THE FAMILY of a young mother murdered 25 years ago say they have not given up hope her killer will be brought to justice.
The body of Shona Stevens, 31, was found by a footpath in Irvine, North Ayrshire, on the afternoon of November 10 1994.
No-one has been convicted of what police describe as a "brutal, frenzied attack" and Ms Stevens' mother and daughter have made a fresh appeal for information.
Mhairi Smith, 85, said: "It has been 25 years since Shona was taken from us and we are still as hopeful as ever that those responsible for her murder can be brought to justice.
"I cannot emphasise enough how important even the smallest piece of information could be in being able to give me and my family closure.
"I want to know who was responsible for this attack and why they did it.
"If you have any information about Shona and her murder, please contact the police."
Candice Stevens, 32, said: "I was only seven at the time of my mum's murder but that does not make it any easier to deal with.
"I spent a large part my childhood years growing up without my mum and I would please ask anyone who knows anything about the incident to please come forward."
Ms Stevens had visited a local shop and appeared to have been on her way home when her body was discovered at 1.20pm in an area of trees and bushes near Alder Green, around 200 yards from the property she shared with her mother and daughter.
Detective Superintendent Paul Livingstone said: "Shona was a young mother who was subject to an unprovoked attack that has left her family devastated and we want to trace those responsible.
"The footpath that Shona was murdered on was used on a regular basis by members of the public to access Bourtreehill Shopping Centre and we believe that someone may have vital information that will help bring this investigation to a close.
"I would urge anyone that may be able to provide any information in regards to this case to please get in contact with police.
"Police Scotland are committed to bringing those responsible to justice and giving Shona's family closure on what is such a horrific incident in which they have suffered for too long."
Anyone with information is asked to make contact on the dedicated number 01236 818326 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here