A 65-year-old man was found dead near Aberfeldy in Highland Perthshire with blood on his hands and face, but police initially thought he had died from an accident rather than being murdered. The body of Brian Low was discovered on February 17, 2024, but it wasn't until a post-mortem examination confirmed he had died from gunshot wounds that the case was treated as suspicious. A life sentence was ultimately given to David Campbell, who was arrested three months after the discovery of Low's body, and a police investigation found that delays in treating the death as murder may have compromised evidence collection. The case is detailed in a BBC documentary examining the police investigation and trial.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
Brian Low was walking his dog on a remote country path when he was shot dead by a former colleague whose hatred had festered for years.
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hatred → publish → years
The 65-year-old was found near Aberfeldy in Highland Perthshire with blood on his hands and face - but police did not realise at first that he had been murdered.
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he → find → hands
The former groundsman's death was not treated as suspicious for several days, until a post-mortem examination confirmed he had died from gunshot wounds.
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he → treat → wounds
Shotgun pellets had fallen from the body bag before his body was examined.
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body → fall → bag
It was another three months before the killer, retired gamekeeper David Campbell, was arrested.
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killer → retire → ?
He is now serving life for murder - but Brian Low's family still cannot understand the mistakes which were made after his body was found.
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body → serve → mistakes
They have spoken publicly for the first time in two-part BBC documentary Murder Trial: Death of a Dog Walker, which follows the police investigation and the trial.
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which → speak → investigation
"I was so angry and so sad at the same time," says his brother Douglas Low.
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brother → say → time
"How could this happen?"
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this → happen → ?
Brian Low's body was discovered on Leafy Lane, with his dog Millie by his side, on the morning of 17 February 2024.
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dog → discover → February
One of the first detectives on the scene told the murder trial that he believed Low's injuries were consistent with him falling while out for a walk.
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him → tell → walk
The court was shown graphic photographs of Low's body lying on the path.
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court → show → path
Douglas Low said the pictures were "so horrific I barely kept my breakfast down.
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I → say → breakfast
I can't imagine why someone would say that's a medical event".
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that → imagine → ?
Brian's niece, Jacqui Low, added: "It just seems incredible that they didn't see the marks on his face, the shot."
The post-mortem found that Low's clothes were peppered with holes and he had sustained about 30 pellet injuries.
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he → add → injuries
The delays meant that a cordon at the crime scene was not put in place until 23 February, six days after Low's body was found.
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body → mean → February
Det Ch Insp Martin MacDougall, of the Major Investigation Team, said: "When you have that delay, a number of things go through your mind of what we could potentially have lost evidentially.
"
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we → say → what
The murder inquiry was finally launched 10 days after Low's body was discovered.
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body → launch → ?
A press conference took place a few days later, where MacDougall and colleague Ch Insp Greg Burns were grilled over the blunder.
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MacDougall → take → blunder
One detective told the filmmakers that there had been a lot of media interest and admitted: "We're kind of a wee bit on the back foot".
Over the next three months police spoke to 800 witnesses and trawled through 2,400 hours of CCTV footage from 56 cameras.
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police → tell → cameras
The documentary followed prosecutor Greg Farrell as his team built the case against Campbell, as well as the accused's lawyer, Tony Lenehan KC, as he attempted to dismantle the prosecution's timeline and cast doubt on the evidence.
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he → follow → evidence
Because of the potential missed forensic opportunities, the prosecution led a circumstantial case during the trial.
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prosecution → miss → trial
It linked smaller strands of evidence to build a picture of Campbell's decades-old grudge against Low, who had worked at the nearby Edradynate Estate with his future killer for more than 20 years.
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who → link → years
He was described by local farmer Sally Crystal as "highly respected" and a man who "ran a very, very good shoot".
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who → describe → shoot
Crystal had first met Campbell during the 1987 shooting season.
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Crystal → meet → season
She said that when he first arrived he had been an excellent gamekeeper - but as his reputation grew, he became "very arrogant".
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he → say → ?
"David started really misbehaving, the family (who ran Edradynate) started mistrusting him," said Crystal.
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Crystal → misbehave → him
Asked during the trial how the two men got along, she said: "At first it wasn't noticeable, but as time went on there was a coldness.
"
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time → ask → trial
On at least one occasion I had been talking to Brian in the morning and David walked past me.
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David → talk → me
"He turned to me, angry because I was slightly late that morning and I'd still had time to talk to Brian.
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I → turn → Brian
He walked away and he said I (expletive) loathe that man.
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I → walk → man
I hate him."
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I → hate → him
Pam Curran, who was Low's partner for 22 years, said everyone who met Brian liked him.
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who → say → him
"I don't think he had a bad bone in his body," she said.
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she → think → body
Douglas Low said he had not thought that his brother had an enemy in the world.
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brother → say → world
"Who would want to harm Brian?
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Who → want → Brian
He was the nicest, kindest person you could ever imagine," he said.
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he → imagine → ?
However, the trial was told of bad blood between the two men.
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trial → tell → men
Campbell had suspected Low of "planting" items which were allegedly found during a raid on his then-home on the estate after alleged bird poisonings.
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which → suspect → poisonings
Campbell said he had not had any contact with Low since 2017 and that he did not know he had left Edradynate Estate until he saw it on television.
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he → say → television
…and 30 more, not listed.
