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. Newspapers described the murder at the time as "a terrible and most mysterious tragedy". Nobody was charged or prosecuted for the crime, which remains an unsolved murder. Mary Gunn Mary Speir Gunn was born in Stevenston in North Ayrshire to parents Jane Speir of Dalry and Gilbert Gunn of Gateside. Mary was one of three sisters and her father was a well known railway contractor and was said to be one of Scotland's strongest men. In 1881 and 1891 Mary was living in Beith at Burnside and was said to be very good looking, the Burnsian style sobriquet "Beauty of Beith" accurately describing her. In 1891 she is recorded to have had the then unusual occupation of "telephone operator", indeed being the town's first in 1883; she later worked at Ardrossan in the same capacity. In 1901 Mary was working for and living in Wigtownshire with her brother-in-law Alexander McLaren, then aged 48, a self-employed baker, his wife and Mary's sister Jessie, also aged 48, and Jane Speir Gunn, aged 83, Mary's mother. This and other supporting information has been supplied via David R Craig's family tree. Alexander had run the Glengarnock Iron and Steel Company Store before moving to Port William in Wigtownshire. Alexander built an evangelistic Ebenezer Hall at Port William which he operated and was also on the school board. Alexander was offered the post office at Taynuilt and moved there with his wife before moving into farming and then retiring to Portencross. Mary had stayed at Port William to tie up the family affairs and when she joined them in Taynuilt she found that she was just expected to work on the farm. Mary's middle sister lived in Canada with her husband John Craig and Mary decided to accept her invitation to join them, however despite a promising love affair she was back at Taynuilt