The loved ones of Perthshire murder victim Annalise Johnstone have opened up on how her tragic death in 2018 ripped their family apart.
Annalise’s brother Jordan was later acquitted of killing his sister, 22, in Dunning after the jury delivered a not proven verdict.
He blamed his former partner and co-accused Angela Newlands, who was cleared of murder after a High Court judge ruled there was insufficient evidence.
But Jordan admitted carrying Annalise’s body for two miles and dumping her by a roadside.
In his first interview for six years, Jordan, 31, describes their grandmother Kathleen Mcdonald as his “rock”.
But Kathleen, who raised the siblings, says she has disowned him.
‘It’s all wrong’
She claims Jordan – who moved his sister’s body in a panic to “protect her so she got a proper burial” – refused to take a lie detector test she offered to pay for following the trial.
The builder insists he was willing to take the test and that his grandmother refused the offer.
Kathleen told The Courier’s Who Killed Annalise? podcast: “Jordan was a good kidder.
“Jordan could kid to anybody.
“But to cover her up and throw her in a bush…it’s all wrong.
“He was there, so he was just as guilty.
“It doesn’t matter how he tries to twist it – he can’t wash his hands clean of this.”
Ellen McKinlay, Annalise’s aunt, added: “Jordan has not got a stand in the traveller community. No chance.
“I lost a niece, and I lost a nephew…
“It doesn’t matter whether he did it or not. He was there.
“He could have helped her.”
Family tragedy
With their mum Mandy gripped by drug addiction, and dad Gordon out of the picture, Annalise and Jordan were brought up by Kathleen.
Mandy died in 2006, shortly before Annalise’s 12th birthday.
Ellen said: “She always missed her ma, she did.
“She wanted to ask her mother questions…why did you not fight for us?
“And that stuck with her at least until the day she died.
“She was looking into why everybody she looked at had their mothers, especially girls.
“Her mother wasn’t there, and she didn’t understand why.”
In the podcast, Jordan tells of his regrets over the events of May 10, 2018, and says the case has ruined his life.
He says: “I should have done things different, and I beat myself up on that every single day.
“Not only did I lose my sister, but I lost all the rest of my family that day. And that’s hard, for anybody to go through.”
Podcast explores Annalise Johnstone murder
We told this week how he has changed his account of what happened to the weapon used to kill his sister.
And in 2024 we revealed officers followed up on new information relating to Annalise’s death, a year after Police Scotland insisted that it considered all homicides since 2013 solved.
Ellen said: “It should have been dealt with long ago. It just gets brushed under the carpet.”
The podcast also charts the fortunes of Angela Newlands since her acquittal.
You can listen to the full series, ad free, by downloading The Courier app.
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