
Shona Stevens: Man in court charged with murder of Irvine woman in 1994
Shona Stevens, 31, suffered serious injuries after being attacked near her home in Irvine, North Ayrshire, in November 1994. She died in hospital three days later.
The mother-of-one's family has never given up their campaign for justice, and in November last year a £20,000 reward was offered by Crimestoppers for information that could help catch and convict her killer.
On Friday, Police Scotland announced its Major Investigation Team had arrested a man in connection with the case.
Suspect Fraser Kilpatrick, 67, was charged the following day and appeared before Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Monday.
Kilpatrick, of Glasgow, made no plea to the single charge of murder. He is due back in the dock within the next eight days.
"I am grateful for their information and input which greatly contributed to our investigation."
Ms Stevens was attacked on 10 November 1994.
After leaving Bourtreehill shopping centre, she was last seen walking alone on Towerlands Road at about 1.10pm.
Ten minutes later, she was discovered seriously injured in a wooded area to the rear of Alder Green, just 200 yards from her home.
Ms Stevens died in hospital on 13 November 1994.
Appealing for fresh information last year, her daughter Candice and mother Mhairi Smith said: "There is not a day that goes by that she is not in our thoughts and in our hearts."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
23 minutes ago
- The Sun
Two arrested for ‘murder' after student, 20, killed in Cambridge as witnesses describe ‘screaming'
TWO men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a student. An investigation was launched after the 20-year-old was pronounced dead outside a block of flats in Cambridge yesterday. 1 Cambridgeshire Police said: "Two men have been arrested in connection with a murder in Cambridge yesterday. "The arrests follow a public appeal issued by detectives investigating the fatal assault of a 20-year-old man in Mill Park. "Police were called with reports of violence at 11.27pm yesterday. "The man was pronounced dead at 12.01am. "A 21-year-old man, from Cambridge, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. "A 50-year-old man from Cambridge, has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. "Both men remain in custody at Thorpe Wood Police Station."


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Murder inquiry underway after teenager stabbed in ‘targeted attack' in Bury
A murder investigation is under way after a teenager was stabbed to death. The 19-year-old man was attacked just before 9pm on Friday in a car park on Market Street in Bury, Greater Manchester. He suffered several stab wounds and later died from his injuries. No arrests have been made. Detective Chief Inspector John Charlton, from Greater Manchester Police's major incident team, said the victim's family were being supported, adding: 'This incident will have shocked the community and distressed anyone who witnessed it, but we believe this was a targeted attack with no wider threat. 'We have several scenes in place with the investigation ongoing in order to identify and apprehend the offenders responsible. 'There will be officers in the area today and in the coming days as we are determined to bring the family the answers they deserve. Police have urged anyone with information to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Now Edinburgh Zoo caught up in 'transgendering' row over links with controversial group
Edinburgh Zoo is at the centre of a growing row over its links with a controversial gay and transgender rights group which was once led by a paedophile. Bosses at the popular tourist attraction said 'engaging' with LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS) provides it with access to staff equality training, as part of a drive to ensure visitors and employees 'feel safe and welcome'. It is the latest organisation to sign up to the group's charter despite accusations that it promotes radical trans 'ideology'. The Mail revealed earlier this year that Police Scotland had paid LGBTYS more than £3,500 for training courses - and for 500 'purple button badges' to show solidarity with the gay and trans community. Now a campaign group is calling for members of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), a wildlife conservation charity which runs the zoo, to raise their concern with zoo managers. Dr Stuart Waiton, chairman of the Scottish Union for Education (SUE) and a sociologist at Abertay University in Dundee, said families had contacted the SUE about the 'transgendering of Edinburgh Zoo'. He said: 'Despite the Supreme Court ruling [in April] that raises questions about transgender ideology and the claim that 'sex' is not binary, we still find that organisations in Scotland are continuing to fund organisations that train their staff to believe the opposite. 'Unsurprisingly, we now find that there are families who have decades of commitment to Edinburgh Zoo but find themselves in a position where they can no longer support the work of the RZSS. 'One concerned parent has not only cancelled her membership with the zoo but has drafted a letter to encourage others to do likewise. 'As she notes, there really is nothing in the charitable objective of the RZSS that requires them to sponsor the transgender ideology of LGBTYS.' A recent SUE newsletter urges RZSS members to send a 'letter of concern' to the charity. James Rennie, the former chief executive of LGBTYS, is serving life in prison for sexually assaulting a three-month-old after being convicted in 2009 along with seven others on sex abuse charges. Andrew Easton, who co-wrote a schools guide for the youth charity, was convicted last year of sharing indecent images of children. He was never an employee or volunteer with LGBTYS but in 2009 he was a young person who attended its services. It was then that he helped to write the guide. LGBTYS has been supported by SNP ministers and receives £1million per year from taxpayer-funded organisations. Last year, Rosie Millard quit as chairman of the BBC's Children in Need charity after protesting about grants given to the charity. The Scottish Tories have said LGBTYS is 'mired in scandal' and that the SNP Government should suspend public funding from the organisation 'until it gets its act together'. Schools which signed up to the charity's scheme, for a fee normally of at least £850, were ranked on how well they catered for LGBT pupils and received guides on how best to achieve this. Secondary pupils have been encouraged to sign LGBT rainbow flags, with children asked to 'celebrate the rainbow' through the way they dress, and by decorating their schools - described by the Campaign for Real Education as 'brainwashing'. LGBTYS insists that 'with [an] increasingly toxic and polarised public debate, it's vital that all young people feel safe, supported and included'. According to LGBTYS, being accredited with its charter sends a 'positive message… that your organisation is a champion of LGBT inclusion where LGBTQ+ employees, students, customers, or service users will be safe, supported and included'. RZSS refused to say how much it has spent on the LGBTYS charter process. It is understood one RSZZ membership has been cancelled as a result of the row so far. An RZSS spokesman said: 'We are continuing to work through the charter with the aim of completing the process by the end of this year. 'Our support for the LGBTQ+ community doesn't change our mission to care for animals and protect endangered species around the world. 'It simply reflects the belief that everyone deserves to feel safe and welcome, whether visiting the zoo or working within it.'