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

[53J29]

Jury went out, as best I can time it, at 11.15am - so they could come back at - say 1pm - although I am inclined to think it will be later today.
I wonder if the Judge will send them an instruction that he doesn't want to hear from them between 1 and 2pm

Would the court not all go for lunch early while jury is out rather than wait for lunch time?

 

[embro68]

Would the court not all go for lunch early while jury is out rather than wait for lunch time?

The jury need lunch too

 

[Edinlass]

Least the accused doesn’t..he doesn’t need a break. Cool as a cucumber this one.

 

[Bustia]

Finally, someone ! Lol.



I can explain this from experience - i had an on/off girlfriend many years ago who was married and was for all intents and purposes absolutely obsessed by her husband. She was the jealous type and her behaviour was at times could be very erratic. It turned out that she actually had multiple other partners on the side and this appeared to be her illogical way of soothing the discomfort she felt from being endlessly jealous of her actual partner.

As i've said all along, i think there is far more to this story that most people think.

I also feel like there is more to this story, some the public will never find out, aside from rumour and gossip. I was open to changing my mind on my opinion that the accused was guilty when the defence opened. In this case, the defence failed to change my mind on that opinion. At the end of the day, we are all entitled to our own opinions and of course these opinions do not matter, as none of us are on the jury and none of us have received the full evidence presented to the jury.

My thoughts are with Alesha’s family today, it is an extremely emotional case for most people. I cannot imagine what it has been like to endure this for the past 7 months. Hopefully they get some form of closure, answers to some questions. If the accused is guilty and is found that way, the only thing I feel like he can do is to admit to her family what happened that night and why. I doubt this will happen though.

If he is found not guilty or not proven, I hope the investigation continues immediately into who is responsible for this horrific crime.

 

[Thebutlerdiditagain]

I remember once being on the wrong side of the court suspected of a guilty by association and the prosecution spoke to me at the hotdog van

He more or less told me they did not really have a case

You could not make it up

At one stage the judge painted me as the mastermind
It also makes me chuckle when people say only guilty people end up convicted or at court
My example of it being easier to prosecute everyone even when they knew I was not involved

A definite learning curve in life

 

[Alyce]

Would the court not all go for lunch early while jury is out rather than wait for lunch time?

I have seen, in previous cases, that a Judge has sent a note through to the Jury, to say that if they have not reached a verdict by 1pm, then he ( or she ) does not want to hear from them until 2pm- even if they reach their decision at say 1.30pm.
It gives the Judge and the attendees at the trial (in particular the family ) a chance to have a guaranteed period of time for a break /lunch ( if anyone actually is able to eat ! ) without having to worry that the Jury might be coming back in with a verdict.

 

[Edinlass]

I remember once being on the wrong side of the court suspected of guilty by association and the prosecution spoke to me at the hotdog van asking if I had found anyone as I had previously met him before I found out he was part of the prosecution
More or less told me they did not really have a case and was surprised I was with the accused at court

You could not make it up

At one stage the judge painted me as the mastermind the main player
It also makes me chuckle when people say only guilty people end up convicted or at court as mine was an example of being somewhere and easier to prosecute everyone even when they knew I was not involved

A definite learning curve in life

I assume your DNA and semen wasn’t all over the crime scene though?

 

[Crestnut]

But how does that alternative scenario work with the shadowy figure on the cctv? It would either mean you have to discount it as evidence or include it and assume it was Toni.. in which case she would have to have met the accused, had a cigarette and chat, gone to beach for sex, go home, get the framing kit, get Alesha and be by that cctv camera within 28 minutes

Was the cctv ever released to the public to maybe try identify the "shadowy figure" ? If never been seen until the court evidence then who actually can say it was not another villager out and about

 

[Jason-d-h-1990]

The charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by showering and disposing of clothing was withdrawn because it was never proven. The accused had a shower but none of Alesha's DNA was found in the accused's home therefore not proven. I think in the end it makes it easier for the jury to not have to consider that charge. In Scotland if you have commited any crime and the police believe you have attempted to cover it up that charge is always added. Quite often it ends up withdrawn.

But if it was never proven that he disposed of those clothes then how can they accuse the fibres were from his clothing if they cannot prove they were his?

 

[Edinlass]

But if it was never proven that he disposed of those clothes then how can they accuse the fibres were from his clothing if they cannot prove they were his?

The charge that was dropped is in relation to a discarded hooded top found on the shore front and then subsequently discarded in a police skip by the police. It was never forensically tested due to its condition.

 

[Gallicrow]

If he is innocent, why did he wait 7 months before implicating Toni?

Quite. All the "no comments" in his initial interview don't make any sense whatsoever if he didn't know anything about the crime.

 

[Jason-d-h-1990]

The charge that was dropped is in relation to a discarded hooded top found on the shore front and then discarded in a police skip by a policeman. It was never forensically tested due to its condition.

Ah okay, I never followed properly.

 

[Thebutlerdiditagain]

I assume your DNA and semen wasn’t all over the crime scene though?

Not to my knowledge lol
I walked into that

I think this case shows that if you have a dysfunctional family it can be used against you in court
This case has used this to cast doubt on the accused and push it towards the family

 

[Yenriac]

But if it was never proven that he disposed of those clothes then how can they accuse the fibres were from his clothing if they cannot prove they were his?

Because the boy said they were his and he lost them while jumping off a pier.

 

[Nikynoo]

Again, could be co-incidental. The addition of phone GPS would prove this one way or another.



I don't think it's highly unlikely at all. There are always people out and about at strange times of the night for whatever reason. I'm from a small Scottish community and i have seen this in most villages that i've stayed in. And again, it 'looked' like they were carrying someone but the CCTV isn't clear enough to prove or disprove this.



You would, but that doesn't mean to say that some people might not come forward to explain themselves for whatever reason. A lot of people might not purely because they don't want to implicate themselves in a murder.

I know a lot of people want to bend certain aspects of this case to fit, but the harsh truth is that a lot of the details cannot be proven, or at least can be explained. Again, i'm not saying that the accused isn't necessarily guilty, i'm just not being naive in trying to make the scene fit the crime.

Interesting - was phone GPS from the accused used as evidence? If not, could this be that the mast coverage is not accurate enough to pinpoint location?

 

[Taskforce88]

Quite. All the "no comments" in his initial interview don't make any sense whatsoever if he didn't know anything about the crime.

You would expect him to answer the questions honestly to get out of there and back home if he had only done a bit of weed.

 

[Alyce]

Snipped by me

My thoughts are with Alesha’s family today, it is an extremely emotional case for most people. I cannot imagine what it has been like to endure this for the past 7 months. Hopefully they get some form of closure, answers to some questions. If the accused is guilty and is found that way, the only thing I feel like he can do is to admit to her family what happened that night and why. I doubt this will happen though.

If he is found not guilty or not proven, I hope the investigation continues immediately into who is responsible for this horrific crime.

Yes - me too. That picture of her mother arriving at court today, simply harrowing.

I know I have said this before, on other cases, but....

at the end of the Jury deliberations, when the verdict has been returned, we, on here, will all either breathe a sigh of relief, or be angry if our wished for verdict ( whichever it may be ) is not achieved.
Then, we will, after a period of reflection, go about our normal routine.
For Alesha's family and friends, there will be no such ability to step back to a normal life.
They will carry on serving the life time sentence that this murder has inflicted upon them.

 

[Nikynoo]

If he is innocent, why did he wait 7 months before implicating Toni?

We don't know that he did. All we know if that the defence didn't reveal this until the beginning of the trial. I am not sure whether there is an obligation to let the prosecution know under scottish trial procedures?

 

[sunshine2019]

Interesting - was phone GPS from the accused used as evidence? If not, could this be that the mast coverage is not accurate enough to pinpoint location?

Mobile reception is patchy on the island so probably that doesn't help?

 

[Marlinspike]

Yes beyond doubt that it was either the accused or Toni.. if it had been anyone else then surely they would have come forward to be eliminated? Added with the rest of the evidence I can’t think of any other explanation

Assuming they were innocent, they MAY have come forward. Quite a lot of assumptions for "beyond doubt"