Fraser Kilpatrick, 68, accused of murdering Shona Stevens more than 30 years ago, is to stand trial in January 2028. The trial date was fixed at a virtual hearing from the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.
Prosecutors allege that Kilpatrick assaulted Stevens, 31, in Bourtreehill Park, Irvine, on November 10 1994. He is accused of repeatedly striking her on the head with a hammer or similar instrument, causing her to fall to the ground, and then seizing and dragging her, leaving her so severely injured that she died on November 13 at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.
Additional Charges and Plea
Kilpatrick also faces 15 other charges including rape and assault involving a number of different adults and children. Donald Findlay KC entered a plea of not guilty to all charges on behalf of Kilpatrick.
The charges include an allegation that Kilpatrick raped a woman in North Ayrshire between the mid 80s and the mid 1990s, and that he raped a female child between the late 80s and mid 90s. It is also alleged that he attempted to rape another female girl in the area in the 90s, and used lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards her.
Trial Details and Next Steps
Kilpatrick also faces several charges of assault, including allegations that he poured boiling water on a child in the 1990s and that he placed a lit flame against the body of three other children on separate occasions. All the offences are alleged to have happened in North Ayrshire and elsewhere in Scotland.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC said it is estimated that the trial will last 17 days. He told the court: “It is a case of some age. The investigation was wide in scope and there is a lot of material.”
Lord Arthurson fixed the trial date for January 31 2028 at the High Court in Glasgow and set a further preliminary hearing for December 21 this year at the same court.
