UK - Alesha MacPhail, 6, raped & murdered, Ardbeg, Isle of Bute, Scotland, 2 Jul 2018 -*arrest* #4

[bfin1995]

Some more info:

PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News

"He was Alesha’s age, only six, when he, his mother Janette, father Christopher and sister moved from Shrewsbury in Shropshire and, starting at primary school on the island, he made friends with female pupils more quickly than male ones."

and

"By his own account he had been sexually active for two years by the beginning of last summer and among his claimed conquests was Toni McLachlan, the teenage girlfriend of Alesha’s father.

Indeed, Campbell claimed they had met for casual sex regularly behind his back. For her part, she denies there was any sexual relationship.

But Campbell also told police he had been seeing two other girls, including one two years his junior whom he started seeing when she was just 13."

 

[angeldust]

By "buy drugs" do you mean steal since he is meant to have had a knife on him?

I don’t think the knife was for the drugs apparently he carried one since first year and thank heavens he dropped it or left it

 

[bfin1995]

I wonder what part the knife played in the events.

If he hadn’t used it directly (i.e. other than for protection/to threaten) then it would have made much more sense for him to take it home and return it with the rest of the knives? As it’s in the family home, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for it to have his prints on.

There was never any discussion of whether it was/wasn’t used during court proceedings.

Why then, IF it wasn’t used, would he discard it. Makes me wonder if the knife WAS used in some capacity during this brutal attack :-(

My thoughts were that if he got caught carrying Alesha, he was going to claim he'd "found her wandering", or "passed out" and was bringing her to safety. He would not have wanted to have a giant knife on his person in such a moment.

 

[Kiranerys]

The knife was found on the beach, very close to the McPhail home and was found quite quickly on that same morning, July 2.
Based on the fact that the clothing was found more or less where we assume AC threw it into the water - ie; the other end of the beach, close to the murder site/his home - then I think it would be fair to say that the knife was also thrown into the water at more or less the place it was found.
LThis was the start of ACs route from the McPhail home towards the woods. He had by now abducted Alesha and had not needed to use the knife as a threat to anyone. Now had no further need and discarded it. Yes, it would have been sensible to take it back home and replace it in the knife block...but I think he believed it would wash out to sea ( same as the clothing ) so getting rid was the easier option.

Maybe he just didn't have anywhere to put it,he didn't have a bag and he was carrying a small child and probably needed both hands to do so,no evidence to incriminate him on the knife so just drop it on the beach?

 

[Kiranerys]

I know that we have been led to believe that AC had no knowledge of Alesha as he claims to have never met her and we have no evidence to the contrary,but some things I have read in msm articles gave me pause for thought,namely that he had a year long relationship with a beautiful highland dancing champion and the fact that Alesha attended highland dancing classes when on the island,in such a small community is it not possible that this is how Alesha caught his attention? I think this could explain his interest in her without anyone else realising he knew her/of her?

 

[TaylorCallum]

It's also possible he dropped it whilst down on the shoreline.

Yes, that's true he could have. Maybe being a bit ridiculous here but do you think there's any possibility that when he went out with the torch he actually went back to the shoreline looking for the knife he dropped but couldn't find it?

 

[JamesK]

Something I’m curious to know is why did AC have Toni’s phone number if she was just the girlfriend of his drug dealer? And did Robert know AC had it?

 

[bfin1995]

Something I’m curious to know is why did AC have Toni’s phone number if she was just the girlfriend of his drug dealer? And did Robert know AC had it?

He contacted her via Facebook.

 

[TaylorCallum]

Something I’m curious to know is why did AC have Toni’s phone number if she was just the girlfriend of his drug dealer? And did Robert know AC had it?

I think they said it was a Facebook call? So I don't know if he actually had her phone number.

 

[mrazda71]

Something I’m curious to know is why did AC have Toni’s phone number if she was just the girlfriend of his drug dealer? And did Robert know AC had it?

Aaron's mum and Toni's aunt were best friends for starters ...

 

[JamesK]

For what it’s worth I don’t think AC was having an affair with Toni. Knowing his nature, if he was having an affair with her, or had even slept with her once, he would probably have used that info to blackmail her.
As for how he abducted Alesha, she might have been left sleeping in the living room sofa for example. It ma my not have been that difficult for him to do. Would a child not wake up when taken outside though? How do we know she wasn’t already dead when he is carrying her?

 

[iamnotanumber]

For what it’s worth I don’t think AC was having an affair with Toni. Knowing his nature, if he was having an affair with her, or had even slept with her once, he would probably have used that info to blackmail her.
As for how he abducted Alesha, she might have been left sleeping in the living room sofa for example. It ma my not have been that difficult for him to do. Would a child not wake up when taken outside though? How do we know she wasn’t already dead when he is carrying her?

Pathology reported some of the (catastrophic) injuries sustained happened when she was still alive.

 

[kyndigs]

For what it’s worth I don’t think AC was having an affair with Toni. Knowing his nature, if he was having an affair with her, or had even slept with her once, he would probably have used that info to blackmail her.
As for how he abducted Alesha, she might have been left sleeping in the living room sofa for example. It ma my not have been that difficult for him to do. Would a child not wake up when taken outside though? How do we know she wasn’t already dead when he is carrying her?

This was mentioned in one of the reports of the CCTV, it mentioned they saw AC carrying what looked like a child along the shore, it was not clear whether dead or alive. So without all the details, murder could have happened before the final spot where she was found. Turns my stomach, my son is 6 years old and it's stuff like this that makes me overly protective!

 

[iamnotanumber]

This was mentioned in one of the reports of the CCTV, it mentioned they saw AC carrying what looked like a child along the shore, it was not clear whether dead or alive. So without all the details, murder could have happened before the final spot where she was found. Turns my stomach, my son is 6 years old and it's stuff like this that makes me overly protective!

"During the trial pathologist John Williams told the court Alesha had 117 separate injuries, and a post-mortem examination he conducted indicated she had died from “significant and forceful pressure to her neck and face”.

He agreed the injuries to her private parts were “catastrophic” - more severe than any he had ever seen before - and were at least partially inflicted while she was still alive."

 

[angeldust]

In Scotland, being a grass carries a huge, huge stigma... I have seen it growing up in Glasgow, being a grass can get worse reactions than committing certain crimes, now what other things he done people were aware of I don't know for sure but assume they were not considered as bad enough to be labeled a grass for reporting it.

True but it’s an absolute tragic mindset most are scared of repercussion and no protection.

 

[Ciana]

Does noone find it strange that TM knew what time to ask for the CCTV to be checked?

I do indeed. I also found it bizarre, for want of a better word, that she flagged the prisoner whilst in conversation with her friend when they were out looking for Alesha. Why him, when there are (to my knowledge) at least six convicted sex offenders living on that tiny island? There may have been rumours on the island, but at that stage he did not have a criminal record. If he had, the MSM would have had it plastered as front page news by now.

 

[angeldust]

Maybe he already had Alesha and was maybe going down the stairs backwards .. that way if he was caught he could say she was outside and he was bringing her back as it would look like he was on his way up?

Ita habit really waking upstairs grab the rail

Pathology reported some of the (catastrophic) injuries sustained happened when she was still alive.

Im wondering if she was alive but unconscious for the beach walk. Would make sense as to why no screaming or struggle

 

[Ciana]

I don't think DNA is shed as copiously as one might imagine. If someone goes in and out of a room without touching anything, it's possible that they wouldn't leave any DNA traces.

Agreed, Cherwell. However, he was supposed to have sneaked around that flat, presumably to look for Alesha and abduct her. They have not stated that she came to the door and went with him. Unless gloves or some such were used, his fingerprints, at the very least, would have been left behind. Unless, of course, he brought an item to wipe them clean with.

 

[Harmony 2]

New thread:

GUILTY - UK - Alesha MacPhail, 6, raped & murdered, Ardbeg, Isle of Bute, Scotland, 2 Jul 2018 -*arrest* #5

This thread will close in 10 minutes.

 

[iamnotanumber]

Agreed, Cherwell. However, he was supposed to have sneaked around that flat, presumably to look for Alesha and abduct her. They have not stated that she came to the door and went with him. Unless gloves or some such were used, his fingerprints, at the very least, would have been left behind. Unless, of course, he brought an item to wipe them clean with.

Locards Exchange Principle states:

"In forensic science, Locard's exchange principle holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something into the crime scene and leave with something from it, and that both can be used as forensic evidence. ... He formulated the basic principle of forensic science as: "Every contact leaves a trace"."