Father grieves after 24-year-old daughter from Alberta killed on Scotland's Shetland Islands
A Canadian father is shell shocked after learning his 24-year-old daughter was killed in Scotland and her boyfriend has been charged with murder.
According to Scottish police, Claire Leveque was killed in the Sandness area of the Shetland Islands, a re‐ mote archipelago in the northern United Kingdom. It has a population of roughly 23,000.
"This is the sickest thing you could possibly imagine," said father Clint Leveque.
Claire is originally from Westlock, Alta., a small com‐ munity approximately 90 kilo‐ metres north of Edmonton.
Her father said she trav‐ elled to the Shetland Islands late last year with her boyfriend, Aren Pearson, who is from the area.
The Crown Office in Scot‐ land said Pearson, who has a local address, has been charged with murder. He ap‐ peared in court on Thursday.
The pair met in Edmonton and started dating last sum‐ mer, according to her father.
In a press release, Scottish police said officers responded to a report of a disturbance earlier this week and pro‐ nounced Leveque dead at the scene.
Scottish court records show that Pearson made no plea, was remanded into cus‐ tody and is expected to make another court appearance in the coming week.
'Things really aren't adding up,' says wom‐ an's father
For Clint, there are many unanswered questions.
He said he received strange text messages Sun‐ day from Pearson, indicating something was wrong in the relationship and that flights were booked for the couple to return to Canada.
"Things aren't adding up," he said.
For now, Clint said he is fo‐ cused on the positive things about his daughter in this dark situation. really
"Being happy and doing things that she loved doing and being with people," he said.
He is, however, clear about his long-term goal: "I just want justice."
Video from BBC News aired on Thursday showed police officers and police tape around a residence on the Shetland Islands; it also shows a damaged vehicle being pulled from the water.
Police would not say what happened with the vehicle, only that a man, who they de‐ scribed as the 39-year-old sus‐ pect, was taken to hospital.
"This has been a huge shock for the small and closeknit community of Sandness. I'd like to send my sincere condolences to the family and everyone concerned," said lo‐ cal councillor Liz Peterson.
Global Affairs Canada told CBC News that it is aware of the death of a Canadian cit‐ izen in Scotland.
"Consular officials are con‐ tacting local authorities to ob‐ tain additional information. Due to privacy considera‐ tions, no further information can be disclosed," said spokesperson Grantly Franklin.