Kevin Mcleod: Detectives' review handed to Crown Office

Kevin Mcleod's family hope the review gives them the answers they are looking for

A team of Merseyside Police detectives has completed its review of the case of a man's death in the Highlands almost 25 years ago.

Kevin Mcleod's body was found in Wick harbour on 9 February 1997.

His family has long campaigned to have his death investigated as murder because of injuries found on his body.

Six retired detectives and two serving officers reviewed the case and have submitted their report to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Police Scotland asked Merseyside Police to carry out an independent review following complaints from the Mcleod family over the handling of investigations into Mr Mcleod's death by Scottish police forces.

Separate review

In a statement, Mr Mcleod's family said: "We trust that Merseyside Police has carried out a meticulous investigation and hope that their independent report will finally provide us with the answers that we have been seeking for nearly 25 years."

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), which is carrying out its own separate review, confirmed it had received the detectives' findings.

A spokesman said: "A great deal of work has gone into this document and we will need time to consider its contents.

"Senior prosecutors are in contact with the Mcleod family every six weeks and will keep them informed of the progress we make.

"When we have fully considered the review we will meet with the family to discuss the findings."

• Retired detectives review 1997 Highlands death

• Family hope for 1997 unsolved death breakthrough

A post-mortem examination in1997 revealed that Mr Mcleod, a 24-year-old electrician from Wick, had sustained stomach injuries.

It prompted a procurator fiscal to instruct Northern Constabulary to treat his death as a potential murder inquiry.

But police determined his injuries were not suspicious and described his death as a "tragic accident".

They said Mr Mcleod had been injured either by falling on to a bollard, on part of a berthed boat or a boat's fishing creels before he ended up in the water.

Mr Mcleod was 24 when he died

A pathologist's report concluded he had died from drowning, but informed a procurator fiscal the "major abdominal injury" was possibly consistent with having been assaulted several hours before his death.

Mr Mcleod's family believe he suffered the injuries during his murder.

In 1998, a fatal accident inquiry recorded an open verdict.

The inquiry's sheriff criticised elements of the initial police investigation. He concluded it had not been established that the "very serious abdominal injuries" were the result of an assault, but this remained "a possibility".

Three years ago, Police Scotland, who replaced Northern Constabulary in 2013, apologised for "serious failings" on the part of the former force and said officers had missed "the opportunity to gather vital evidence".

In 2018, the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, instructed an experienced prosecutor to review police handling of Mr Mcleod's death. This review remains ongoing.

In July 2019, Police Scotland asked Merseyside Police to carry out a separate "detailed review" of the case.