Cops launch Stefan death case review
‘All aspects’ looked at in cold case review
A COLD case review into the death of a man whose body was discovered on a beach six years ago has been announced by police after a campaign by his family.
Stefan Sutherland, 25, disappeared from his home in Caithness in September 2013 and was found dead 11 days later.
His family claim he was murdered and say blood was found at a house he visited before he disappeared.
They urged Police Scotland to launch a review of the case – and the Daily Record revealed this year that the name of Stefan’s alleged killer has been told to police by several witnesses.
Despite previous claims that there were no grounds for a fresh investigation and that Stefan’s death was an accident, police have now announced a full review of the case. Det Supt Graeme Mackie said last night that “all aspects” of the investigation will be looked at and urged anyone with information to come forward.
He said: “We have updated the family of Stefan Sutherland that a review of the investigation into his death is being carried out.
“This is being carried out by officers with no prior involvement in the case who have expertise in reviewing investigations.
“I would stress once more that we will act on any new information reported to us in connection with Stefan’s death.”
Last night, Stefan’s sister Katrina said: “We have waited so long and had so many disappointments in the past that we are not getting too excited but we are certainly a little bit more optimistic than we were yesterday.
“There is definitely a sense that some people’s evidence was recorded in a different manner than what they would have liked and some of the information in their statements may differ slightly if they were interviewed by a different police force.”
The Daily Record brought the case of Stefan back into the public eye in February this year, reporting his family’s call for a fresh investigation.
We also told how the parents of local woman Jenna Johnson believed the man who killed Stefan raped their daughter – who later took her own life.
We then reported how locals had named Stefan’s alleged killer to police but had their claims dismissed and one woman was told to “shut her mouth”.
Stefan’s parents Sandy and Sandra have drawn parallels between their case and that of Kevin Mcleod, a 24-year-old also from Caithness whose body was found in Wick harbour in 1997.
Former police force Northern Constabulary did not investigate his death as a murder at the time as instructed by a Crown official.