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

[charlotte123456]

Was this posted? It's the tweet from right before the Forensic Scientist took the stand:

@ConnorGillies
Witness says he found no Instagram contact between accused and Toni McLaghlin on the PHONE but cannot say whether there are any deleted Instagram conversations remain online as he does not have access to that.

They can't even say for sure if they communicated or not? Seems crazy!

I find this quite shocking!

 

[Edinlass]

Was this posted? It's the tweet from right before the Forensic Scientist took the stand:

@ConnorGillies
Witness says he found no Instagram contact between accused and Toni McLaghlin on the PHONE but cannot say whether there are any deleted Instagram conversations remain online as he does not have access to that.

They can't even say for sure if they communicated or not? Seems crazy!

I must have missed this or he’s edited it. Seems the software they have can’t read Instagram maybe some of it is encrypted like WhatsApp, I don’t know.

 

[charlotte123456]

I must have missed this or he’s edited it. Seems the software they have can’t read Instagram maybe some of it is encrypted like WhatsApp, I don’t know.

Another reason I don’t want my children to have an Instagram account!

 

[stephaniejanes]

I must have missed this or he’s edited it. Seems the software they have can’t read Instagram maybe some of it is encrypted like WhatsApp, I don’t know.

I'm thinking that absence of messages doesn't mean there never were any. So he saw no indication of contact, however it is possible to delete messages sent/conversations on Instagram. So he could argue that he deleted the messages/conversation for whatever reason.

 

[Edinlass]

I'm thinking that absence of messages doesn't mean there never were any. So he saw no indication of contact, however it is possible to delete messages sent/conversations on Instagram. So he could argue that he deleted the messages/conversation for whatever reason.

Yet if it was a deleted text message this could be pulled back up.

 

[Alyce]

Was this posted? It's the tweet from right before the Forensic Scientist took the stand:

@ConnorGillies
Witness says he found no Instagram contact between accused and Toni McLaghlin on the PHONE but cannot say whether there are any deleted Instagram conversations remain online as he does not have access to that.

They can't even say for sure if they communicated or not? Seems crazy!

This is what I have from the earlier tweet - slightly different -either he's amended it or there are two tweets



Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies 2h2 hours ago

Witness says software used by police is unable to properly read Instagram last year. He was intructed to re look at this and concludes there is “no indication of contact” between accused and Toni McLachlan on Instagram during period of the murder.

 

[Edinlass]

Looks like there are 2 tweets. He wrote one regarding the phone 12 mins ago per above post.

 

[stephaniejanes]

Yet if it was a deleted text message this could be pulled back up.

Yes, and I doubt that Instagram (who are owned by Facebook) hand over messaging history to the police. They've never been very forthcoming with providing the police with detailed logs on things in the past. So I would say that he can't definitely prove they never contacted one another through instagram but evidence he has suggests no contact.

 

[Gardenista]

Yet if it was a deleted text message this could be pulled back up.

Not always. Referencing a recent case, Chris Watts deleted text messages and they could not be retrieved.

 

[mrazda71]

Each piece of circumstantial evidence on its own may not be damning but put ALL of it together and it's pretty convincing.

 

[Alyce]

Yet if it was a deleted text message this could be pulled back up.

I'm no expert on this, but remember Becky Watts case - the police were only able to find a fragment of the texts that were exchanged between the Demetrius brothers and Nathan Matthews. The police actually stated that they knew there was more stuff but it was not possible to recover it.

 

[charlotte123456]

Yet if it was a deleted text message this could be pulled back up.

Is this the case though if it’s encrypted end to end? I seem to think WhatsApp messages can’t be retrieved once deleted...

 

[Edinlass]

Not always. Referencing a recent case, Chris Watts deleted text messages and they could not be retrieved.

Ah, I thought they could. Never mind.

 

[Edinlass]

Is this the case though if it’s encrypted end to end? I seem to think WhatsApp messages can’t be retrieved once deleted...

WhatsApp is fully encrypted I think this is where a lot of illegal activity / chat goes on IMO. I thought text messages could be retrieved if they’re deleted but appears this isn’t always the case either.

 

[Truthseeker777]

The point is, we can only base things on the concrete evidence. There is not enough for me yet. I do think he is guilty, but you cannot base your opinions on gut instinct, only facts. If I feel this way, then I am sure that others on the jury do as well.

I have to agree. The evidence from the prosecution so far is very weak even though it is very 'suggestive'.

No doubt the prosecution will finish off showing the accused dna found on the victim but they will have done little to refute the defence's version of events so McConnachie should have a relatively easy time creating reasonable doubt...for example, he will suggest how do we know this shadowy figure was not TMc and wasn't she the last person we know to have entered the child's room that night, why didn't the child scream, what was the nature of the she waswwtching and so on...just saying, so far the prosection has been pathetic especially as they are already aware of the defense's version of events

 

[Alyce]

Nine days after the murder


Heart Scotland News‏ @HeartScotNews 4h4 hours ago

Detective Constable Graham McIlwraith tells the court he attended the house of the accused on the of 11th July 2018 to recover knives and a knife block.

 

[charlotte123456]

WhatsApp is fully encrypted I think this is where a lot of illegal activity / chat goes on IMO. I thought text messages could be retrieved if they’re deleted but appears this isn’t always the case either.

Sorry, yes I got confused and thought you were talking about private messages on Instagram rather than text. I also thought texts could be retrieved without issue. It’s actually a real eye opener to me in terms of protecting children in general!

 

[mrazda71]

I'm thinking that absence of messages doesn't mean there never were any. So he saw no indication of contact, however it is possible to delete messages sent/conversations on Instagram. So he could argue that he deleted the messages/conversation for whatever reason.

Yes ... but ... did Toni also delete any alleged messages? If I delete my p.ms then they're no longer on my phone but, they remain on yours

 

[HayLouise]

13:53

Alesha's dad's phone number among accused's contacts

The court has heard Robert MacPhail and Toni McLachlan’s phone numbers were among the accused’s contacts.

At around 1.40am on July 2, a call was made to Mr MacPhail, before a message was sent to Ms McLachlan at 1.47am, jurors were told.

A return call to the accused from Ms McLachlan’s number is then said to have been made at 6.29am.

Mr Benson said there was no evidence the accused and Ms McLachlan had communicated on Instagram.

The IT expert added: “That did not feature in any of the evidence recovered from Toni-Louise McLachlan’s phone.”

Alesha MacPhail teen suspect's phone 'used to Google "How do police find DNA"'

 

[Alyce]

Exact timing for the search

Prosecutor Iain McSporran QC asked Mr Benson if he was able to find out the nature of internet searches and when they were made on the mobile.

The witness – a former police officer - agreed he could.

A search then said to have been made was: “How do police find DNA.”

This occurred on July 3 around 12.30am.


Alesha MacPhail accused googled “How do police find DNA”, court hears