The family of Stefan Sutherland fear they have lost any hope of justice following the death of the man they suspected of murdering him.
The passing away of former fisherman Stewart Dixon, 41, from Thurso in Caithness, was announced by his mum, May, in a Facebook post last week.
Dixon had never been charged in relation to Stefan’s violent death, aged 25, in 2013.
Stefan’s body washed up on a beach at Occumster, near his family home, 11 days after he was last seen going into Dixon’s then residence in Lybster.
Stefan was found with head injuries but local police immediately ruled out foul play.
Since then, the Sutherland family have fought for a fresh probe, with support from the Record. However, a review which took 16 months to complete failed to establish criminality.
Officers took more than 200 statements and re-interviewed witnesses. But it is understood Dixon was not quizzed under caution by detectives due to a lack of evidence that he had committed a crime.
Stefan’s mum, Sandra, and dad, Sandy, say Dixon’s death has now ended any lingering hopes they had of getting answers about how their son died.
Sandra said: “I thought, right away, that we will never know for sure what happened and will never get justice for Stefan.
“But I’m not sorry we will not have to walk past him [Dixon] ever again.”
Sandy added: “This will suit the police. It will draw attention away from the shambolic review of the case they carried out – basically an investigation of Stefan’s Facebook posts – which was riddled with assumption and error.
“We will keep building our own case to show how wrong they were. This isn’t justice. We wanted to see him locked up.”
The Record revealed DNA showed a bloodstain on the wall of Dixon’s living room was Stefan’s and that witnesses reported Dixon had burned a carpet and a sofa soon after Stefan vanished.
Police announced a case review in October 2019 but two years later insisted no criminality had been established.
Dixon had been charged over the sexual assault of mum-of-two Jenna Johnson, 27, who took her own life a week later on January 1, 2019, and a decision on prosecution was due next month.
Jenna died a week after she alleged Dixon had raped her.
He was charged with sexual assault in December 2019, almost a year after the incident and three months after they obtained a warrant to search his home.
One of Jenna’s best friends, Shane Ross, said: “I’ve never known so many people so glad to hear of one guy’s death. We can all breathe again.”
Dixon died at home in Thurso on January 11, three years to the day after Jenna’s funeral.
Jenna’s younger sister Kelsey said: “The irony of him dying on the anniversary of Jenna’s funeral makes it almost look like karma took a hand.
“I don’t know how he died and, to be honest, I hope it wasn’t his own choice. We believe he took the choice of life and death away from Stefan so it wouldn’t sit right with me if he got to choose when he died.
“I’m glad I don’t have to see his smug face any more and that my sister’s children, who are still too young to know why they lost their mum, will never have to walk past him again. No one else will ever suffer at his hands.”
Jenna’s mum Carol said: “The fear of him going near Jenna’s children is gone now. I always thought he would get great joy out of that.
“I’d have liked justice to be done and for him to go to prison for what we all believe he did to Jenna, Stefan and others, but I think it already feels like our towns are safer without him. He won’t be missed by many.”
Following Dixon’s death May posted a picture of him on Facebook and wrote: “They cannot get to you now my darling boy, rest in peace.”
Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins said: “Stefan’s death was a tragedy for his family, friends and the close-knit Caithness community. Our sympathies remain with them all.
“Officers from our Major Investigation Team spent 16 months carrying out a comprehensive review into all aspects of Stefan’s death, which included taking more than 200 statements, speaking to over 500 people locally, re-interviewing witnesses from the original investigation and tracing new witnesses.”
He added: “These inquiries found no evidence of criminality in relation to Stefan’s death. This was supported by an expert review of forensic evidence, witness testimony and all facts established in the initial investigation and the latest review.
“I recognise the years of campaigning by the Sutherland family, who have rightly sought answers to a number of questions surrounding Stefan’s death. While I am confident all relevant material has been gathered during the review, we will investigate any new information received.”
