A MAN accused of murdering his girlfriend has told jurors of how he went into shock after seeing his lover repeatedly stab herself with a knife at his mum’s home.
Aren Pearson,41, said he witnessed Claire Leveque,24, “plunge” a knife into herself at his mum’s house in Sandness, Shetland, on February 11 2024.
Aren Pearson is on trial accused of killing his girlfriend Claire Leveque
UnknownClaire died in February, 2024[/caption]
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Pearson, a Canadian who was living on the island with his Scots mother, say that Miss Leveque had been drinking whisky in the hours leading up to the incident.
Mr Pearson said that she had heard him speaking to her father Clint in Canada about how much alcohol Claire – a fellow Canadian – was consuming.
He said her drinking was causing him problems in his personal life and he wanted to send her back to her dad who stayed in Winnipeg with “200k” of money acquired from “online investments”.
Mr Pearson told his lawyer Iain Paterson KC on Monday that Claire heard this conversation and lost her temper.
He said she struck him in his testicles and grabbed a knife which was lying nearby.
Pearson said that after grabbing the knife, she jumped into a hot tub at a shed at his mother’s home.
Describing the moment Claire allegedly stabbed herself, Mr Pearson said: “She stabbed herself once – nearby her rib and pulled it out.
“She looked at me. She looked almost surprised that she didn’t feel it.
“She started to scream. She maybe plunged herself four or five times.”
The evidence emerged on the fifth day of proceedings against Mr Pearson, who is standing trial for the alleged murder of Miss Leveque and other charges.
On Monday morning, Mr Pearson, who was born in St Albert, Alberta, told Mr Paterson that he and Claire came to Scotland in October 2023.
He told the court that he and Claire drank alcohol and would argue with and abuse each other.
He said that they enjoyed being in each other’s company but their relationship became “too toxic” when drink was taken.
Mr Pearson also told the court that on February 11 2024, he and Claire had planned to clean out the hot tub and clean the shed at his mother’s house where they spent a lot of time “hanging out” in.
The accused told Mr Paterson: “We were having a nice afternoon but it turned into a horrible one.”
He told the court that Claire consumed about a “third of litre” of a bottle of “liquor” that had been recently purchased.
Mr Pearson added: “She guzzled a whole bunch of it and she started abusing me again.”
He said he told her to go to bed and he the contacted her dad Clint in Canada to tell her that he had booked flights to take her back home to him.
The witness said that he didn’t know she had overheard the conversation and had heard him talking about her drinking.
He said Claire called him a “rat” and then gave him the impression that she may have drank from a bottle of brake fluid that was lying nearby.
Mr Pearson added: “She was coughing and spitting.”
He said he was trying to get her into his car so he could take her to hospital in Lerwick which was 45 minutes away.
But he said he was dealing with a “dead weight” and he was struggling to move her.
He then described being assaulted by Miss Leveque and being struck in the “b***s”
Mr Pearson said she then grabbed a knife and stabbed herself.
He added: “I remember thinking what the f**k. I’m afraid I don’t know what happened next.”
The court heard that Mr Pearson drove his Porsche car into the sea from a nearby beach.
He said he couldn’t remember doing that and that he had liked his vehicle.
Mr Pearson added: “I can remember tasting the salt water.”
He told the court he must have swam ashore and walked back to his mother’s property.
The jury earlier heard an audio recording of a 999 call Mr Pearson’s mother Hazel made after learning that Claire had been injured.
In the call, the jury could Mr Pearson speaking about what allegedly happened.
He told the court that he couldn’t remember that or remember stabbing himself in the neck.
He said he couldn’t remember verbally abusing police officers after being detained in connection with Claire’s death.
He added: “I kind of remember the yellow walls of Lerwick Hospital.”
The jury earlier heard evidence that Mr Pearson told a doctor at the Gilbert Bain hospital in Lerwick that he had been trying to “get rid” of Miss Leveque.
Speaking about this to Mr Paterson, Mr Pearson said: “That’s been taken out of context. What I meant by that was sending her back to Canada not killing her.”
When Mr Paterson asked him, whether he could have attacked Claire after she allegedly struck herself with the knife, Mr Pearson replied: “I suppose so.
“Anything could have happened.”
He also said during evidence: “I did love her. I did. I still do.”
Pearson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and the trial, before judge Lord Arthurson, continues.
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