Kiesha Donaghy murder detective on being filmed during Elgin investigation and bringing mum-of-two’s killer Owen Grant to justice
A senior investigating officer who worked on the Kiesha Donaghy murder case says he has “not seen anything as horrific in Elgin” over his 19 years working for Police Scotland.
Detective Inspector William Murdoch, 40, was the deputy senior investigating officer on the case which ultimately brought Kiesha’s killer Owen Grant to justice.
Grant was jailed for life at the High Court in Edinburgh on May 29 this year for the brutal murder of the mum-of-two.
Film crews were allowed special access to the investigation as officers from Police Scotland tried to solve the murder in November 2023.
A subsequent documentary, ‘Murder Case - Who Killed Kiesha?’, was made available to watch on BBC iPlayer with DI Murdoch featuring heavily throughout the programme.
In an exclusive interview with The Northern Scot, the seasoned detective has revealed what it was like to work through a live murder investigation while being filmed, how the team exposed Grant’s false account of events and what he hopes people take away from watching the documentary.
As deputy senior investigating officer, DI Murdoch was responsible for supervising the inquiry team throughout the investigation.
That included CCTV and door to door inquiries as well as witness interviews.
Early leads
Despite Grant’s passport being discovered in Kiesha’s home on Anderson Drive, a major line of inquiry early on was investigating a person using the pseudonym ‘Joe Bloggs’ who had been in contact with Kiesha regarding drugs before she was murdered.
“It became very apparent that Kiesha had been involved in the local Elgin drug scene,” DI Murdoch said.
“This ‘Joe Bloggs’ link came out in the early stages so we had to pursue that. It was a main line of inquiry but it was just one of a few.
“We obviously had this male, Owen Grant, who’d left his passport at the address which raised questions.
“But just because the passport was at the address didn’t necessarily mean he committed the murder.
“I think that you can see in the documentary that a priority for me was to go and get him and ask him where he was at the time of the murder and his relationship with Kiesha and then investigate if he was being truthful.
“Grant was just one person at that stage among others who we wanted to speak to so it was important for us to keep an open mind at that stage in the investigation otherwise you risk missing out on vital pieces of evidence.”
CCTV breakthrough
DI Murdoch estimates that the team trawled through more than 200 hours of CCTV during the investigation.
With nearly two decades of experience, he places the value of CCTV right next to forensic evidence in terms of importance and credits its use for helping officers make the first major breakthrough in the case.
Grant claimed that he had not been in the area at the time of the murder.
However, several CCTV hits showing him heading towards Kiesha’s address and then leaving the area shortly after at around 8.25pm undermined his claims.
Footage showing Grant stuffing an item, which detectives thought may have been the murder weapon, into a bin before being captured moments later paying for items with a wad of cash only served to heighten suspicions.
“CCTV is one of the most important tools in a major investigation,” he said.
“In town centres you have hundreds, maybe thousands of CCTV opportunities.
“The camera doesn’t lie so seeing Grant putting that item in the bin and counting the wad of cash, that’s indisputable.
“It gave us the biggest breakthrough because it was the first time that we saw that his account of events was false.
“It was relief to a certain extent seeing that because it gave us that positive line of inquiry.
“Up to that point his story had been checking out so I think at the stage where we had the footage of the disposal of the item in the bin and his account being inconsistent with what he told us together with that physical evidence is when I knew.”
Bloody handprint important but not crucial
A positive match with Grant for a bloody handprint left on the wall of Keisha’s home gave officers a vital piece of forensic evidence linking him with the murder.
The print itself could not be analysed initially but a positive match was produced after it was enhanced.
“I’m sure those watching the documentary will be able to establish that the case was really starting to build against Owen Grant,” DI Murdoch said.
“There was a very strong circumstantial case but if we had not had that print it would not have meant we wouldn’t have charged him.
“It probably accelerated things but I’m quite confident that without it we would have still got there. His story was starting to unravel.
“He told us that he wasn’t out and about that night but CCTV showed him in the area of Kiesha’s address just prior to when she was murdered and just after.
“Changing his clothes and disposing of an item, you know this is all very strong evidence for a jury.”
Team effort
Being filmed is nothing new for the major investigation team who work on the most high profile cases in Scotland.
DI Murdoch himself has had experience with film crews during cases and says officers are “used to the scrutiny”.
“The agreement was obviously in place and we’re aware the crew is there but we’re so focused on investigating the murder and to get answers for the family and the community that you actually forget that they are there.
“They wouldn’t be there if they were starting to hinder us.
“I just hope what comes across in the documentary is that this is how a major investigation in the north of Scotland works and the massive team effort involved in that.
“Something as tragic and horrific as this happening in Elgin, it doesn’t happen often here.
“Certainly in my career, I’ve not seen anything as horrific in Elgin.
“I hope the documentary shows the human side of the police because we were pulling officers from Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow to get answers for Kiesha’s family and the community.
“They're away from their family and friends for a significant period of time, working long hours to try and progress the investigation.
“The officers from Elgin who know the area as well were absolutely valuable.
“It's about the whole force and the whole support services coming together.”
Questions remain
DI Murdoch attended Grant’s trial in person.
It took two and half days for the jury to reach a guilty verdict and while DI Murdoch believes justice has been served, he says Kiesha’s family will never fully get closure.
“There are still questions,” he said.
“Why did it happen? Why did he do it? He gave no explanation. He never admitted his guilt.
“Kiesha’s family and friends will probably never be able to move on properly.”