could be racism.
09:00It could be to eliminate a rival used in a crime, such as a robbery.
09:04But occasionally we see it committed for no discernible, understandable reason.
09:09Sometimes it's just about the power and the thrill.
09:12And I think colloquially some people might say
09:14that these individuals are psychopaths.
09:16So what was Michael like, as a 15-year-old?
09:23And was he capable of committing such a crime?
09:30In 1994, police searched Michael Ross's family home.
09:34I've never seen anything like this.
09:42The search revealed a house that seemed obsessed with guns.
09:48I mean, look at all this.
09:48All of these licensed guns were found,
09:51which is like an arsenal from a Hollywood film.
09:54During their search, police found five pistols,
10:00two revolvers, three rifles and a shotgun.
10:05I don't know anyone with this sort of thing in their house.
10:09I wonder what kind of impact this might have had on a teenage boy.
10:14This is one of the most interesting cases I was ever involved in.
10:22I think it's probably a once in a lifetime.
10:25My name is Brian McConachie.
10:27I am a King's Counsel.
10:29In 2008, I took this case to prosecute.
10:34It was what they now, popular jargon, call a cold case
10:41in the sense of it had been a number of years
10:44since the incident had taken place.
10:46It involved relatives of police officers.
10:50It involved a soldier.
10:51It involved, allegedly, a 15-year-old boy.
10:55I think, in many ways,
10:57that was one of the hurdles for the prosecution
11:01was that the jury were looking at this photograph of a young boy.
11:09I'm sure many of the jurors were parents themselves,
11:12probably with children of that age,
11:14and were being asked to make a decision
11:17which would say that that young boy
11:20had on that occasion assassinated the waiter,
11:26Mr Mahmood, in the Indian restaurant.
11:31Michael Ross has never spoken publicly about his case,
11:37but I've got hold of audio recordings
11:39of him answering questions
11:41which have never been heard before.
11:43He hasn't been challenged by a journalist,
11:46but his answers give a unique insight
11:49into his version of events.
11:51There was a view that had done this
12:01to see how it felt like to kill somebody.
12:05The thought of doing something like that
12:07was just totally out of creation.
12:10All I ever wanted was to join army,
12:13be a soldier, get married,
12:15and have a normal family life.
12:25This photograph here is of a shooting competition
12:28within the cadet force
12:29where Michael's been presented
12:31with the trophy for the annual shoot, as it were.
12:35This photograph is one of Michael.
12:39I think it was about 1995
12:40when he was in the army cadet force.
12:43The photograph was taken in Inverness
12:45at Cameron Barracks.
12:46I think he enjoyed it, and he worked well,
12:48and he was good with a lot of the young guys too
12:50who needed instruction and assistance with things.
12:55It was really just a youth group
12:57for kids to mingle and get together
12:59and have a bit of after-school activities
13:02and stuff like that,
13:03but for me, maybe I took it more serious
13:05than a lot of the other ones
13:07purely because I was wanting to join the army.
13:14A boy joins the army cadet force
13:16because he has some sort of interest in the army,
13:18some sort of interest in discipline
13:20and uniform in shooting.
13:22Michael's wearing a colour sergeant rank.
13:36He looks quite formal here,
13:38whereas we're used to seeing him
13:40at the time more informally
13:43because we were, you know,
13:45we were all part of a group of friends.
13:50I'm Claire,
13:51and I was in the cadets
13:53with Michael Ross around that time.
13:56I joined in early 1994,
13:58not long before the murder happened in Orkney.
14:03I think lots of us had had,
14:05maybe had problems at school
14:07or problems at home,
14:09and I think the cadets
14:10was a place for everybody
14:12just to be themselves
14:13and just be part of something bigger.
14:18At school, he was quite quiet
14:19and maybe a wee bit shy,
14:21but at cadets,
14:22he was a bit more relaxed
14:23and he was quite funny.
14:27He smiled a lot.
14:29Sometimes we called him Smiler
14:30because he had, like,
14:31a really big, happy smile.
14:33He was quick to look out for people
14:37and stick up for people
14:39if he felt they were being treated unfairly.
14:41He was a small guy, like myself.
14:48He wasn't that tall.
14:49We had a nickname for him.
14:50It was Arnie, yeah,
14:51after Arnold Schwarzenegger.
14:54Yeah, I think we just called him that
14:56because of his short hair
14:57and he was a kind of big build, right?
14:59I've known him for a long time.
15:01Went to primary school with him
15:03and then he ended up being me next to a neighbour.
15:08I mind being in English or mass
15:11and I mind someone coming into our classroom
15:13and taking Michael out of the classroom
15:16and all the class were in shock,
15:18like, where's Michael going?
15:20Why are they taking him out of class?
15:22I never thought he was going to be questioned
15:24about a murder.
15:24My name's Angus Alexander-Chisholm.
15:32I was Detective Inspector based in Inverness.
15:36I felt confident enough
15:37to submit a crime report
15:39to the Procurator Fiscal.
15:41What happened to it thereafter
15:42was out of my hands.
15:44It was entirely up to the local fiscal
15:46and to the Crown Office
15:49and Procurator Fiscal Service.
15:52The case against 15-year-old Michael
15:54Ross never went to court
15:56and as he moved on with his life,
15:58the original lead detective,
16:00Angus Chisholm, retired.
16:03After 10 years,
16:04a new detective takes over the case.
16:07In 2004, he gives an interview
16:09which proposes a very specific motivation
16:12for the killing.
16:14I believe that we've evidence
16:18that indicates quite strongly
16:19that this was a racist crime
16:21and I believe that makes it
16:23a more abhorrent crime.
16:24Now, he doesn't name the suspect
16:29but four years later,
16:31Michael is convicted
16:33of a racist murder.
16:35It's one of the reasons
16:37he's given a particularly harsh
16:3925-year life sentence.
16:42Summing up,
16:43the judge said
16:43that the murder was motivated
16:45by Michael's extreme racist prejudice.
16:50Where did the racist mingle come from?
16:57When police had searched the Ross household
16:59in December of 1994,
17:00one of the things they'd found
17:02was an army cadet notebook
17:04and on one of the pages
17:05and on one of the pages,
17:05they found
17:06Corporal Ross
17:07with a swastika inside the O
17:09and the SS
17:10written in a Nazi SS font
17:13and other doodles
17:15such as
17:15Death to the English
17:16and Death Cures All.
17:20It seems to have gathered
17:22quite a lot of significance,
17:23at least for the police
17:24at some stage
17:25in the investigation.
17:30It was just a notebook
17:32about youth fur
17:32at army cadets.
17:34It was simple,
17:35damn silly
17:35little doodles
17:36that I'd done.
17:37One of which was
17:38a small swastika.
17:40I mean,
17:40it was absolutely tiny.
17:42It was just in the O
17:43of my name, Ross.
17:44But this was me
17:45just doing
17:46damn silly doodles
17:47scrubbing
17:48in a notebook.
17:51The Grim Reaper
17:52and what does that say?
17:55Death to the English.
17:58It's just
17:59silly boys drawing.
18:03He's no other.
18:04He went to use
18:04the drawing of that stuff
18:05in books.
18:07Because of what's happened,
18:08I wish he hadn't
18:09had drawn that,
18:10but
18:10it's there
18:13to see.
18:18The motive was
18:20racial
18:20and I believe
18:21that makes it
18:22a more abhorrent crime.
18:24Nothing in my
18:25part of the inquiry
18:27indicated racism.
18:29I wouldn't have
18:30attached any
18:31great significance
18:32to it.
18:33Doodlings of a
18:3415-year-old,
18:35I'm sure anybody's
18:36school jotter
18:36would have
18:37stuff like that
18:38in it.
18:43So the jotter
18:45evidence
18:45against Michael
18:46Ross' racism
18:47is weak,
18:48but there's more.
18:51Something else
18:52which I've come
18:53across,
18:53which I think
18:54is much more
18:55concerning,
18:56are witness
18:56statements that
18:57police took
18:58from fellow
18:59cadets
19:00ages 14
19:01and 15.
19:03One cadet
19:04here
19:04says,
19:05I don't think
19:06Michael approves
19:07of girls
19:08being at cadets
19:09and has said
19:10things like
19:10treat the girls
19:11like they were
19:13and then uses
19:13the N-word.
19:15This person
19:15then goes on
19:16to say,
19:17I've heard
19:18Michael at
19:19the cadets
19:19showing off
19:20to an audience
19:21and saying
19:22things about
19:23shooting blacks
19:24and putting
19:25a gun
19:26to their heads.
19:26I mean,
19:30reading it
19:30that,
19:30I think
19:30Michael was
19:31racist.
19:31I think,
19:32you know,
19:33I don't
19:33think
19:34that
19:37you can
19:39really
19:39disagree
19:40with
19:40that.
19:42I certainly
19:43don't remember
19:44saying those
19:44words exactly,
19:45but I would
19:47imagine
19:47I may have
19:48said things
19:48similar,
19:49because I was
19:50saying stupid
19:51things like
19:52as a child.
19:53I'm truly
19:55embarrassed
19:55by those
19:56things.
20:01Could
20:01Michael's
20:02teenage racism
20:03be enough
20:03to make him
20:04want to kill
20:05a person
20:05of colour?
20:13I've never
20:14been 100%
20:15convinced
20:16that it was
20:17racist
20:17in the sense
20:18of that he
20:20killed
20:20Shamsuddin
20:21because he
20:22was black.
20:23I feel
20:24more,
20:25perhaps,
20:25that Michael
20:26wanted to
20:27know what
20:28it was like
20:29to kill
20:29someone.
20:31I don't
20:31think he
20:31knew
20:32Shammul,
20:32I don't
20:32think he
20:33met
20:33Shammul.
20:34I don't
20:35think he
20:36was out
20:36to get
20:37Shammul
20:38specifically,
20:40but my
20:40thoughts are
20:41he may
20:41well have
20:41wanted to
20:42kill
20:43somebody,
20:44and who
20:44would be
20:45most expendable
20:45on the
20:46island?
20:46He
20:46wouldn't
20:47want to
20:47kill a
20:48local,
20:49because that
20:49would not
20:50go down
20:50well,
20:51but his
20:52thinking in
20:52my mind
20:53is that
20:53if I'm
20:54going to
20:55kill
20:55somebody,
20:56why not
20:57pick somebody
20:57who's not
20:58from the
20:58island,
20:58who's not
20:59local,
21:00who there
21:00won't be so
21:01much of a
21:01fuss about.
21:08If a murderer
21:09wanted to
21:09kill someone,
21:10surely they
21:10wouldn't walk
21:11into somewhere
21:12that's full
21:12of people,
21:13little children
21:14sitting at a
21:15dining table,
21:16people just
21:17enjoying a
21:17meal.
21:18If you're
21:19a sort
21:19of
21:19occasional
21:20criminal,
21:20or you're
21:21just
21:21branching
21:21into the
21:22world of
21:23criminality,
21:24you would
21:24think that
21:25you would
21:25have some
21:25sort of
21:26path that
21:26you would
21:27go along
21:27to get
21:28to the
21:28point where
21:28you would
21:29be able
21:29to commit
21:29a crime
21:30like that.
21:38If
21:38Michael
21:39Ross did
21:39shoot
21:40Shammel,
21:40this motive
21:41remains a
21:41question.
21:43I see no
21:43evidence that
21:4415-year-old
21:45Michael was a
21:46psychopath,
21:46for instance.
21:49He said
21:50horrendous
21:50racist
21:51things.
21:53But people
21:54on both
21:54sides of
21:55the case
21:55have asked,
21:56was this
21:57a sufficient
21:57driver for
21:58him to
21:59shoot a
21:59man at
22:00point-blank
22:00range?
22:03So let's
22:04say then,
22:05for the sake
22:05of argument,
22:07that it
22:07wasn't
22:07Michael.
22:09Was there
22:09anyone with
22:11the motive
22:11to murder
22:12Shammel that
22:13night?
22:16Shammel came
22:21to Orkney
22:21first in
22:221992 and
22:24worked as a
22:24waiter in the
22:25Mumataz.
22:26He'd been there,
22:27I think,
22:27about nine
22:28months,
22:28between 1992
22:29and 1993,
22:30before leaving
22:31to work at
22:32other restaurants
22:33in England.
22:34But in
22:35April of
22:361994,
22:37he asks to
22:38come back
22:38just six
22:39weeks before
22:40he was killed.
22:41This is a
22:42photograph of
22:43Shammel Mahmood.
22:45I think he was
22:4526 years old at
22:47the time of the
22:48murder and he
22:49just kept himself
22:49to himself.
22:50He was a
22:50bubbly,
22:52smiley kind of
22:53person.
22:54I believe he was
22:54quite well
22:55educated as
22:56well.
22:56He came from
22:57a good family
22:58and had never
22:59been in trouble.
23:01There was only
23:02one other of
23:02Shammel's relatives
23:03who was living in
23:04Britain at the
23:05time.
23:05I think that
23:08this is the
23:09last ever
23:09interview that
23:10Shammel's brother
23:11Abel gave before
23:13he died a few
23:14years ago.
23:15And you can tell
23:16how profoundly
23:17impacted he's
23:19been by Shammel's
23:20death.
23:21Let me just
23:22play it for you.
23:24We lost our
23:25brother.
23:27Whatever will
23:28happen, we
23:28won't get him
23:29back.
23:32So we had to
23:33come to terms
23:34with the fact
23:35that we lost
23:36him.
23:38He'd never
23:39get over that
23:39and I think
23:40you can really
23:41tell that that's
23:42how he's
23:42feeling.
23:45This was
23:46Shammel's second
23:46trip to
23:47Orkney.
23:48I want to
23:49know why he
23:50wanted to come
23:51to the
23:51islands.
24:03My name's
24:03Jaha'u'll-Islam.
24:04So my journey
24:06to Scotland
24:07began on the
24:09return flight
24:10from Bangladesh
24:11where the
24:12gentleman I was
24:12sitting next to.
24:14He offered a job
24:15with his
24:15brother's
24:16restaurant.
24:17I thought,
24:17why not?
24:18Never been to an
24:18island.
24:19Let's go.
24:22My brother
24:23joined me soon
24:24after.
24:25My name's
24:27Ran Ishmael.
24:30I think I was
24:31around about
24:3220, 21 when
24:35my brother asked
24:36me to join him
24:38in the Orkney
24:38Isles.
24:42The phone was
24:44going crazy,
24:45people trying to
24:46book tables and
24:48it was like a
24:49elephant stampede.
24:51I'd never seen
24:52anything like
24:52that.
24:59Shamal lived in a
25:00room above the
25:00restaurant with
25:01two brothers,
25:02Jareel and
25:03Ryman.
25:03It was a tiny
25:08room with three
25:09beds, close and
25:10personal I'd say.
25:12But it was fun.
25:13It was fun.
25:14Just laughing and
25:15joking and, you
25:16know, staying up
25:17half the night.
25:18We'd talk about
25:18things like, you
25:20know, how he
25:21grew up and where
25:23he came from,
25:24where we came
25:25from and we'd
25:27laugh and giggle
25:27about that.
25:28Shamal was
25:33short, talkative,
25:35he was ambitious.
25:36He said he
25:38wasn't successful
25:39like his
25:40brothers.
25:41One was a
25:42barrister and he
25:44couldn't make
25:45himself in a
25:47higher position.
25:48But he was
25:49dating a girl.
25:51She wanted to be
25:52a doctor.
25:53So his goal
25:55was, if I
25:57can't have the
25:58status, at least
25:59I've married
25:59somebody with
26:00the status.
26:05Shamal's full
26:06name is
26:07Sham Sudden
26:08Mahmood.
26:08He was born in
26:09Dhaka in
26:10Bangladesh in
26:111968.
26:12I have in my
26:14hands a
26:15statement from
26:16Shamal's brother
26:16Abul and in
26:18it we get some
26:19great detail about
26:20Shamal.
26:21We know that
26:22he's the youngest
26:22of seven brothers
26:23and that he's
26:25always getting
26:26into fights over
26:27girls back home
26:27in Dhaka.
26:28So it seems that
26:29his family then
26:30sent him to the
26:31UK to live.
26:33The fact he was
26:34having troubles
26:34with girls didn't
26:36appear to be an
26:37Orkney thing
26:37because we found
26:39no issue with
26:39him in Orkney
26:40having any
26:41relationship
26:42problems with
26:42or any
26:43relationship with
26:44girls to be
26:44honest.
26:46On his day
26:47off he'd go
26:48pubs here or
26:49there.
26:49he could swing
26:51the whiskey
26:52back same
26:53as the
26:54Islanders.
26:55Neat whiskey.
26:56He was
26:56flirty and
26:58I think the
27:00Islanders had
27:01never seen
27:02Asian people
27:04so we was
27:07getting a lot
27:09of girls
27:09talking to us.
27:12You kind of
27:13like get the
27:14fact that
27:14you're something
27:16different.
27:16I don't think
27:18he grasped the
27:19idea.
27:19He's on a
27:20little island.
27:21Yeah.
27:22They're
27:22Islanders.
27:23He was just
27:24playing the
27:25field.
27:26You know.
27:27Looking for
27:27sex.
27:28Going out
27:29here.
27:29Going out
27:29there.
27:30Talking to
27:30people.
27:32Yeah.
27:32But that's
27:34your human
27:34urge.
27:35It wasn't
27:36danger to
27:37anybody.
27:38So I've
27:39found some
27:40documents which
27:41tell us a bit
27:42more about that
27:42time.
27:43In May
27:451991
27:45Shamal arrived
27:47on a two
27:47year holiday
27:48working visa.
27:50He's working
27:50full time and
27:52a year before
27:52his murder his
27:53visa runs out.
27:54He's one of a
27:55number of staff
27:56with visa
27:56irregularities
27:57working in the
27:58restaurant.
28:00Well he didn't
28:00come here
28:01illegally.
28:02He overstayed.
28:03Many people
28:03overstayed.
28:05But his
28:05paperwork's not
28:06right.
28:07That's why
28:07he's gone
28:09north of
28:10Scotland.
28:10Everybody's
28:13got a reason
28:14why they've
28:14gone to this
28:15little island.
28:16Whether it was
28:17legal or not in
28:17the country wasn't
28:18the focus of our
28:19inquiry.
28:19We wouldn't have
28:20been paying a
28:20great deal of
28:21attention to that.
28:22I'm really
28:23acutely aware
28:25that by digging
28:27into Shamal's
28:27past it somehow
28:29looks like we're
28:30victim shaming and
28:31that's really not
28:33the case.
28:34You know Shamal
28:35was a 26-year-old
28:37man who was the
28:38victim of a
28:41horrendous murder.
28:44But in the
28:44interest of looking
28:45for someone who
28:46wanted him dead
28:47these are
28:48legitimate questions.
28:50We have staff
28:51here who are
28:52working illegally
28:53which more than
28:53likely include
28:54Shamal.
28:56So did the
28:57police look into
28:57this?
28:59We deployed
29:00teams to visit
29:01all of the
29:02Indian restaurants
29:03throughout the
29:04country where
29:04he had been
29:05employed.
29:06We tried to
29:07delve into his
29:07background as
29:08much as possible.
29:09He appeared to
29:10keep himself to
29:10himself on the
29:11island.
29:12He had not been
29:13involved in any
29:14altercations or any
29:15issues.
29:16In restaurants where
29:17he'd been before
29:17nothing untoward,
29:19no issues.
29:21I've been digging
29:22into what the
29:23police did during
29:24the investigation.
29:26The police spoke
29:26to 105 members of
29:28the Asian community
29:29from the highlands,
29:32all over the highlands
29:33down to Southampton.
29:34So on the surface
29:35that's great, you
29:36know, that's really
29:37thorough.
29:37And then you look at
29:39who they spoke to
29:40and drill down into
29:42that a little bit
29:43more.
29:44The police spoke to
29:45one blood relative,
29:48one blood relative
29:49during the
29:51investigation,
29:52Shamal's brother,
29:52Abul.
29:53The number of
29:55people who'd known
29:56Shamal for more
29:57than two years,
29:57they spoke to six
29:58of them.
29:59So that was people
29:59like acquaintances,
30:01Orkney colleagues,
30:02people who'd kept
30:03in touch with friends.
30:05But the biggest
30:05number, which jumps
30:06out at me, is right
30:09at the bottom here
30:10and it's the last
30:10point.
30:11So the number of
30:13people that the
30:13police interviewed who
30:15had no knowledge of
30:16Shamsu de Mahmood or
30:17had any relevance to
30:18the inquiry, out of
30:20105 was 82.
30:23Now these unexplored
30:28parts of the story may
30:30or may not have
30:31anything to do with
30:32his murder, but it's
30:33hard not to feel there
30:34are gaps in the police
30:35investigation.
30:37And it's the reason
30:38why, for many,
30:40questions still remain
30:41about this case.
30:50What's interesting
30:51is, in the lead up to
30:54the murder, there are
30:55reports of a lot of
30:57strange comings and
30:58goings at the restaurant.
31:00For instance, this is a
31:01statement from a friend
31:02of Shamal's, Abdul, who
31:05was a waiter at another
31:06restaurant.
31:08Abdul says that on the
31:09day of the shooting, Shamal
31:11suddenly asks to swap
31:13shifts with another
31:14waiter.
31:15Could this be a
31:16coincidence?
31:17Maybe.
31:18And there's more.
31:20The Arkadian second
31:21front page story is
31:22probably the most
31:22interesting story I've
31:23ever read about the
31:24case, which is the
31:25title, Murder Victim
31:27Received Death Threat
31:27Before Killing.
31:29And murder victim,
31:31Shamsu de Mahmood,
31:31received a death threat
31:32only two days before being
31:33shot at Karko's Mumataz
31:35Indian restaurant.
31:50Close to midnight, May
31:5131st, 1994, a few
31:54customers are in the
31:55restaurant and they see a
31:57heated argument at the
31:58door of the restaurant,
31:59two men arguing with
32:01Shamsu de Mahmood, a very
32:04heated argument.
32:05I think one of the
32:06witnesses even said they
32:07had never seen anything
32:08like it in all their time
32:09in Orkney.
32:10And one of the people in
32:10the restaurant was an
32:11Austrian tourist and he
32:13was fairly close to the
32:14door and he claims he had
32:15heard, I'll shoot you.
32:18Being said on a number of
32:20occasions to Shamsu de Mahmood
32:22by the man arguing with
32:24him at the door of the
32:24restaurant.
32:26Very specific threat.
32:28I know you haven't got a
32:29motive, but there was a
32:31possibility of motive in as
32:33much as before the murder,
32:34there was a sighting of an
32:37argument going on at the
32:38restaurant, the door of the
32:39restaurant.
32:40Yeah, that's correct.
32:41Witnesses described to us
32:42that two people were arguing
32:44with the now deceased
32:45Shamsu de Mahmood outside the
32:46restaurant in the doorway of
32:47the restaurant.
32:48Then it falls off the radar
32:49completely in the public
32:51record in the case and it
32:52really does appear to have
32:53been totally forgotten about.
32:55And you're left with a
32:56situation, I suppose, where
32:57somebody's in prison claiming
33:00they didn't commit the
33:00murder.
33:01And as far as I can tell, the
33:03police don't know who it was
33:04that allegedly threatened to
33:05kill the deceased two days
33:07before.
33:08Do you remember the story of a
33:11local man called Robert Smith
33:13who, two hours before the
33:14murder, says that he saw a
33:16well-built man acting strangely
33:19and behaving in a way that
33:20unsettled it?
33:28And he went down the lane in front
33:30of me here.
33:34And he went to the door to the
33:36restaurant.
33:38And he held on to the handle and
33:41put one feet up in here staring
33:43off at me.
33:45And he thought that I was going
33:46to make a delivery to the
33:48restaurant.
33:49And he was waiting until I
33:50get by.
33:51And as soon as I went past him,
33:53he went in and slammed the
33:54door.
33:55And I knew he was such as
33:57another pedestrian.
34:00Six months after the murder,
34:02when the police were focusing
34:03in on Michael Ross being the
34:05killer, Robert was asked to
34:06attend an ID parade.
34:09We actually had a physical ID
34:12parade which involved Michael
34:15standing in a line-up along with
34:17various other people that we
34:18get off the street.
34:21There's six there.
34:24Twelve in total, is it?
34:26What I remember of the day was
34:28that there were two girls along
34:34with me.
34:35And there had to be a police,
34:37policeman present the whole
34:39time so we couldn't talk about
34:42the ID parade.
34:42They took a student to have a look
34:44at this.
34:45When we looked at them, he said,
34:47is there anybody there?
34:48And I said no.
34:51And that was just basically they
34:52knew it.
34:54There was no positive
34:55identification of Michael.
34:57That, of course, does not mean
34:59that he was not the person.
35:02It just means that the people who
35:04viewed the ID parade did not pick
35:06him or I would say that's not
35:07unusual.
35:10OK.
35:11Let's say that it was one of those
35:13white men who killed Shamal who
35:15was seen acting strangely around the
35:17restaurant in the days and hours
35:19before his murder.
35:21A hitman, in other words.
35:23Surely they'd have been seen
35:24afterwards, not least because Orkney
35:26is an island and they'd have had to
35:27get to the mainland.
35:29Whoever carried out the brutal murder
35:33of Shamsuddin did it in a manner
35:36which was, could only be described
35:40as professional, cold-blooded,
35:44leaving no trace of themselves,
35:46walking in and walking out.
35:49For many people, look like a
35:51professional hit.
35:54So, the Mumataz restaurant is just
35:57round the corner and then the lane
35:59runs behind the Kirkwall Hotel there,
36:02behind these houses.
36:03And I find it quite hard to believe
36:07that if you're somebody that is
36:12prepared to shoot somebody at point
36:15blank range in the left eye, in front
36:17of diners with young families and
36:20having their dinner on a day like
36:22today, that you wouldn't have an exit
36:27strategy planned.
36:27So, did the police investigate this possibility?
36:36Hello, thank you.
36:38You're welcome aboard.
36:39Thank you so much.
36:41Right.
36:41Life jacket.
36:46Police have issued a letter to all
36:47householders in Orkney, appealing for
36:49information.
36:50Local guest houses, hotels and public houses were also being visited as part of the police search.
36:56And also details of the ferry service and the planes being delayed as details were taken from passengers.
37:05Officers were this morning questioning passengers at the airport, flights were delayed, but it's possible that the killer was already off Orkney.
37:16The inquiry became very intensive just due to the location and Orkney being very touristy.
37:27Everything had to be looked at in case a gang or somebody had travelled up to Orkney and did a hit.
37:32I printed out some of the timetables for ferries and cargo leaving Kirkwall in 1994 and just leafing through these right now gives you a sense of how porous the Orkney isles are.
37:52You've got 70 islands of which only 20 are inhabited.
37:56I think there was something like 2,700 statements noted.
38:01I wouldn't say we shut it off, but we knew who was coming and we knew who was going.
38:07OK, maybe a vessel could come in unnoticed, but in the main you were capturing everybody that was coming onto and off the island.
38:16Listen to this though.
38:17The Stromness Scrabster ferry was delayed by one hour.
38:21230 passengers were interviewed by six police officers and that means they could have only spoken to each of them for about two minutes max.
38:31Not only that, I've also discovered that only the ports and ferries leaving the island are checked.
38:37No records were taken from people coming or going from the islands.
38:41So does that seem thorough to you? Does that seem like no stone was left unturned?
38:50Personally, I'm not convinced.
38:52With so few police officers on the islands and so many ways to escape,
38:57it feels like a hitman could have easily fled despite the best efforts of the police.
39:02When you say every house is searched, where's this at?
39:10In Orkney?
39:13Or Kirkwall?
39:15Yeah.
39:16There's been rumours of every house being searched and I can tell you that's never happened.
39:21Absolutely not.
39:23No.
39:24I mean, were neighbours here and then they were searched?
39:27So I don't believe that for one moment.
39:31In fact, it's not. I know for a fact it's not.
39:39This whole theory might sound completely absurd.
39:44A hitman in Orkney.
39:45But I've come across another interesting news story.
39:48So this is a news article from 1995 and it talks about Shamal's murder,
39:56but it also talks about what it's calling the rising crime of the 90s, the professional hit.
40:02It says that in the last six years, there have been more than 50 contract killings in Britain.
40:07I suppose the most interesting suggestion, I guess, right from the early days of the investigation,
40:11is that it's a contract killing and a professional hit.
40:14And I've seen some evidence of that.
40:16It's what the cops believed, that this was a professional murder that was committed.
40:20In 1996, the Telegraph newspaper in London contacted the Orkney investigation.
40:27They told them about a contract killing in Lancashire four years before,
40:31which had similarities to the murder of Shamal.
40:34Balaclavas were worn and the victim was shot in the head.
40:37Michael Crossley from Kent, the man who police suspect fired the two shots that killed David Wilson
40:43and his accomplice, Stephen Playle, also from Kent, who'd tied the family up.
40:48So these are the two hitmen.
40:50We have Stephen Playle and we have Michael Crossley, who killed a man in Charlie.
40:58They're two former British soldiers.
41:00Crossley and Playle had travelled 250 miles to commit the murder at Whitmore Villa near Chorley
41:07before disappearing back into the night.
41:10Detectives believe they expected to be paid for the assassination, but never received a penny.
41:17The Chorley murder happened in 1992, but these two weren't actually arrested until 1996.
41:24So technically, they could have been free in 1994.
41:26But how likely is it that two hitmen from Kent would travel around, you know, 800 miles to Kirkwall to kill Shamal?
41:37Well, there is something that I find interesting, although actually quite unnerving.
41:43If you look at this map, the two hitmen actually only lived within about 40 miles of where Shamal worked in Kent
41:52before he went to Orkney for that second time.
41:56As a theory, the idea that a hitman, rather than Michael Ross, killed Shamal, might seem bizarre.
42:10But it does fit parts of the case.
42:14The killing was carried out in a calmly, professional way.
42:17There was no DNA or fingerprint evidence, no murder weapon has ever been found.
42:23And then there's those statements of strange men at the restaurant before the murder.
42:30It is, however, just a theory.
42:33Against it, you have the fact that in 2006, while Michael Ross was free, something happened that was to change everything.
42:40You have the hard reality that 12 years after the murder, a witness comes forward with this mysterious letter that led to Michael being charged.
42:52For the first time, we've spoken to the man who wrote this.
42:56And he tells an extraordinary story.
43:04That's young Michael Ross.
43:06That's the person he saw writing up.
43:08I thought to myself, I could be the next victim.
43:11He was destroyed, absolutely shredded in a courtroom.
43:15As the judge addressed Michael Ross, he escaped the attention of his prison officers and suddenly leapt from the dock.
43:20I just thought, oh God, dear God, Michael.
43:24It was desperation, in my opinion.
43:26Do you think Michael killed Simone?
43:50Yeah.
43:55Yeah.
43:55He was born.
43:56He was born.
43:57For the second time, he shot nothing.
43:58He was born.
43:58He was born.
44:00He was born.
44:00He's born.
44:00He was born.
44:01We got.
44:01He was born.
44:02He was born.
44:04He was born.
44:10Probably got Moi.
44:11He was born.
44:13But happy while reaching for a second time.
44:15He was born.
44:18He was born.
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