Full of jaw-dropping twists, the extraordinary story of the first murder in Orkney for 25 years, when the police suspect a schoolboy of shooting dead a waiter in a restaurant.
Ep 1 – Witnesses, Woods and Bullets
Bangladeshi waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood is shot dead in a shocking killing in the Orkney Isles. It is the first murder there for a generation. 15-year-old schoolboy Michael Ross becomes the police’s prime suspect. Journalist Hazel Martin begins her investigation into a case full of twists and turns.
Ep 2 – The Schoolboy and the Waiter
Hazel investigates the character of convicted murderer Michael Ross. Would he have been capable as a 15-year old schoolboy of such a brutal and cold-blooded act? She explores the background of victim Shamsuddin Mahmood, and uncovers a story of two hitmen who used to live near him before he came to Orkney. Could they have committed the murder instead?
Ep 3 – The Sniper and the Witness
12 years after the murder an eyewitness dramatically comes forward saying he saw Michael Ross in a balaclava with a gun near the restaurant just before the murder. Hazel investigates his story: does it hold up? She then tests Michael Ross’s alibi, and hears a new revelation about the case.
Credits
Commissioning Editor for BBC Scotland: David Harron
Journalist: Hazel Martin
Executive Producer: Mark Hedgecoe
Producer: Lesley Shields
Filmed and Directed by: Stephen Bennett
Broadcast Details
This programme will be broadcast on:
25th November at 9pm on BBC Scotland. 27th November at 9pm on BBC Two.
All episodes will drop on iPlayer from 25.11.25
