Tourist body returns to Orkney
Saturday, 26 Jan 2008 20:01
Karen Aim's body has returned to Britain
The body of murdered British tourist Karen Aim has arrived back in Britain after being flown from New Zealand for her funeral on Tuesday.
Ms Aim, 26, was found in a pool of blood near Taupo Nui-a-Tia College on January 17th.
She had been attacked while returning from a night out in Taupo on New Zealand's North Island and died in the town's hospital after suffering critical head injuries.
Police have yet to establish the precise cause of her death, although a 14-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the case on Thursday.
Her body was flown from Auckland to London before a transfer to Glasgow. From there it will transfer to the Orkneys by ferry.
She is being accompanied by close friend Alan Robertson, a trip made possible by fundraising from Taupo residents.
"This means so much to me," her father Brian Aim told the BBC.
"We weren't sure exactly when she would be back, and thought we might have to postpone the funeral. But it seems much more realistic now that it will happen on Tuesday."
He had described his daughter as "bubbly, bright and cheerful".