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

[angeldust]

An 89 page report and very little damning evidence has been relayed to us so far.

Also, the girl who found the black nike top said it looked "fresh"...could it have been washed before being dumped?

Was thinking this last night Truthseeker777 maybe mum washed the top and the trainers that were left at his backside

 

[neteditor]

I'd be astonished if he didn't. Whatever his plans were, am sure a phone would have assisted in some way.

But you are correct, we have not specifically been told whether or not he had a phone with him.

Except for the part where he thought he lost his phone and went back out looking for it. Though of course that is only on his say-so and at this stage hearsay evidence from his mother if I remember correctly. If his phone was lost he must have found it, because of the returned call by TM in the morning (though are we assuming he answered that on his phone and not, say, on a laptop given it was a Facebook call?) I might just have confused lots of evidence in my own head now.

 

[Bravo]

Trial by tweet are difficult to follow. There is much presented in Court that never makes it to a tweet.

 

[Alyce]

Except for the part where he thought he lost his phone and went back out looking for it. Though of course that is only on his say-so and at this stage hearsay evidence from his mother if I remember correctly. If his phone was lost he must have found it, because of the returned call by TM in the morning (though are we assuming he answered that on his phone and not, say, on a laptop given it was a Facebook call?) I might just have confused lots of evidence in my own head now.

I would weigh heavily on the side of believing he had his phone with him when he went out the first time.
I can also believe that he may - possibly - have lost it later in the evening ( maybe at the murder site ) hence the reason for his third trip out, the 9 minute run.
So the story he told his mother about being out looking for his phone could be true ......mixing a bit of truth in with his lies.
His call to TM on the Monday could have been, as you say, via FB, but we do know he definately had his phone by the Wednesday , because it was taken from him when he was arrested.

 

[Truthseeker777]

Here's the timeline, taken from testimony last week.

Updated timeline

12 midnight or just after : grandmother hears Alesha call out for Peppa Pig

Early hours of morning : Alesha in living room of house - put to bed by RM with dvd

Unspecified time - but has to be later than RM putting Alesha to bed -
TM goes to bathroom, then goes to Alesha room, switches off dvd, closes bedroom door fully

12.22 am : Suspect and mother have argument at suspect's home

12.30 am : Suspect's friends leave his house, suspect's 14 yr old sister accompanies them

01.39 am Suspect texts or Facebook call to RM

01.47 am Suspect / or his sister / or suspect using sisters Facebook account - calls TM

01.54 am Suspect leaves his home, wearing jog pants, trainers , hoodie. Walks in direction of Rothesay which means he would go past the McPhail home

02.26 am cctv ( Mr McLachlan home ) spots figure coming out of the shelter and walong along the shore line - with something on their back. When later asked, Mr McL says he presumed it was somebody carrying a child.

02.27 am - cctv footage from home of Shari Strathie, who lives 2 doors down from Mr McLachlan.Footage shows movement along the shoreline. She says to her, it looks like a figure walking past her house carrying another person.“You can see the legs hanging down and moving” she says.

03.35 am Suspect returns to his home - from a different direction - accesses his house by jumping over back wall. Does not have hoodie with him.

03.35 to 03.44 am. suspect mother hears boiler switching on.

03.44 am bathroom light is switched on.

03.45 am suspect leaves his home, wearing only shorts , no shoes, carrying what appears to be a black tee shirt

03.52 am suspect returns home

03.58 am suspect leaves home, fully clothed, running, with a torch

04.07 am suspect returns home, now walking

A couple points...

Didn't the father RM say he found her in the living room and then put her to bed at somewhere between 10.30 and 11.00(or11.30?)...can't remember the exact time but certainly earlier than the gran hearing the child calling out at midnight or thereabouts...do you have a link for this statem3nt from the gran please?

Also I did read a report which stated that the accused returned wearing a t-shirt after his 7 minute outing...can't find it now and don't know if it was accurate reporting or not...any thoughts on this?

 

[Bustia]

Has Alesha’s mum testified yet? It said she was a witness in the case and with there only being one witness for the prosecution left (presumably the dna expert), I’m hoping she isn’t a witness for the defence? Or I’ve either missed this or she hasn’t been called.

 

[Pooksthebear]

When he first went out he was wearing a hoody but returned without it, what was he wearing under the hoody? Was that the black zip top?

 

[Alyce]

A couple points...

Didn't the father RM say he found her in the living room and then put her to bed at somewhere between 10.30 and 11.00(or11.30?)...can't remember the exact time but certainly earlier than the gran hearing the child calling out at midnight or thereabouts...do you have a link for this statem3nt from the gran please?

Also I did read a report which stated that the accused returned wearing a t-shirt after his 7 minute outing...can't find it now and don't know if it was accurate reporting or not...any thoughts on this?

Yes re the timing - I initially had the 10.30 - 11pm timing for RM putting Alesha to bed,but later saw a newspaper report saying early hours of the morning, so I thought this was an update.
I have now edited back to the original 10.30 - 11pm timing.

I will find a link for the gran's comment (hopefully ) it was back in July last year

not sure about the t shirt, will have a look see what I can find

 

[Caroclaud]

if the prosecution have a silver bullet with the DNA and forensics evidence regarding Aleshas body, I wish they would just hurry up and bring it in, because I feel there is so much doubt around what they have presented so far, that The jury might be wavering.
I think the “1 fibre” is golden so thank god for that! I hope it doesn’t just hinge on this.

 

[truthseeker1975]

Was thinking this last night Truthseeker777 maybe mum washed the top and the trainers that were left at his backside

Just a thought, but maybe he committed the whole crime on the beach, washed blood in sea and when he had shower, was to remove salt water, just a thought

 

[neteditor]

Just a thought, but maybe he committed the whole crime on the beach, washed blood in sea and when he had shower, was to remove salt water, just a thought

Pathologist's evidence stated injuries were inflicted where she was found, not on the beach.

 

[Truthseeker777]

Just a thought, but maybe he committed the whole crime on the beach, washed blood in sea and when he had shower, was to remove salt water, just a thought

Pathologist claimed injuries were consistent with the attack taking place where the body was found

 

[Tortoise]

Wasn't Toni behind a screen? If so, how will the jury know her build is different? Maybe they will have an expert testify how it could not be her?

Catching up - apologies if someone has already answered you - the jury gets to see the person behind the screen, it's just the rest of the court that doesn't.

 

[Gardenista]

Catching up - apologies if someone has already answered you - the jury gets to see the person behind the screen, it's just the rest of the court that doesn't.

Someone did answer and I was so glad to hear it. I thought about it at the time people were mentioning the screen and then forgot to inquire further. At the time, I was concerned about body language/demeanor which can be important, but body habitus wasn't something I was thinking about at that time.

 

[Alyce]

So sorry firstly if I have timings wrong but I thought the grandmother raised the alarm re missing alesha around 06.25. So if I read that correctly within 4 mins Toni was attempting to phone the accused ...

Just doing a quick update on this point.
I remember the grandfather said he got up at 6am, noticed Alesha's door was open and she was not in bed.
So he effectively raised the alarm in the flat at 6am - which means they all had about 25 minutes or so of searching the flat, and possibly the garden - before the grandmother called in to the police at 6.25am

So, on that basis, Toni checking her phone at 6.29am seems reasonable

 

[angeldust]

I’m
Beginning to think the mum is a bit like Cindy Anthony. They are building a case around the prosecutions evidence ie. spoke to son about dna. So planted thought. Initially she said she wanted to rule him out but why would you even think or say that she doesn’t want to believe her son did it but knows he did. If it were my son and he was charged I would sit through every part of the hearing not say I don’t think I will. She must know he’s done for , it says he checked at 12.30 after she spoke to him creating doubt as to whether he would have done this of his own accord. I think it concerns me that he had chats about murder before and claimed he wouldn’t use a knife he’d be more cunning and he his as cunning as a fox. I just saw how close her body was found in relation to his back garden and it’s much much closer than is reported. So the 7 and nine minutes back at the body are extremely plausible.

 

[charlotte123456]

I’m
Beginning to think the mum is a bit like Cindy Anthony. They are building a case around the prosecutions evidence ie. spoke to son about dna. So planted thought. Initially she said she wanted to rule him out but why would you even think or say that she doesn’t want to believe her son did it but knows he did. If it were my son and he was charged I would sit through every part of the hearing not say I don’t think I will. She must know he’s done for , it says he checked at 12.30 after she spoke to him creating doubt as to whether he would have done this of his own accord. I think it concerns me that he had chats about murder before and claimed he wouldn’t use a knife he’d be more cunning and he his as cunning as a fox. I just saw how close her body was found in relation to his back garden and it’s much much closer than is reported. So the 7 and nine minutes back at the body are extremely plausible.

Do we know what the actual distance is from murder site to his back garden? I wish they would report distance rather than time taken to walk. As others have pointed out, people have varying walking speeds and the suspect is a fit and healthy teenager.

 

[Fluffet]

Alesha MacPhail: Boy accused of killing six-year-old 'told police "no comment"' | Daily Mail Online


‘ Some 30 black polyester fibres and 13 black viscose fibres were found on Alesha's pants and shorts, which were discovered close by her body.

The scientist said: 'If the black fibres came from the jogging bottoms, our findings would be as expected.'

A report stated there was 'strong evidence' to suggest the fibres came from the jogging bottoms.

Asked by advocate depute Mr McSporran if the number of fibres found, instead of just the comparisons, were significant, Ms Jones said the fibres revealed 'direct physical contact'.

This gives a clearer picture of the amount and significance of the fibre evidence.

 

[Owlpellet]

My daughter wears a vest and shorts or a nightdress for bed, especially in the summer. Even in the winter she doesn’t feel comfortable in long sleeves and trousers.

But does she wear both pants AND shorts to bed? It’s the combination that makes me wonder whether she was up and dressed.

 

[Bustia]

But does she wear both pants AND shorts to bed? It’s the combination that makes me wonder whether she was up and dressed.

In the UK pants are underwear, incase this is being confused with pants meaning trousers.