War hero guilty of waiter’s murder

Soldier makes dash from court

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AN Iraq war hero was convicted today of the “savage, merciless and pointless“ murder of a Bangladeshi waiter 14 years ago.

Soldier Michael Ross, 29, was just 15 when he burst into a restaurant on Orkney and shot Shamsuddin Mahmood on the face in front of horrified customers.

After a five-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow, a jury today found Ross guilty of killing Mr Mahmood in June 1994.

As he was being led away by security officers, Ross jumped out of the dock and managed to escape through a side door into the corridor.

He was caught by police officers who handcuffed him and brought him back into court.

The jury of five men and 10 women found Ross guilty of murder by a majority verdict.

Ross was also found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of the murder weapon and changing his clothing.

Judge Lord Hardie told Ross: “In view of the verdict of the jury and also in view of the fact you have no previous convictions, I require to obtain a social inquiry report before sentencing you.

“That is a requirement of Parliament.

“I shall defer sentence until Friday, July 11 for the purpose of obtaining such a report.

“In the meantime you are remanded in custody.”

Today's verdict brings a 14-year mystery to an end.

Ross burst into the busy restaurant just after 7pm on the evening of June 2, 1994, and executed the waiter in front of shocked diners.

The calm of Orkney, which has a population of under 20,000, was shattered by the killing, the first on the island for 25 years. The prosecution relied entirely on circumstantial evidence but this formed a “compelling, unanswerable” case against Ross, the Crown argued.

But the defence claimed there was no way a 15-year-old boy could have committed such a crime.

The notion did not fit the profile of the man in the dock, who in later life became a successful soldier and “war hero”, it was claimed.

A major part of the prosecution case focused on numerous sightings of the gunman, who matched Ross’s description.