The body of Claire Leveque, who was allegedly murdered in Shetland last month, has been released to her grieving family.
The 24-year-old from Westock, Alberta, was found dead near the Melby Pier area of Sandness on Sunday, February 11.
Now, a little over a month since her death, Claire’s body will be transferred to her family with plans for her remains to be cremated and sent back to Canada.
The official release of Claire’s remains came earlier this week from the lead investigator on the case, Det. Insp Richard Baird of Police Scotland.
Mr Baird contacted the family, including her father, Clint Leveque, who said he was “relieved” his daughter would finally be back home.
It is understood that the family are working with an international repatriation company to help bring Claire’s remains back to Canada.
A family spokeswoman said: “We’re not having a full funeral but we are getting this entity [company] to help us. They coordinate everything — they handle the cremation, they’ll handle all the paperwork, which is very complicated.”
The spokeswoman confirmed there had been a delay in the release of Claire’s remains as the prosecution team wanted to carry out a thorough autopsy.
Claire Leveque’s remains to be returned to her family
She added: “We’re reassured, once we got the information that it was actually on the prosecution side. It took a bit of a load off for us.
“It was, unfortunately, a necessary delay to ensure everything was done correctly in preparation for trial.”
A man, a fellow Canadian, Aren Pearson appeared in court in Lerwick on February 22 on a murder charge. He made no plea.
It is understood that Claire had lived in Shetland for a matter of months before her death.
In a statement issued during the investigation, police said: “Officers were called to the Sandness area around 4.55pm on Sunday 11 February following a report of a disturbance at a property.
“A 24-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Family plea to bring Claire Leveque killed in Shetland home to Canada
