The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Ms Leveque was knifed at least 26 times during the fatal attack and suffered 19 stab wounds to her face and neck.Pearson denied murder and claimed Ms Leveque had stabbed herself, but on Wednesday he was found guilty following a trial.
He was also convicted of assaulting Ms Leveque.
Ms Pearson also told detectives that her son had looked like “a zombie” after the attack.
During the 999 call, Pearson took the phone and confessed to the killing. He said he had stabbed his girlfriend about 40 times.
He also confessed to police officers at the crime scene and to a doctor while he was being treated in hospital.
However, giving evidence during the trial he claimed Ms Leveque had struck him, grabbed a knife and then jumped into the hot tub, where she stabbed herself four or five times.
Pearson claimed she had lost her temper after hearing him speak to her father Clint in Canada about how much alcohol she was drinking.
Man who murdered girlfriend in hot tub is jailed for life
2 hours ago
Ken BanksNorth east Scotland reporter andSteven GoddenBBC Scotland
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Police Scotland Young woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, looking at the camera, with clothes hanging up behind her, and an open door.Police Scotland
Claire Leveque, 24, died after the violent attack by her partner Aren Pearson
A man has been jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in a hot tub in Shetland.
Aren Pearson, 41, stabbed 24-year-old Claire Leveque to death at his mother’s home in Sandness on 11 February last year.
Pearson denied murder and claimed in court that Ms Leveque had stabbed herself – but a jury found him guilty after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Judge Lord Arthurson said it was a crime of “exceptional depravity” and “feral butchery” and described Pearson’s evidence in court as “malicious” and “fabricated”.
He will have to serve a minimum of 25 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
Police said Pearson had a “controlling and violent” relationship with Ms Leveque, and had attempted to degrade and abuse her before the murder.
“The level of violence Aren Pearson inflicted is truly horrifying,” said Det Insp Richard Baird.
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Aren Pearson admits killing his girlfriend during 999 call
Ms Leveque was stabbed more than 25 times on her neck and chest during the attack.
The couple, who are both from Canada, had moved to Scotland in 2023.
The trial was told that Pearson’s late mother Hazel Pearson, who died in May, had dialled 999 on the evening of the murder.
She told police that her son had walked into the kitchen and returned with a knife.
He stabbed himself in the neck and told her that he had hurt his girlfriend.
Ms Pearson then found Ms Leveque in the hot tub, which was in a shed at her home.
“The water was red with blood,” she told police.
“Claire was covered with blood. She had severe injuries to her face.”
Damaged car on the back of a trailer at scene of Claire Leveque’s death.
Pearson drove his Porsche into the water
Ms Pearson also told detectives that her son had looked like “a zombie” after the attack.
During the 999 call, Pearson took the phone and confessed to the killing. He said he had stabbed his girlfriend about 40 times.
He also confessed to police officers at the crime scene and to a doctor while he was being treated in hospital.
However, giving evidence during the trial he claimed Ms Leveque had struck him, grabbed a knife and then jumped into the hot tub, where she stabbed herself four or five times.
Pearson claimed she had lost her temper after hearing him speak to her father Clint in Canada about how much alcohol she was drinking.
Claire Leveque Claire Leveque and Aren Pearson looking at the camera.Claire Leveque
Aren Pearson said Claire Leveque stabbed herself
After being detained by police, Pearson was taken to the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.
The jury heard that he said he had stabbed himself in the neck, consumed brake fluid and driven his Porsche car into the water.
A&E consultant Dr Caroline Heggie treated him for two days following his arrest.
Prosecutor Margaret Barron asked Dr Heggie if Pearson had said something that stuck with her.
She replied: “He said: ‘I’ve been trying to get rid of her for a while’.”
Lord Arthurson said the evidence in the case had been “substantial and compelling”.
