After 21 years, I need to carve the real cause of death into my son’s gravestone
As ‘murder’ case reopened, mum begs police: Tell me the truth
FOR more than two decades they have tenaciously fought for justice for their son.
Now, more than 21 years since Kevin McLeod’s body was found at Wick Harbour, his heartbroken parents’ quest for answers could finally be nearing an end.
The young electrician’s death in February 1997 was written off as a tragic accident – with local police quickly ruling that he had tripped at the water’s edge and drowned after a night at the pub.
But his family refused to believe it and took on the establishment in a bid to prove there had been a large-scale ‘cover up’.
Earlier this month, Scotland’s most senior law officer sent shockwaves through the justice profession when he announced a prosecutor from the Crown Office Criminal Allegations Against the Police Division was to probe the initial investigation.
Lord Advocate James Wolffe, QC, assured Hugh and June McLeod the new review would be ‘rigorous and thorough’ and ‘reassess whether there is a basis for instituting criminal proceedings against any persons – or police officer – in relation to Kevin’s death’.
The move comes as it was also revealed detectives are to interview 15 potential witnesses after new information on the case was brought to light.
Mrs McLeod, 65, told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘Now is the time for police to finally practise what they preach and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’
She continued: ‘Kevin was a kind and thoughtful gem of a boy and had his whole life ahead of him.
‘Every time I iron a shirt that is not his, I feel his loss. Every night when I go to bed, I lie awake and imagine him dying. My heart is broken.
‘I have had to watch his contemporaries grow up and have families of their own while his body lies in a cemetery.
‘It has taken 21 years but we would be willing to fight on for 21 more.
‘People were not questioned, evidence was destroyed and fearful witnesses withdrew statements. There have been so many lies.
‘We have not been able to grieve for Kevin as we should have as this has taken such a fight. We need answers so that we can be at peace.
‘My boy, who had never been in trouble in his life, went out for a game of pool and didn’t come home. Until I know why, I won’t stop asking.’
The eldest of three brothers, Kevin still lived at home and preferred quiet nights in with his fiancée, Emma Sutherland, to going out.
Before his death, the couple – who had been together six years – were excitedly preparing for their forthcoming wedding and had just been allocated their own council house, which Kevin was doing up.
On Friday, February 7, he had been at the new property doing some final bits of DIY before meetbour. ing a friend in a local pub. The 24year-old was reported missing at 5.50pm the following day when he had still not returned home.
At 11.05am on Sunday, February 9, Kevin’s lifeless body was found face down in the mud at the har- Cause of death, the officer who broke the news to the family would say, was sure to be drowning.
But a post-mortem examination found he had suffered massive internal abdominal injuries, including a ruptured spleen and three torn arteries, of such severity that they alone would have been enough to kill him.
In the light of the findings, the procurator fiscal instructed local police to launch a potential murder investigation – something the family would not find out for another decade – but within days his death was written off as an accident.
It was concluded that he had found himself in a drunken altercation that resulted in him being punched in the face and that, after being separated from a friend in search of a taxi, he had somehow stumbled into a large bollard and staggered 18ft before falling into the water.
Following a public outcry, a second investigation was ordered soon after but it, too, failed to find evidence that a crime had been committed.
Mrs McLeod said: ‘At this stage we realised it was going to be down to us to ensure Kevin’s case was not shelved.
‘The barriers kept getting bigger but we maintained that he had been attacked and was either pushed or thrown into the water.
‘There were huge holes in the investigation and we were told people had been questioned when they hadn’t. It just wasn’t right from the start.
‘We have had a number of anonymous letters over the years suggesting police involvement. We just want to know the truth.’
Although scared to pin all her hopes on the outcome of the review, she added: ‘We need action and believe someone should be behind bars for this.
‘My husband and my two other sons cannot visit Kevin’s grave because the headstone says he was the victim of a drowning accident. We need to be able to add the real cause of his death.’
‘We need answers so we can be at peace’