WATCH: 'Family are concerned and upset' following the 'very violent' murder of Highland dad
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Police Scotland have released a direct message to the public as a murder investigation continues into the violent death of a 36-year-old man in Inverness.
Ross MacGillivray was pronounced dead a short time after he was found with serious injuries at a property in St Ninian Drive at around 12.10am on Sunday, November 12.
The investigation is being led by officers from Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team.
Detective Chief Inspector Martin MacDougall said: "My message to the public is if you have any concerns in relation to your own safety or someone else's then one, contact the police and we will do what we can to alleviate those concerns and the other message is to the people out there that might be concerned to tell us what they know, but all I can say to them is come and tell us so we can do what we can to alleviate those concerns.
"Ultimately my team need to establish why Ross died at this property and that is the focus of this investigation."
He added: "Ross was obviously a son and father who's family dearly loved him and as such are very concerned and upset.
"His family are being supported by specialist officers to help them through this investigation and we are keeping them updated with what myself and my team are doing to find out who is responsible for his death."
DCI MacDougall also addressed public concerns of the rising rate of violent crimes across the Highlands and Islands.
He said: "I think when there's a level of violence of this significance, it obviously causes concern.
"There has been other highlighted violent incidents around the Highlands and Islands, but generally it is a safe place and incidents like this are very rare.
"When incidents of this nature do happen there is a particular focus on the level of violence and we need to do what we can to reassure the public, and do what we can to detect these crimes, as well as prevent further instances of this kind of violence."
Anyone with information can call 101, quoting reference 0031 of Sunday, November 12, 2023, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
