Fraser Kilpatrick appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday on a four-page indictment. He is alleged to have killed Shona Stevens by striking her with a hammer or a similar weapon near her home in Irvine on 10 November 1994. Stevens, a student at the University of Paisley and mother to a seven-year-old daughter, died three days later in hospital.
Kilpatrick, from Glasgow, was arrested and charged in July 2025, a year after Crimestoppers offered a £20,000 reward. The case had featured on BBC Crimewatch and was the subject of multiple appeals over the years. In 2021, police launched Operation Short and released images of a keyring found near the scene.
The indictment also includes 15 other charges covering the period from 1986 to 2001. These include allegations that Kilpatrick raped a woman and a young girl, assaulted them with various objects, choked them, and endangered their lives. He is also accused of lewd and libidinous behaviour, attempting to rape another girl, and inducing a child to take part in sexual activity. Further charges allege he poured boiling water on a young female, ill-treated children, and forced them to take drugs and alcohol. He is additionally accused of trying to hit a man with a hammer and wielding a baseball bat and knife at others.
Donald Findlay KC, representing Kilpatrick, told the court: "He pleads not guilty to the various charges against him." Alex Prentice KC, for the prosecution, said the investigation had widened in scope and involved a great deal of material.
Lord Arthurson set a trial date for January 2028, expected to last 17 days, and recommended a judge be allocated. A further hearing is scheduled for December 2026. Kilpatrick remains on bail.
Shona Stevens' daughter Candice and mother Mhairi Smith have previously said: "There is not a day that goes by that she is not in our thoughts and in our hearts."