From her living room window in Tayport, Allison Dewar gazes out at the familiar streets that once echoed with her teenage daughter Karen’s laughter.
Even after two decades, part of her still expects to see Karen bounding up the path, her face aglow with teenage energy, ready to share a story or a joke.
But 20 years after her daughter’s brutal murder, just yards from her home, the door remains unopened.
The reality of that dreadful night on January 20 2005 is never far from Allison’s mind.
“Every day, I still want to see her walking in,” Allison reflects softly in an exclusive sit down interview with The Courier.
“She’d be 36 now. I don’t know what she’d be doing. She wanted a career in childcare.
“Her best friend has six children of her own now. I think about it all the time.”
How is the 20th anniversary being marked?
Friends, family, and the wider Tayport community are gathering to mark the 20th anniversary of Karen Dewar’s murder.
The commemoration is taking place at Karen’s memorial garden off Castle Street.
The event includes the unveiling of a new ‘Free Spirit’ plaque, speeches, and the release of lilac balloons – Karen’s favourite colour.
Allison’s aim is to capture the community’s enduring support in her words of gratitude.
“I want to thank everyone who has stood by us over the years,” she says.
“From the pupils who placed a bench at Madras College to the students who planted a tree at Elmwood – so many people have helped us keep Karen’s memory alive.”
How is Karen Dewar remembered?
Karen is remembered as a chatty, kind-hearted girl who loved music, makeup, clothes and going out with her friends.
As a youngster, she loved Highland dancing, earning bronze and silver medals before moving on to other pursuits.
She had a practical joker’s sense of humour and a deep empathy for others, traits that endeared her to everyone she met.
“She talked to everyone, knew everyone,” Allison recalls.
“Even the neighbours used to joke, ‘Is she battery-operated?’ because she was so full of life.”
Yet for Allison, 60, and her husband Frank, 64, time has done little to dull the ache of their only child’s absence.
While January 20, 2005, began like any other day for the Dewar family, it spiralled into a nightmare that left the family and the small community of Tayport shattered.
What are mum Allison’s memories of the night Karen was murdered?
Allison, a care home worker, smiles gently as she remembers the last time she spoke to Karen.
A bubbly and energetic teenager who loved Westlife, Eminem and the Ozzy Osbourne track ‘Changes’, the 16-year-old was heading out to babysit for a family they knew, just down the road.
But when the family she was sitting for called to say she hadn’t arrived, alarm bells rang.
“It wasn’t like her,” Allison reflects.
“I told them I’d come sit with the boys, but the whole time, I was worried.
“When she still didn’t appear, I remember phoning Frank and saying, ‘Phone the police. Something’s not right’. I remember Taggart was on TV at the time.”
Frank went out in his car, driving through the darkened streets, searching for their daughter.
When there was still no sign, the nightmare began to crystallise.
“I kent something was wrong,” Allison says. “She wouldn’t let anyone down – not without telling someone.”
How the Dewars’ worst fears were confirmed
Allison wondered if Karen might have been involved in a road accident, or if something had happened related to historic health issues.
But in the early hours of the morning, police arrived at the Dewar home with devastating news: Karen’s body had been discovered nearby.
It emerged she had been strangled and stabbed by a neighbour, 17-year-old Colyn Evans.
It turned out Evans was a high-risk sex offender with a history of disturbing behaviour.
He was sentenced to at least 17 years behind bars at Edinburgh High Court.
How has the weight of loss taken its toll?
In the days, weeks and months following Karen’s death, the Dewar family leaned heavily on the tight-knit Tayport community.
Friends and neighbours rallied, offering meals, messages of support, and quiet acts of kindness.
A fund was raised and with this a memorial garden was built on Castle Street.
Students from Elmwood College in Cupar where Karen had been studying childcare were involved, as were Tayport Primary children.
Pupils at Madras College in St Andrews, where Karen had studied, installed a memorial bench in her honour.
“I can’t thank the people of Tayport enough,” Allison says, her voice cracking.
“They’ve been absolutely brilliant over the years. Without their support, I don’t know how we’d have managed.”
But the weight of loss was, and remains, immense.
“You learn to live with her not being here, but it never gets easier,” Allison admits.
“Christmases, birthdays, all the things she should have been part of – those are the hardest.”
Karen Dewar: Forever a child of 16
At the time, Karen’s dad Frank described his little girl as a “likeable person who was so lovely, smiling and caring”.
The couple haven’t moved away from Tayport, even though their home is just around the corner from where Karen’s body was found.
It has, however, “changed” them.
“I’m not scared to speak out anymore,” says Allison.
Evans’ guilty plea meant the Dewars were spared the ordeal of a trial.
But the relief was small in the face of their grief.
An independent review later slammed police and social services for mishandling the case – allowing a then unregistered sex offender into the community.
It emerged that of 14 offences alleged to have been committed by Evans between the ages of 10 and 16, a total of six related to sexual offences.
Five of these related to shameless and indecent exposure.
‘Unthinkable’ that Evans should ever be released from prison
The Welshman was reportedly moved south to be closer to his family – which returned to Wales from their home in Kennoway – in preparation for his eventual release.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson, representing HM Prison & Probation Service, confirmed on Wednesday that Evans remains behind bars down south.
For Allison, the idea of Evans one day walking free remains unthinkable.
It comes as The Courier’s A Voice for Victims campaign has been calling for reforms to parole and highlighting how the current system retraumatises victims and their families.
“He should never be released,” she says firmly. “I know he’ll do it again. He’s not safe.”
Evans’ parole requests have been denied in recent years, but the mere mention of his name causes Allison to bristle.
“I won’t even say his name,” she says. “He doesn’t deserve that.”
Seeking solace amid mixed emotions
Despite her strength, Allison admits to moments of deep despair.
She credits spiritual practices and the Tayport community with keeping her afloat.
A regular attendee of a spiritualist church, she finds comfort in the idea that Karen’s spirit is near.
However, she also takes great comfort from the fact that Karen’s best friend, Debbie, has named a star after her.
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