THE senior police officer who headed the Arlene Fraser murder inquiry retired from the service yesterday.
Jim Stephen, 57, the Assistant Chief Constable of Grampian Police, was a Detective Superintendent with the north-east force when he headed the five-year investigation into the fate of the Elgin housewife.
The mother of two was last seen on 28 Apri
l, 1998, when she waved her children off to school from the steps of the family home in New Elgin. Her body was never found.
Her husband Nat Fraser, a partner in a fruit and vegetable business in the Moray town, was quickly identified by detectives, led by Mr Stephen, as the prime suspect in the murder hunt.
It took the force five years to gather the evidence they needed to charge Fraser with conspiracy to murder his 33-year-old wife, following the biggest single murder investigation in the history of the Scottish police service.
At the High Court in Edinburgh in January 2003, Fraser was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison following his murder conviction.
The verdict confirmed that Fraser had hired a hit-man to strangle his estranged wife so he would not have to meet a costly divorce settlement and to ensure she would never be able to start a new life with anyone else.
Mr Stephen was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for his part in the massive investigation, but insisted it was the dedication of the entire team that led to Fraser's successful conviction.
Yesterday, as Mr Stephen retired from the force after 34 years' service, Chief Constable Colin McKerracher said: "Jim's dedication, commitment and contribution to Grampian Police and the Scottish police service throughout his 34 years' service has been immeasurable.
"His passion and determination to provide a quality service to the public is well documented through the many major investigations which he successfully led.
"I, like many others, have benefited from working with Jim and he is a well respected friend and colleague."
Mr Stephen said: "It has been an immensely rewarding career."
The full article contains 350 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
