A grieving mother is still digging to find her son's body 24 years after he was killed in a violent attack because she refuses to believe remains found by police are his.
Adam Alexander died at his home in Errol, Perthshire, after being attacked with a metal pole by friend Thomas Pryde following a row in 1999. Pryde pleaded guilty in 2010 to culpable homicide and was jailed for 10 years.
Following his arrest he told officers where he buried the 46-year-old's body, but a large-scale search in 2008 failed to find any trace of him. Another search was conducted in 2012 and bone fragments were found which were confirmed as being Adam's following DNA analysis.
However his mother Tricia Bremner, 80, does not accept the remains were those of her son and has not collected them from the morgue to hold a funeral service. She regularly goes out with a shovel to dig fields and woodland in Perthshire where she believes he is buried in an unmarked grave.
The case is featured in the new series of Netflix true crime show When Missing Turns To Murder.
Mrs Bremner said: "This will go on until the day comes when I find the real body of Adam. We will continue to visit and continue to carry on the way I am doing because I know within me that I'll find him and that's all that I want.
"I just want to be able to take his bones, what's left, and put them in a grave beside other family members and know that we've been able to do that for Adam."
The pensioner is shown in the documentary conducting her own searches for her son with the help of his sister Gillian.
Gillian said: "When they said to my mum it was my brother my mum knew straight away. The police kept trying to say 'It's Adam, it's Adam'. It wasn't Adam.
"My mum and I have become a lot closer through looking for Adam. You would be surprised how much digging we actually have done. My mum still takes her shovel and goes out there digging."
Retired Detective Superintendent Roddy Ross, who led the investigation into Adam's death, is also featured on the programme. He told how there was overwhelming evidence that the remains belonged to Adam.
He said: "It had been identified as Adam through all scientific means. Science is utterly content this is Adam Alexander. Mrs Bremner decided for whatever reason that it wasn't him and as far as I'm aware the bones still lie in the mortuary at Dundee.
"She wouldn't be convinced and I have known Mrs Bremner long enough to know once she's decided there's no way to change her mind."
Pryde was finally brought to justice after confessing to his wife during a drunken holiday row years after the killing. He said that he had gone to Mr Alexander's home in Errol to discuss a business deal but a row had broken out. Pryde then said he had "lost the plot" and picked up a metal pole before repeatedly hitting his victim until he died. He said he had panicked before hiding the body.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Thomas Pryde was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced in April, 2010. Adam Alexander's remains were recovered from farmland near Errol in September 2012 and his identity was confirmed by DNA.
"Our enquiries are complete and there is no ongoing investigation into this death."
When Missing Turns To Murder is available to watch on Netflix.
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