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

[sunshine2019]

Yes I think this is more likely to be the case. I don't blame her for wanting a new start.

It was also so sad to hear RM say in that his day to day life has been impossible. It must be so claustrophobic being on the island with no escape from what happened. Heartbreaking all round.

 

[Alyce]

Hello, mrazda, it was in reference to telling jaci off for her typo error. I meant it in a pleasant way to you, I was not having a go, we are all on here for the best of reasons, a very special wee darling girl who met a dreadful end. Best wishes and have a nice day.

This is getting extremely personal now. A poster making a response to another poster, is not a telling off.
Perhaps leave it here before the thread is closed or we all end up on time outs.

 

[bronzepurple]

I agree, hence my last sentence- hope she is moving to a better support network. But there are people who are selling their stories (or worse giving them away) who are local to make out that she was the most incompetent parent- whilst watching for years as she potentially struggled.

Yes I see what you mean. I think they are in the minority though, I think most people here feel sorry for her.

 

[pinkje]

Hi. New here and following all the points closely.

Can anyone explain if it was only semen DNA that was found on Alesha? Can you even distinguish between different bodily fluid types?

I’m not saying AC didn’t rape and murder but just wondered How conclusive the DNA evidence was.

<modsnipped - against TOS>

 

[mrazda71]

Hello, mrazda, it was in reference to telling jaci off for her typo error. I meant it in a pleasant way to you, I was not having a go, we are all on here for the best of reasons, a very special wee darling girl who met a dreadful end. Best wishes and have a nice day.

Dear Ciana

I was in NO way 'telling off' the OP - I'm not a person who jumps on just anyone for a typo BUT if you come here and declare yourself a Times Journalist and impart your opinion regarding reporting errors whilst yourself making several errors then it deserves to be pointed out. Whether she has a newborn baby is irrelevant.

Hope you have a lovely day

 

[Sleuthdolf]

JMO- but in some ways they are worse in my experience. People on harder drugs tend to be more self centred and out of it and show complete lack of care or empathy for those around them. Weed is seen as acceptable, and people who smoke it tend to see themselves as perfectly functioning normal people- when the reality is they are only able to function to a degree.

In which way are they only able to function to a degree?

 

[Kiranerys]

If it's a fabrication, surely an easy way to prove that would be to trace the location of the phone. The fact the prosecution didn't play that card, would suggest it didn't help the prosecution's case.

In a previous thread a poster addressed this and explained that as Bute is such a small place there may not be many cell masts on the island,and I think you need 2 or 3 different ones to ping in order to triangulate a location,so unless the GPS on the phone itself was activated and they could check it's data for locations,the exact whereabouts of the phone at any one time can't be verified.JMO

 

[Gardenista]

Will the child rapist/murderer be able to appeal his conviction?

 

[Gardenista]

Hi. New here and following all the points closely.
snip
<modsnipped>.

No it isn't. Welcome to WS.

 

[Ardoch]

More here in this Scottish Daily Mail article on his behaviour when he was arrested.

'He was totally happy speaking to the police and didn't seem scared. Then they went away and Amanda and I said to him "that was really good that you spoke to the police." He said "Aye, no bother"

PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News

 

[mrazda71]

Will the child rapist/murderer be able to appeal his conviction?

I imagine that would depend on if he has any grounds for appeal. I don't 'think' he can just say 'not fair' and demand a re-run, thankfully!

 

[Ciana]

@Ciana your reply was written IN your quote so it's not carried forward

If you write a post on a public forum then you can and should expect other people to respond even if it's in a way you don't appreciate.

Edited to add - one might suggest that Genie deserved less sympathy as she allowed her daughter to go and stay with a drug user never mind dealer BUT neither makes any difference.

The only person to blame is Aaron Campbell.

mrazda, yes, you are correct, this is a public forum, we are presumably all on here for the same reason. I respect that we all have our own opinions and I would never deem anyone in the wrong for voicing those opinions, whether they were similar to mine or otherwise. I am not here to tell another person how they should think or feel. That is entirely their concern and a matter for them alone. At no time have I expressed annoyance or any other negative reaction to the posts of others who do not agree with what I have written. We live in a democracy and are entitled to express opinions of our own, whether they are meritorious or otherwise. As for your thoughts re the poor mother deserving less sympathy for the death of her beloved daughter and I quote from your post:

one might suggest that Genie deserved less sympathy as she allowed her daughter to go and stay with a drug user never mind dealer

Well, quite frankly, I have no words. Perhaps you are aware of things that many of us on here, myself included, are not privy to re that above quote. I am presuming that you have inside information to make such a statement. I am heart-sorry for all of Alesha's family.

 

[mrazda71]

mrazda, yes, you are correct, this is a public forum, we are presumably all on here for the same reason. I respect that we all have our own opinions and I would never deem anyone in the wrong for voicing those opinions, whether they were similar to mine or otherwise. I am not here to tell another person how they should think or feel. That is entirely their concern and a matter for them alone. At no time have I expressed annoyance or any other negative reaction to the posts of others who do not agree with what I have written. We live in a democracy and are entitled to express opinions of our own, whether they are meritorious or otherwise. As for your thoughts re the poor mother deserving less sympathy for the death of her beloved daughter and I quote from your post:

one might suggest that Genie deserved less sympathy as she allowed her daughter to go and stay with a drug user never mind dealer

Well, quite frankly, I have no words. Perhaps you are aware of things that many of us on here, myself included, are not privy to re that above quote. I am presuming that you have inside information to make such a statement.

I'm not quite understanding your question, perhaps you could clarify?

 

[Yenriac]

I imagine that would depend on if he has any grounds for appeal. I don't 'think' he can just say 'not fair' and demand a re-run, thankfully!

I don't believe he has any cause for appeal not unless new evidence comes to light. When sentenced he may be able to appeal the sentence however he needs to be sentenced first.

Edit: Also he was unanimously found guilty. No way he can appeal that.

 

[Kiranerys]

There are always 3 sides to a story, there's Janettes, Ms Stewart's & somewhere in the middle is the truth & Janette has not given her side of this story.

Also do we all believe what we read in the gutter press? I certainly don't.

Exactly,and as an aside if I personally believed a child to be evil since he was 2 (and lived next door so presumably watching his behaviour deteriorate?!)I don't think I would take my own child to spend the night in said childs presence,but maybe that's just me!

 

[Gardenista]

I imagine that would depend on if he has any grounds for appeal. I don't 'think' he can just say 'not fair' and demand a re-run, thankfully!

TY. Since the system in Scotland seems to be so lenient, I was just wondering if there was an automatic appeal if he is given a life sentence.

 

[Crestnut]

Yes I see what you mean. I think they are in the minority though, I think most people here feel sorry for her.

Maybe she is moving because her marriage has broken down and marital home has to be sold

 

[Junothecat]

Hi. New here and following all the points closely.

Can anyone explain if it was only semen DNA that was found on Alesha? Can you even distinguish between different bodily fluid types?

I’m not saying AC didn’t rape and murder but just wondered How conclusive the DNA evidence was.

<modsnipped>

I am not sure whether it's possible to differentiate between sources of DNA (semen versus e.g. skin or saliva etc). Different people say different things. But given the large number of injuries, the number of points on Alesha's body on which the prisoner's DNA was found (14? a lot, anyway) and the lack of any other alien DNA found at the murder scene, it seems highly unlikely that anyone other than the prisoner was involved.

Put bluntly, vide the defence narrative, if the prisoner had been 'framed' by a third party 'planting' the DNA via a used condom, it is very unlikely, in my understanding, that other DNA, or indeed lubricant / spermicide, would not also be present at the scene. And no such material was reported.

Other problems with the defence narrative include the CCTV evidence regarding the prisoner, the forensic evidence related to the discarded clothing understood to be his, and the lack of evidence of any attack / injury in the flat from which Alesha appears to have been taken.

The defence narrative also fails to explain why a knife, apparently from the prisoner's house, ended up on the shore near the site of Alesha's abduction.

Let's spell out another thing - and if this is out of line, I hope the moderators will remove it. But as we all know, in cases of child murder, close family members are most likely to be guilty, hence the first to be investigated. The police on Bute aren't idiots, are they? I suspect they, too, ran through - because they had to do so - a theory that either RM or someone else in Alesha's household that evening might have committed the relevant crimes. Ultimately, with access to forensic material and also the ability to question whoever they wished, they pursued charged against the person now convicted of those crimes. I trust that they did the right thing, based on evidence, experience and probability.

 

[Ciana]

This is getting extremely personal now. A poster making a response to another poster, is not a telling off.
Perhaps leave it here before the thread is closed or we all end up on time outs.

It was not meant to be personal, mrazda. I, for the same reason as you are expressing here, was concerned that things may be misconstrued. I was attempting to be helpful.

 

[Ciana]

Dear Ciana

I was in NO way 'telling off' the OP - I'm not a person who jumps on just anyone for a typo BUT if you come here and declare yourself a Times Journalist and impart your opinion regarding reporting errors whilst yourself making several errors then it deserves to be pointed out. Whether she has a newborn baby is irrelevant.

Hope you have a lovely day

Thank you.