Canadian woman's violent death on remote Scottish island 'like a bad dream': friend
Court documents reveal Claire Leveque was stabbed, strangled and drowned
New details have emerged in the case of a man accused of killing a Canadian woman in the remote Shetland Islands of Scotland and then allegedly telling two people that she was in "good health."
Aren Pearson, 40, faces seven charges, including assault, murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice in the death of his girlfriend 24-year-old Claire Leveque, of Edmonton. Pearson, a Canadian who also recently received his British citizenship, appeared in Glasgow High Court Friday for a preliminary hearing.
The indictment presented in court and viewed by CBC News states Leveque was repeatedly stabbed in the head, neck and body with a knife and suffered blunt-force trauma. Prosecutors say Pearson strangled Leveque and then submerged her head and body in water, where she died.
The court document alleges Pearson sent messages to Leveque's father, Clint Leveque, and to another person, saying he was going to give Leveque cash and a plane ticket. He is said to have told Leveque's father that she "was in good health" and that he had booked flights for her return to Canada.
Clint Leveque has previously told CBC News he received text messages from Pearson, indicating something was wrong in the relationship and that flights were booked for the couple to return to Canada.
"Things aren't really adding up," Leveque said in February.
The details haunt Hope Saunders, who said she was close friends with Leveque most of their lives.
"It feels like a bad dream. It's sickening that someone so bright and so young and so beautiful could have her life taken away from her in the flash of a moment like that," Saunders told CBC News from Barrhead, Alta., where she lives.
"And her being so far away in the Shetland Islands breaks my heart even more. ... Don't even want to think about how scared she might have been."
Accusations of prior threats, abuse
The indictment shows Pearson is also accused of repeatedly threatening and being abusive to Leveque and that he assaulted her between Oct. 21, 2023 and the day of her death. It accuses Pearson of behaving in "a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm" by sending Leveque text messages with threats and offensive remarks, including threats of suicide.
Pearson remains in custody in Grampian Prison, a high security facility in Peterhead, Scotland. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A trial, which could last eight days, has been scheduled to start Oct. 6, 2025, in Edinburgh.
"Still quite a shock. It doesn't quite feel real. It shouldn't be real," Saunders said. "When it comes to thinking of Claire, I'm trying to remember her as the person she was, not how she was taken from this world."
Leveque's father and brother, who live in Manitoba, said they were not up to doing interviews following Pearson's court appearance.
However, a statement provided by a family spokesperson in Winnipeg said they are closely following the legal developments in Scotland, getting weekly updates and that they support the ongoing investigation.
The family said it's aware the defence may explore mental health claims, but they are focused on getting a conviction and hoping for the maximum penalty. Life sentences must be given for murder under U.K. law.
"At just 24 years old, Claire was a bright light whose legacy will never be forgotten," the statement said.
"While the family is aware of the details surrounding Claire's death, the circumstances are deeply distressing and profoundly upsetting. We anticipate uncovering more tragic facts as the prosecution progresses, and we are bracing ourselves for that painful reality."
Family hopes to attend Scottish trial
Leveque's family hopes to attend the trial when it occurs, with the help of victim support programs in Canada and the U.K. They are also doing fundraising of their own.
Leveque was originally from Westlock, Alta., a community roughly 90 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, but she had been living and working in Edmonton.
That is where she met Pearson. The couple travelled to visit the Shetland Islands late last year. Pearson has family connections there, including his mother, who had returned to the region after living in Canada for many years.
In a news release, police said they were called to the couple's Shetland home Feb. 11 because of a disturbance. They found a woman dead in a garage linked to the property and arrested a man who was taken to hospital for treatment. Less than one kilometre away, divers and a recovery truck pulled the wreckage of a Porsche car from the North Sea.
Court Friday heard the claim that Pearson drove a vehicle into the sea and that he injured himself in front of his mother.
The case has shaken residents of the remote Scottish community, which has a regional population of roughly 23,000.
Leveque's remains were cremated and returned to family last April. They will eventually be laid to rest beside her mother in Alberta.
WATCH | Aren Pearson posted footage driving car similar to that pulled from North Sea:
Intimate partner violence a 'global epidemic': family
In Canada, Dec. 6 marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
In their statement, Leveque's family highlighted the issue of intimate partner violence, "a global epidemic affecting 30 per cent of women, according to the WHO [World Health Organization]. This must change. As a global community, we must do better."
They are advocating for the expansion of federal legislation called Keira's Law into Manitoba, which calls for judges to consider domestic violence and coercive control when making court decisions. It was named after Keira Kagan, a young girl who was found dead next to her father's body at the base of a cliff in Milton, Ont., in 2020.
In April, Manitoba Liberal MLA Cindy Lamoureux introduced a private member's bill calling for new provincial judges and justices of the peace to undergo training in coercive control in intimate partner and family relationships, sexual assault, intimate partner violence and systemic racism and discrimination.
The NDP government did not pass that bill but instead drew up its own, which will add permanent funding for the judicial education and expand it to include the experience of Indigenous people and LGBTQ persons in society and the justice system. It has Lamoureux's support. The bill passed first reading before the government holiday break.
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'Keira's Law' passes Senate, signalling a change to the way courts approach domestic violence
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Saunders, who said she has experienced intimate partner violence herself, supports the Leveque family's call for more awareness, education and support — and hopes legislative changes will be part of her friend's legacy.
"It's important for women to remember like you're not alone." Saunders said.
"When Claire went to the Shetland Islands, she was alone. She was trying to come back to Canada. And I know she didn't have that support in place to receive the help and get … her out of that dangerous situation or threat."
With files by Julia Wong and BBC News