UK - Alesha MacPhail, 6, raped & murdered, Ardbeg, Isle of Bute, Scotland, 2 Jul 2018 -*arrest* #3

[AM12]

What bus shelter? do you know? Im going on an earlier post saying it was further north ?

All part of accused fabrication IMO. Would not read too much into it

 

[stephaniejanes]

Yes , the accused has died since without being brought to justice . Poor girls parents living with her murder all these years . Did successfully win a civil case against accused .

I heard that they never got paid a penny by the accused... ugh that case is so frustrating. How could they get to Not Proven...

 

[angeldust]

Mr McConnachie also recalled CCTV images of the accused taken at 3.35am on the morning of Alesha's death.

He said the accused was seen " sauntering" in a manner of someone "without a care in the world".

He said it was not the actions of someone who had just seven minutes before carried out a rape and murder.

Mr McConnachie said it was more the actions of someone who had just had a liaison with Toni McLachlan


Unless the reporting is wrong is the QC saying she was killed at 3.28 wtf they couldn't determine TOD

 

[stephaniejanes]

I've been fairly sure the jury would return with a guilty verdict but I'm not 100% convinced now, could be a not proven. The defence's closing statement was quite strong, stronger than the prosecution's in my opinion. Although the evidence is still overwhelmingly against the accused. Hopefully we'll find out tomorrow.

Remember we have only heard via Tweet. My opinion of McSporran in a case I was involved in was that he did a really strong job at closing, and that was before he got his Silk. We aren't seeing body language, tone or even the full points made. I'm hopeful it'll come back guilty. Remember only 8 jurors required for a verdict.

 

[angeldust]

I heard that they never got paid a penny by the accused... ugh that case is so frustrating. How could they get to Not Proven...

I know and I don't think the courts helped much either when the family wanted him tried again

 

[Kikixxxx]

Mr McConnachie also recalled CCTV images of the accused taken at 3.35am on the morning of Alesha's death.

He said the accused was seen " sauntering" in a manner of someone "without a care in the world".

He said it was not the actions of someone who had just seven minutes before carried out a rape and murder.

Mr McConnachie said it was more the actions of someone who had just had a liaison with Toni McLachlan


Unless the reporting is wrong is the QC saying she was killed at 3.28 wtf they couldn't determine TOD

Murder scene to accused house takes a 6/7 minute walk,
I checked via google maps. If he returned at 3.35am there presuming it took 7 mins to walk from the murder scene so they presume she would of died around 3.25am.

I think the attack went on for about 40 mins though, going off the cctv of someone walking along the shore at 2.26am and then having to walk to where she was killed, knowing how long it takes him to get home etc.

The other two times he left it was only for around 7 mins each time so no way she could of been killed at that times.

So awful
I just want it to be over with now. I can’t bare the thought of him getting off

 

[TaylorCallum]

Remember we have only heard via Tweet. My opinion of McSporran in a case I was involved in was that he did a really strong job at closing, and that was before he got his Silk. We aren't seeing body language, tone or even the full points made. I'm hopeful it'll come back guilty. Remember only 8 jurors required for a verdict.

Yeah that is true. I'm sure it is very different in the courtroom. The prosecution definitely have a much stronger case overall so really it should be a guilty verdict. I'm just a bit apprehensive about tomorrow/Friday.

 

[Taskforce88]

There are some shelters that are not bus shelters and are away from the roads. One up beyond the honky tonk hotel, on the big bit of grass.

 

[stephaniejanes]

Yeah that is true. I'm sure it is very different in the courtroom. The prosecution definitely have a much stronger case overall so really it should be a guilty verdict. I'm just a bit apprehensive about tomorrow/Friday.

I'm so nervous too! Don't know how I'm meant to work, keep refreshing Websleuths. Thankfully I have an office job so can pass it off for "work" some way or another.

I think tomorrow judge will sum up in the morning, break for an early lunch with jury off for deliberations in the afternoon... so I probably don't expect a verdict until Friday but who knows.

 

[Pooksthebear]

High tide was 12.45 pm on Friday 29th June

 

[bronzepurple]

Murder scene to accused house takes a 6/7 minute walk,
I checked via google maps. If he returned at 3.35am there presuming it took 7 mins to walk from the murder scene so they presume she would of died around 3.25am.

I think the attack went on for about 40 mins though, going off the cctv of someone walking along the shore at 2.26am and then having to walk to where she was killed, knowing how long it takes him to get home etc.

The other two times he left it was only for around 7 mins each time so no way she could of been killed at that times.

So awful
I just want it to be over with now. I can’t bare the thought of him getting off

If he gets off tomorrow/fri then he will likely do something like this again in future. He will think that if he got away with it this time then he could do again. He will use the things he learned in this case to make sure the next time he won't make similar mistakes. I think he is arrogant and emotionless.

 

[SJ16321]

My view was that the defence needed to pull out something massive today to stand a chance of getting a not guilty or not proven. I don't believe they did that from what we heard. The actual last statement by the defence was very good but their actual defence witnesses were terrible and lacking in evidence.

They had the accused himself on the stand which is never what you want, a witness who was reporting something she heard through a wall and 2 other witnesses who lacked all credibility. The woman in the car changed from it's definitely RM and TM to it could have been. TM's friends performance on the stand was almost an entire contradiction to her police statement, it was like she realised her police statement sounded bad so she toned it down on the stand to make TM look better, all it did was make her look like a liar.

They also clearly couldn't find a single person willing to testify about the accused character which says a lot and doesn't look good. I'm confident this will be a guilty verdict, it would be one of the biggest shocks ever if it wasn't because there's no explaining away that DNA logically. There's just no way that's transfer from another source.

 

[Taskforce88]

Murder scene to accused house takes a 6/7 minute walk,
I checked via google maps. If he returned at 3.35am there presuming it took 7 mins to walk from the murder scene so they presume she would of died around 3.25am.

I think the attack went on for about 40 mins though, going off the cctv of someone walking along the shore at 2.26am and then having to walk to where she was killed, knowing how long it takes him to get home etc.

The other two times he left it was only for around 7 mins each time so no way she could of been killed at that times.

So awful
I just want it to be over with now. I can’t bare the thought of him getting off

The thought of him going back to that crime scene gets me. That back road he would have taken in the darkness to then come across the horror he had inflicted just a short time before. Was he checking if he had left something, checking if she was dead? I wonder if he got enjoyment seeing it again?

 

[Fidobell]

I heard that they never got paid a penny by the accused... ugh that case is so frustrating. How could they get to Not Proven...[/QU

I heard that they never got paid a penny by the accused... ugh that case is so frustrating. How could they get to Not Proven...

Not proven verdict needs to be scrubbed from Scottish system . In this day and age DNA and forensic evidence is a clear indicator of guilt and for a clever and experienced defence team to steer the jurors

 

[angeldust]

Murder scene to accused house takes a 6/7 minute walk,
I checked via google maps. If he returned at 3.35am there presuming it took 7 mins to walk from the murder scene so they presume she would of died around 3.25am.

I think the attack went on for about 40 mins though, going off the cctv of someone walking along the shore at 2.26am and then having to walk to where she was killed, knowing how long it takes him to get home etc.

The other two times he left it was only for around 7 mins each time so no way she could of been killed at that times.

So awful
I just want it to be over with now. I can’t bare the thought of him getting off

Me too :/

 

[Siriusly]

Yeah so he could have provided them if asked, then they couldnt have implied the trousers on the beach were his

They didn't need to imply they were his, he admitted they were his just said he had lost them 2 days prior

 

[Fidobell]

Sorry, inexperienced here , excuse my previous blank post .

the not proven verdict is outdated and needs removed from Scottish law . Advanced levels nowadays of DNA and forensic evidence proves guilt . But experienced defence allows doubt in the minds of jurors . As I said in previous post the Amanda Duffy case is a mockery of Scottish justice system . Don't want to mention the accused in this case incase I'm not allowed . But his confident cocky testimony at trial and explanation of his physical evidence on body , swayed a jury . I know this is hard to believe but he was free to lead his life after not proven verdict

 

[angeldust]

The thought of him going back to that crime scene gets me. That back road he would have taken in the darkness to then come across the horror he had inflicted just a short time before. Was he checking if he had left something, checking if she was dead? I wonder if he got enjoyment seeing it again?

Doesn't bear thinking about does it ? Do you know the area at all ? I keep thinking she was found in a place other than the big circle in the media. which makes those quick trips fit in with your thoughts and mine would be so easy if its where I read it was, sorry for being vague just don't want to put any details in case im wrong

 

[Kikixxxx]

Sorry, inexperienced here , excuse my previous blank post .

the not proven verdict is outdated and needs removed from Scottish law . Advanced levels nowadays of DNA and forensic evidence proves guilt . But experienced defence allows doubt in the minds of jurors . As I said in previous post the Amanda Duffy case is a mockery of Scottish justice system . Don't want to mention the accused in this case incase I'm not allowed . But his confident cocky testimony at trial and explanation of his physical evidence on body , swayed a jury . I know this is hard to believe but he was free to lead his life after not proven verdict

I’ve just read up about it. It’s actually scary that the justice system can be so flawled that people like that could get off and live a normal free life afterwards.

If the same happens in this case I’m going to be devastated.

 

[404_notfound]

Doesn't bear thinking about does it ? Do you know the area at all ? I keep thinking she was found in a place other than the big circle in the media. which makes those quick trips fit in with your thoughts and mine would be so easy if its where I read it was, sorry for being vague just don't want to put any details in case im wrong

They showed footage of the CSI's working at the site on the news today. If you go onto maps and go to the bus depot, then look north up the road you'll see a red phone box. If you click almost to the phone box there's a small set of steps on the left. She was found at the top of them, i believe just at the top though, not deeper across the back road, but Taskforce88 may know better as i think they said they've lived there. So technically in the site of the hotel yes, but not bang in the middle of it where the press marked the site.