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

[Yenriac]

Actually lawyers play a major part in National newspapers. I used to write for the Sunday Times Magazine, which is also Murdoch owned so I have first hand experience of the company. Obviously not every story will have to go through lawyers but something as high profile and contentious as this story would certainly have been looked at by lawyers and executives at the highest level before publication.

Just out of curiosity, this article was online in a matter of hours of him being found guilty. Would The Sun have had time to run it by lawyers or is it possible the interview was carried out in the days prior to the guilty verdict?

 

[jaci68]

Yeah for anything that may be liable but a time error, or typo, or a mum relating her words wouldn’t be liable would it ?

Since AC’s mother’s statement contradicts Toni’s statement in court saying she last saw Alesha at 11pm then yes this would have been checked by lawyers big time. This is what can cause major lawsuits and if the paper is in anyway legally wrong it can result in large (hundreds of thousands of pounds) payouts.

 

[Cherwell]

Ok you are right I meant 2am! But the difference to me posting here and writing for a national newspaper is that there are layers of subeditors and editors above me that would correct such mistakes.

We don’t know the exact conversation between Toni and her aunt but my point was that what was reported is unlikely to be lax journalism. The reporter when faced with lawyers demanding clarification is likely to have gone back to AC’s mother to confirm that statement.

Yes, but MY point was that the mistake/slip of the tongue/whatever may have occurred further back in the chain. I specifically said that I wasn't talking about the journalist.

 

[Ardoch]

I found it quite odd his mother telling the media that when she visited him he cried and said why is this happening to me, I’ve got lots of friends, doing well etc. I don’t think AC would say that given he claimed to be innocent. If he was innocent I think he’d more likely to be screaming I didn’t do it, not why is this happening to me. I think that was more his mothers thoughts than his words.

He's feeling sorry for himself and I think he'd feel that way guilty or innocent. We don't know either all that he said to his lawyer nor in the courtroom. However his mother has been all over the place or at least the press comments on her words have been.

 

[jaci68]

Just out of curiosity, this article was online in a matter of hours of him being found guilty. Would The Sun have had time to run it by lawyers or is it possible the interview was carried out in the days prior to the guilty verdict?

My guess, since I’m not actually working there, is that this interview was gathered a while ago and perhaps two versions were written - one if AC was found guilty and another of on the slight off chance that there was a not proven or innocent outcome. It would have defiantly have been run past lawyers. There was a good 24 hours between the end of the defence and prosecution and the verdict. Plenty of time to look at this discrepancy.

 

[angeldust]

Since AC’s mother’s statement contradicts Toni’s statement in court saying she last saw Alesha at 11pm then yes this would have been checked by lawyers big time. This is what can cause major lawsuits and if the paper is in anyway legally wrong it can result in large (hundreds of thousands of pounds) payouts.

It’s hearsay and Toni didnt say a time as far as we know plus Toni nor the mother were on trial. I honestly can’t see what the problem is. I don’t think she said 11 the grandad said he last saw her at half 10 then she said she got up and checked on her but I haven’t seen a time stated from her court statement. I may have missed it though

 

[Nikynoo]

Thanks for posting. I agree with most of Prof Wilson's thoughts - in my uneducated way. I don't think it was organised either and yet the only issue I have with that is when did he decide where he was going to take A?
The route that he took and the spot seemed as though it had some kind of thought about it. I wonder if the CCTV of the shadowy figure gave any clue as to the speed or the manner of his walking?

If I may be lazy and refer back to something that's probably in a past post - the discarded jogging pants on the beach - was it discussed as to when he possibly got rid of them?
The mother's CCTV doesn't look as if he went down to the shore.

The joggers were one of my earlier questions. He may have taken them out the second time he left the house (the CCTV is not clear as to what he was carrying - in court it was stated that it looked like a black t shirt) or disposed of them later. One of my follow up questions was at what time were the joggers recovered.

 

[jaci68]

This 2am thing has been brought up alot on this thread. It's difficult to say at the moment because I don't really know if we can believe anything that comes out of AC's mother's mouth at the moment but I think if she was asked to check the CCTV from 2am onwards then the likelihood is that Toni had told her Aunt about the messages from AC just before 2am and maybe the Aunt didn't want to say check the CCTV from there because we think your son might have something to do with it and instead said something else.

Maybe or maybe not

 

[molly67]

Exactly! Too much emphasis on this 2am IMO.

I personally think it wasn’t only TM who had her suspicions on AC being involved put it that way.

I'm convinced the 2am time slot was becasue the Gran had gone in to Alesha's room around 2am

 

[jaci68]

It’s hearsay and Toni didnt say a time as far as we know plus Toni nor the mother were on trial. I honestly can’t see what the problem is. I don’t think she said 11 the grandad said he last saw her at half 10 then she said she got up and checked on her but I haven’t seen a time stated from her court statement. I may have missed it though

Does it matter who was on trial? This is significamy information.

 

[Cherwell]

Does it matter who was on trial? This is significamy information.

It's not.

 

[Cherwell]

I'm convinced the 2am time slot was becasue the Gran had gone in to Alesha's room around 2am

Yes, I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Molly. Very possible that someone mentioned one of the times when they meant to say another. Or got them the wrong way round. Let's not forget that people were under enormous stress at the time.

 

[Taskforce88]

Just out of curiosity, this article was online in a matter of hours of him being found guilty. Would The Sun have had time to run it by lawyers or is it possible the interview was carried out in the days prior to the guilty verdict?

Possibly written before the trial ended. Possibly shorty after she gave evidence.

 

[jaci68]

Guess the lawyers missed that one

My feeling is that the 2am comment is more significant because AC’s mother was directed to look at her CCTV from
2am onwards. She only rewound because she wanted to see him going out. The 3am comment I can see as a genuine mistake on the mother’s part.
However the point I was making is that the journalist would have been aware of these discrepancies and so would the lawyers.

 

[Cherwell]

I'm losing the will to live.

 

[Yenriac]

My guess, since I’m not actually working there, is that this interview was gathered a while ago and perhaps two versions were written - one if AC was found guilty and another of on the slight off chance that there was a not proven or innocent outcome. It would have defiantly have been run past lawyers. There was a good 24 hours between the end of the defence and prosecution and the verdict. Plenty of time to look at this discrepancy.

Thanks.

 

[bronzepurple]

Some people on the forum were asking about the specific spot Alesha was found, well this youtube video show the reporter going to the spot in the woods. It also shows some video footage of AC that I hadn't seen before.

 

[Ciana]

Fair enough,I don't take your post as victim bashing(we have a dealer round our way who incidentally also has a 6yr old and has had all manner of people round,and I have mused on the what ifs on more than one occaision).
I can only imagine her father has said these same things to himself every day since and will do forever I would think(who wouldn't?!).

Thanks for replying,I was curious as to whether this was the reason(I understand completely) or if as I see in a lot of cases people tend to think a mother's grief is somehow more than a fathers.

Thanks for that nice reply. I would never think that a mother's grief is greater than the father's, (except in unusual circumstances). Best wishes to you.

 

[Taskforce88]

.

 

[angeldust]

Does it matter who was on trial? This is significamy information.

It’s not, the mum is saying someone said something to her, it’s hearsay and cannot be corroborated. The mum said out for an hour, cctve proved it was wrong the mum knew from her own cctv he was out for longer but is quoted as saying different.
The mother also claimed she went in and asked her some if he knew anything at 7.30 am before Alesha was found and before she knew or thought to check cctv. Id say that’s relevant. I’m really not sure what the issue is with this, papers get stuff like this wrong all the time. Then post a minute paragraph saying sorry It seems to me that whole article was a mess. Half of it didn’t make much sense going on about fiends etc. Worded as if the mum said it. If someone proof read that article, they should be fired