No appeal submitted against murder conviction and sentence

THE SCOTTISH courts service has confirmed that no appeal was ultimately submitted by a man jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in Shetland in 2024.

An intention to appeal for both Aren Pearson’s conviction and sentence was received by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) last year.

Pearson was given a deadline of 24 December to lodge a full note of appeal, but a spokesperson for SCTS said this was not submitted.

Aren Pearson, 41, was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh last year of stabbing 24-year-old Claire Leveque to death at his mother’s home in Sandness on 11 February 2024.

Pearson had denied murder, but a jury found him guilty after a trial in October.