A north-east man who brutally murdered his wife while his two young sons were in the room is to be released from jail after spending 20 years behind bars.
Gordon McFetrich repeatedly plunged a knife into his partner Jacqueline as one of the boys stood and watched and the other cowered in a cupboard under black plastic bags.
The 54-year-old originally admitted killing the mother of his children by stabbing her 16 times.
But in 2012 – 17-years on from the horrific crime – the murderer appealed his conviction and said he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea.
He claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after killing Jacqueline, who was 33.
Over the course of the last three years McFetrich has made repeated requests to the parole board to be freed, but has never been considered fully rehabilitated.
Now it has emerged he will be released into the same community as his son – who never wants to see him again.
Aberdeen-born Ceri Leslie was aged just 11 when his mother was brutally killed.
The memories have stayed with him ever since, and despite attempts to try to integrate his father back into his life Mr Leslie could never forgive him for what he did.
Still haunted by his mother’s screams, Mr Leslie vowed he would move on and have no further contact with his dad.
Now he is terrified that his mum’s killer will soon be released into the same city where he lives with his wife and children.
Speaking exclusively to the Press and Journal, the 32-year-old said: “I am in complete shock. We were just contacted by the victim support team and told he is to be released in December, sometime before Christmas.
“We moved to Bradford to try to escape all the memories and to try to rebuild a new life. Now I have to live with the idea that the next time I go to the shops or walk down the street I might have to bump into him.
“At first I was scared of what he could do to me or my children. I have always been safe in the knowledge that he can’t do anything to me because he was been locked away behind bars. But soon he will be free and living only miles from me and my family.
“I am more concerned about what I will do if and when I see him. I have to remember that I am a grown man and he can’t keep scaring me like this.”
Mr Leslie, who works all over the country, said he had to cut other members of his family out of his life in the lead-up to his father’s release amid fears they are still in contact with him.
He said that until recently he had always struggled with the memories of the day his mum was murdered, especially on the anniversary of her death.
However, he said this year had been different.
He said: “This year I have been so much better. I was able to go about my day and function without the constant thought of what had happened. I was finally learning how to cope.
“Now hearing this news has brought it all back to me again.
“What frustrates me the most is that I don’t believe he has rehabilitated. He hasn’t apologised to his children. Not once has he said sorry for what he put us through and for taking our mum.
“As far as I am aware he has never really accepted what he did and even up until recently he was blaming it on PTSD.
“I don’t think he has learned anything from what he has done, he is just purely being released because that’s it, he’s served his time.”
Mr Leslie has requested special conditions on his father’s release which prevent him front contacting him or his family.
Background: Gordon McFetrich
Former social worker McFetrich travelled from Aberdeen to track down his wife at a secret address at St Ninian in Stirling in 1994 – two days before a crucial custody hearing in relation to his sons Ceri and Nevan.
He smashed down the door of her room and repeatedly stabbed his 33-year-old wife with a knife while Ceri hid in a cupboard in the same room and Nevan stood terrified nearby.
McFetrich, formerly of Tanfield Walk, Aberdeen, had discovered where his wife was staying after the reporter to the children’s panel wrote to tell him of forthcoming proceedings – revealing his wife’s new location.
There was such an outcry at the way he found out about the address that the law was changed to ensure the whereabouts of vulnerable children were no longer released.
McFetrich, who later married lover Sarah Findlay behind bars, was originally jailed for life at the High Court in Edinburgh in February 1995.
The trial judge recommended an eight-year minimum period before he could be considered for parole.
McFetrich was transferred to an English jail at his own request in September 1997.
In September 2000, the home secretary overruled the trial judge’s recommendation and set a 12-year minimum term.
Before his last appeal McFetrich sought judicial review, claiming he “would have been eligible for parole at an earlier date had he remained in Scotland”.
This appeal was rejected.
Ceri and Nevan had limited contact with their father in the last three years, however the boys found it too difficult to continue seeing the man who killed their mother and have had no contact for more than two years.