searched without success. All reports of the Police involvement emphasise how thorough the investigation was. Jessie McLaren recovered from superficial wounds to a kidney, but Mary of course had died at the scene. It was thought that the murderer had targeted Alexander as the intended victim. Alexander McLaren stated that he had no idea what the motive was as he had no disputes with anyone and a robbery "gone wrong" seemed unlikely. A £100 reward was offered but no one came forward. A legal action against Alexander was brought by Mrs Elizabeth Walker or Gibson, the keeper of the boarding house at Portencross in 1915 who claimed that her business had suffered badly following accusations from Alexander that she knew something about the murder or had been somehow involved, however the complainant dropped the action and had to pay her own costs. Alexander and Jessie left Northbank Cottage and seem to have moved to Garnock Street in Dalry, possibly living with a friend. Despite the trauma of the event and its aftermath they remained together. The trail went cold and the multiple attack and murder, together with the motive behind the shootings, remain an unsolved mystery to this day. Jack House speculates that Alexander was the perpetrator of the crime and his wife corroborated his version through being in shock at the time. Views of the area Micro-history It was thought by some that Alexander was involved in the murder as he hoped to marry the marginally younger and more attractive Mary, however given their respective ages this seems unlikely given average lifespan at the time. At the time it was certainly unusual for an attractive woman to remain unmarried and to live with her sister and brother-in-law for so many years. The author Jack House described the murder in his book Murder Not Proven. Postcards were sold showing Northbank Cottage with a policeman standing on guard duty outside and sold in thousands. Mary was the granddaughter of Margaret Gibson Spier who established Spier's school at Beith. See also Portencross Castle Notes Citations Sources External links Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser 1913 murders in the United Kingdom Mary Gunn October 1913 events Deaths by firearm in Scotland Deaths by person in Scotland Female murder victims History of North Ayrshire People murdered in Scotland Scottish murder victims Unsolved murders in Scotland