Overview

• Judge Lord Arthurson set a minimum term of 25 years at the High Court in Edinburgh, condemning the attack as a “sustained episode of feral butchery.”
• Evidence showed Leveque suffered 55 injuries, including at least 26 stab wounds, with neck compression and submersion contributing to her death.
• Pearson’s recorded admissions were central to the case, including a 999 call in which he said he had “definitely” killed her and later statements to medics and police.
• After the stabbing, Pearson drove his car off Melby Pier into the sea before returning to the house, where officers found him in the bloody hot tub and arrested him.
• Prosecutors presented recordings documenting prior assaults and coercive control, including Leveque telling Pearson he had beaten her and warning, “you’re going to kill me.”