55°42′22″N 4°54′11″W / 55.70611°N 4.90299°W
Mary Speir Gunn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Speir Gunn 31 August 1862 |
| Died | 18 October 1913 (aged 51) Northbank Cottage, Portencross, Scotland |
| Cause of death | bullet wound through the heart |
| Resting place | Southern Necropolis, Glasgow |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Telephone operator |
| Parent(s) | Gilbert Gunn and Jane Speir[1] |
| Notes | |
Murdered by a person unknown | |
Mary Speir Gunn (31 August 1862 – 18 October 1913) was murdered in a shooting attack at the isolated Northbank Cottage near Portencross in North Ayrshire, Scotland on the evening of Saturday, 18 October 1913. Six shots were fired through the living-room window at night. Three shots struck Mary Gunn, the fatal one piercing her heart. Two shots hit her sister Jessie McLaren, who collapsed with a bullet lodged in her back, but she survived the attack. Jessie's husband, Alexander McLaren, was injured in the index finger of his left hand.[2][3]
Newspapers described the murder at the time as "a terrible and most mysterious tragedy".[4] Nobody was charged or prosecuted for the crime, which remains an unsolved murder.