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

[HayLouise]

10:48

Alesha's dad and his girlfriend 'seen on street night before she vanished'

The second defence witness of today, Laura Crawford, is now giving evidence.

She tells the court she saw Mr MacPhail and Ms McLachlan on the street just hours before Alesha vanished.

She says she was driving past the youngster’s grandparents’ home at the time of the sighting shortly after 11pm on July 1 last year.

The court hears the couple were “around the corner” from the property, and it looked like they had possibly “fallen out”.

Mr MacPhail had his hand on Ms McLachlan’s arm and was trying to “get her to turn around”, according to Ms Crawford.

Boy accused of murdering Alesha MacPhail, 6, denies rape

 

[Alyce]

Fraser Knight‏ @Fraser_Knight

She tells the court Robert was pulling on Toni’s left arm as if he was wanting her to turn around and listen to him. She says Toni pulled away from him. It looked liked they had maybe fallen out

 

[Tortoise]

Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies

Witness says “it looked like they had fallen out” as they went their separate ways

I thought she was driving past. She must have been driving slowly to see all this.

 

[HayLouise]

Radio Clyde News‏Verified account @RadioClydeNews

Mrs Crawford says "it looked like they had fallen out". She says "Toni was walking in front & Robert was pulling on her arm & shoulder".

 

[Hhp28]

The fact there are people in the community willing to form part of his defense has surprised me greatly.

If they provided this information when the investigation was underway and then were later called upon to form part of the accuseds defence, are they duty bound to do so? Sorry I sound really naive I'm just unsure of the processes.

 

[Edinlass]

I thought she was driving past. She must have been driving slowly to see all this.

So irrelevant to this case tbh. Yes she may have lied about the abuse but the girl is going through enough what with her being accused of a heinous crime.

 

[HayLouise]

Fraser Knight‏ @Fraser_Knight

In her initial statement to police, Mrs Crawford told police when she saw Toni, she said: “She looked upset. She looked really upset. She looked as though she was crying or about to start crying.”

Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies

Court hears the written statement Laura Crawford provided to police. It said “Toni looked upset, she looked really upset”

 

[HayLouise]

Fraser Knight‏ @Fraser_Knight

Mrs Crawford tells the court she knows both the MacPhail family and Toni Mclachlan’s family - “they’re all lovely people” she tells the jury.

 

[Owlpellet]

Connor Gillies feed:

Witness says she could hear Toni “getting beaten up” in house for a “good few months”. Woman said she could hear Toni screaming and saying “please somebody help me”.

 

[HayLouise]

Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies

Witness is asked “is there any room for you being wrong?” She replies “no”.

 

[Taskforce88]

Calls into question the credibility of the witness - TM - if she lied about no abuse, what else did she lie about

Yep, its adding doubt to her side

 

[Hhp28]

So irrelevant to this case tbh. Yes she may have lied about the abuse but the girl is going through enough what with her being accused of a heinous crime.

To me, it feels like clutching at straws.

I guess similarly to the prosecution they will be saving their best until last though. My heart is in my mouth.

 

[HayLouise]

Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies

Prosecution reminds court both Toni and Robert deny being out of the house that night.

 

[Taskforce88]

I wonder if the custody case was for joint custody or full? I can't see it being full.

 

[beseeingyou]

"Prosecution reminds court both Toni and Robert deny being out of the house that night."

So that potentially puts the credibility of both RM and TM to the test.

 

[HayLouise]

Heart Scotland News‏ @HeartScotNews

Under cross-examination the prosecutors tell Mrs Crawford: “Just because you say you couldn’t be wrong, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t be wrong.” Mrs Crawford admits she only got a “glimpse” of the pair.

 

[Yenriac]

Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies

Prosecution reminds court both Toni and Robert deny being out of the house that night.

Oh my god. So they have denied being out of the house but a witness has confirmed they were. This whole thing is a mess.

 

[beseeingyou]

Oh my god. So they have denied being out of the house but a witness has confirmed they were. This whole thing is a mess.

And the question is, WHY would they feel the need to lie about being out of the house or not ?

 

[Taskforce88]

"Prosecution reminds court both Toni and Robert deny being out of the house that night."

So that potentially puts the credibility of both RM and TM to the test.

Potentially. I wonder if the defence will also use this to say the grandparents possibly 'covered up' other stuff. Like events on the night she went missing. There may be an explanation in there as to how the accused got a hold of Alesha.

 

[HayLouise]

Connor Gillies‏Verified account @ConnorGillies

During cross examination the witness admits she only “got a glimpse” of Toni. Witness says it is “possible” she could now be mistaken that it was in fact Toni. Witness also says the man was wearing “wrap around shades” so she couldn’t see his eyes.