Memorial sculpture created for Karen Aim

A memorial sculpture to murdered Scottish backpacker Karen Aim has been erected in her homeland.

The award-winning artwork was created by New Zealand artist Kate Bevin who was one of the first recipients of a scholarship from the Karen Aim Memorial Fund.

Ms. Aim, 26, was murdered on her way home from a night out in Taupo in 2008.

Local 14-year-old boy Jahche Broughton was convicted of the brutal slaying, and sentenced to serve a minimum period of 12-and-a-half years.

Bevin, one of six young people awarded the student scholarship, set up with funds raised by the people of Taupo, has created the striking sculpture in memory of Ms Aim.

The sculpture, which represents the five stages of grief, was dedicated at a special church service in Ms. Aim's homeland of Holm, on the Scottish island of Orkney at the weekend.

British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen's Music, wrote a composition months after the murder in memory of Ms Aim after being ``moved and shocked'' by her death.