Court / Sandness murder accused told doctor: ‘I’ve been trying to get rid of her for a while’

A MAN accused of murdering his girlfriend told an A&E doctor that he had been trying to get “rid of her for a while”, a court has heard.

Aren Pearson, 41, was said to have made the remarks after being admitted to casualty in Lerwick on 11 February 2024.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Pearson had been taken to the Gilbert Bain Hospital after being detained in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Claire Leveque, 24.

The jury heard that Pearson told staff he had stabbed himself in the neck, had consumed brake fluid and had driven his car off a pier in Sandness.

This prompted doctors to administer an antidote for the brake fluid and to order a CT scan to investigate his neck injuries.

A doctor who took to the witness stand on Thursday claimed Pearson then said: “I’ve been trying to get rid of her for a while.”

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The evidence emerged on the third day of proceedings against Pearson.

He is a Canadian citizen standing trial for murdering Leveque, a fellow Canadian, at his mother’s home in Sandness on 11 February 2024.

Claire Leveque. Photo supplied by Police Scotland.

Claire Leveque. Photo supplied by Police Scotland.

The court earlier heard evidence that Leveque was found dead in a hot tub containing blood in a garage at the property.

Pearson was said to have been kept in hospital for observation after expressing feelings of “suicide ideation”.

He was later assessed by a consultant psychiatrist, who found that he was not suffering from any mental illness which prevented him from being released to the police.

Notes from a report prepared by the psychiatrist were then shown to the jury.

The jury saw a remark which stated that there was “no evidence of any acute mood disorder or psychiatric illness” being experienced at that point in time by Pearson.

The report stated that Pearson was providing the psychiatrist with “fully relevant and coherent” information.

The jurors also heard a second statement of evidence which has been agreed by prosecutors and defence lawyers as being proven and uncontroversial.

In this statement, jurors were told about a piece of evidence – a knife recovered from the garage – which was found to be a black handled kitchen knife missing a small section from the tip.

The statement said the knife edge “bore stains which gave a chemical reaction strongly indicative of presence of traces of blood”.

Forensic evidence also found a piece of metal embedded in Leveque’s skull, which “was found to form a physical fit” with the broken edge of the knife when put together.

Earlier in the day, another witness told the court of how she lived close to Pearson’s mother.

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She said that on 2 January 2024, Pearson came to her home wearing only jogging bottoms and she was concerned by how he looked.

She said: “There was blood on his face, his body and his hands.

“He told me he punched his teeth out and his teeth were on a plate. He was very erratic and not calm.”

The witness added that Pearson had told her he was planning to take his own life.

“I asked him how he was going to do it. He was telling me he was going to do it – he had three grenades,” she said.

“I was very concerned about what was happening and frightened.”

She said she phoned relatives who were attending at a nearby party to come and help her deal with Pearson who later went to bed.

At the start of proceedings on Tuesday, jurors were read a statement of evidence which prosecutors and defence lawyers have agreed is proven and uncontroversial.

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The jurors heard that the cause of Leveque’s death was established as “stab wounds of the neck and chest.”

The jurors were also read the contents of a legal document detailing the seven charges against Pearson.

Prosecutors claim that Pearson assaulted his then partner, Claire Leveque, by repeatedly striking her on the head, neck and body with a knife on 11 February 2024 in Sandness.

He also allegedly behaved in a threatening or abusive manner towards Leveque between 21 October 2023 and 11 February 2024, and during this time assaulted her by inflicting “blunt force trauma” to her head and body.

On 2 January 2024 he was said to have threatened her by saying he possessed “grenades”.

Pearson is also charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice following the alleged murder.He is said to have told Leveque’s father, Clint Leveque, that Claire was in “good health” and that he had booked flights for her to return to Canada.

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The sixth charge claims he acted in a “threatening and abusive manner” by driving a car into the sea and by taking possession of a knife and striking himself with the blade in the neck in the presence of his mother.

The final charge claims he repeatedly shouted, swore and uttered offensive remarks to police officers during a trip in an ambulance between the house where the alleged murder took place and the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick on February 11 2024.

Pearson has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

The trial, before judge Lord Arthurson, continues.

By James Mulholland of Edinburgh Courts Press Services Ltd.