Aren Pearson, a fellow Canadian, testified in a Scottish court that “She stabbed herself once — near her rib and then pulled the knife out.” Pearson, 41, recounted the harrowing incident involving his girlfriend, Claire Leveque, 24, from Edmonton, who was allegedly murdered by him on a remote Scottish island in 2024.
During his testimony at the High Court in Edinburgh, Pearson described his shock as he witnessed Leveque take her own life at his mother’s home in the Shetland Islands on February 11, 2024. He had been living on the island with his mother when Leveque came to visit from Canada.
On the day of her death, Pearson claimed that Leveque had been drinking whisky and became upset after he informed her father, Clint, about her drinking habits. According to Pearson, Leveque reacted by striking him in the groin and then grabbing a nearby knife. He noted that she jumped into a hot tub at his mother’s house shortly after.
Pearson testified, “She stabbed herself once — near her rib and pulled it out. She looked at me, almost surprised that she didn’t feel it. Then she started to scream. She may have plunged the knife into herself four or five times.”
This testimony came on the fifth day of Pearson’s murder trial, where he also shared that he and Leveque had arrived in Scotland in October 2023. He described their relationship as tumultuous and marked by arguments and mutual abuse, admitting that things became “too toxic” when alcohol was involved.