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In a gripping courtroom moment, a convicted murderer broke down in tears as CCTV footage captured his girlfriend’s last moments before he brutally attacked her. The chilling evidence was presented during the trial.
Aren Pearson, aged 41, received a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of 24-year-old Claire Leveque. The vicious attack took place in a hot tub located in a Shetland garage on February 11, 2024.
Ms. Leveque, a native of Canada, endured 55 different injuries from Pearson’s relentless stabbing to her head, neck, and body, along with suffering from blunt force trauma.
A new Channel 5 documentary, set to air at 9 pm this evening, provides a rare glimpse into the eight-day trial held at Edinburgh’s High Court last October, with in-court footage that is seldom seen.
An exclusive preview from the documentary, titled ‘Murder In Shetland: Trial By Jury,’ has been shared with the Daily Mail. The clip reveals the court viewing CCTV footage of Pearson and Leveque before the tragic incident unfolded.
They are seen driving up to a service station shop and going inside. Neither appears to have any injuries, and they buy a white bottle of alcohol with a gold-coloured top.
As the courtroom watches the footage, Pearson can be seen crying as he puts his face down into his hand – while other members of the public are also in tears.
Among them is Ms Leveque’s cousin Hope Ingram, who travelled from Edmonton to attend the trial and later says: ‘When I first saw the footage it was so hard to keep it together in the courtroom, but it was kind of nice because I got to see Claire again.’
Aren Pearson, 41, pictured with Claire Leveque, 24, whom he was jailed for 25 years for killing
Aren Pearson cries during his trial at Edinburgh’s High Court last October as he is shown CCTV
CCTV video show in court of Aren Pearson and Claire Leveque buying alcohol at a shopÂ
Aren Pearson can be seen on CCTV holding a white bottle of alcohol with a gold-coloured top
The new Channel 5 documentary has revealed rare in-court footage from the eight-day trial
She adds: ‘It was just another day for her, and you can see the little pep in the step in the one clip. And I’m sitting here, and it’s like, she had no idea what was coming.’
Ms Leveque had met Pearson – who claimed to be a Bitcoin millionaire – in their native Canada and travelled to Shetland with him in October 2023 to spend time with his elderly mother Hazel, who died in May 2025.
But Pearson subjected Ms Leveque to a prolonged period of domestic abuse and controlling behaviour, physically assaulting her on a number of occasions.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
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Following the final assault on Ms Leveque in the Sandness area of Shetland, Hazel entered the garage to find her dying in the hot tub.
She dialled 999, and Pearson joined the call and said to the operator: ‘Hello, hi, my name is Aren Pearson. I’ve just killed my girlfriend in the hot tub in the garage. I stabbed her about 40 times in the heart, stomach, face, neck and back.
‘I stabbed myself in the neck four times. I drove my Porsche right into the ocean – it’s gone yeah, she is dead. I definitely killed her – to make sure I drowned her after I stabbed her several times.’
Pearson also described her as a ‘stupid c*** of a girlfriend’ and said he ‘beat her the f*** up’.
Before officers arrived, Pearson had left the house and driven a short distance to Melby Pier where he deliberately drove his car off the road and into the sea. He then returned to the house, where he was arrested.
Police arrived at about 5.30pm to find Pearson in the bloody water of the tub with Ms Leveque, by which point he had also compressed her neck and submerged her head underwater, and made a video of the scene.
Ms Leveque was pronounced dead by first responders at 6.17pm – and Pearson was later found guilty of Ms Leveque’s murder following the trial.
The documentary follows the prosecution case in episode one and the defence case in episode two, when Pearson himself takes the stand.
While the initial evidence from 999 calls appears damning, Pearson claims to have no memory of his admission of guilt in the call, saying this was made while he was heavily intoxicated – and maintains his innocence.
Claire Leveque was pronounced dead by first responders at 6.17pm on February 11, 2024
Claire Leveque travelled to Shetland with Pearson to spend time with his elderly mother Hazel
Pearson was sentenced to 25 years for murder following the trial at Edinburgh’s High Court
Pearson stabbed Claire Leveque (pictured) in the head, neck and body during the assault
Pearson was sentenced to 25 years for Ms Leveque’s murder, and two years for assaulting her on previous occasions, with both sentences being served concurrently.
Judge Lord Arthurson told Pearson at the time: ‘Ms Leveque died a squalid death of quite unimaginable multi‑faceted violence, including in particular severe and frenzied instrumental violence, all at your hands. This was a sustained episode of feral butchery.
‘You have sought to blame Ms Leveque for your own assaults against her, and you have, in a grave insult to her memory and to her bereaved family, put forward a defence that Ms Leveque inflicted these catastrophic injuries upon herself, a defence that the jury have unanimously rejected.’
Lord Arthurson told Pearson the attack was part of a ‘sinister pattern of domestic abuse’ towards Ms Leveque, who had moved from Edmonton in October 2023 to live with Pearson and his mother.
He added that during one argument in December 2023, a recording of which was played during the trial, Ms Leveque had ‘prophetically’ told Pearson: ‘you’re going to kill me’.
Guy Davies, consultant editor for commissioning at Channel 5, said: ‘This thoughtful series gives a deeply human account of an unimaginable tragedy.
‘It shines a light on the justice process and honours the courage of Claire’s family as they seek truth and remembrance.’
‘Murder In Shetland: Trial By Jury’ begins on Channel 5 at 9pm tonightÂ