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

[Eve71]

Had you heard the rumours about the cats and his odd behaviour etc. before he was arrested? Or did it come out afterwards. Because a lot of it could have been conjecture after his arrest. Not saying it isn't true. Just trying to get a clearer picture.

He doesn't appear particularly "odd" or "dangerous" in his YouTube videos or in any photograph I've seen of him. I know that's obviously a lot different from interacting with someone in person, but from all media I've saw of him he doesn't seem bizarre. I think a lot of people's perception of him may stem from hindsight and may come from their disgust at the crime he has committed, honestly. You can always look back at things in the past and see them in a certain way, relative to how things have played out in the future. If he hadn't done such an awful thing I feel like people would probably be a bit more dismissive and less inclined to perceive him as such a "strange" person. Could be wrong though.

Ted Bundy didn’t seem odd, I’m fact quite the opposite , he was handsome and charismatic. Pre arrest, I’d have accepted a date with him.

 

[Kikixxxx]

The messages may have been because of his odd Snapchat posts regarding Aleshas disappearance and people were putting two and two together. Even if he’s innocent ( he’s not) the posts were bizarre, what kind of person would find humour in a missing/murdered child, especially one so close to home ? Did you ever see Alesha around ?

Oh yeah, you could be right because it never made sense why people would just randomly text say Toni and say “Aaron might of done it” so surely something must of happened for them to say it?? but I’m sure at the time his friends thought it was a joke coz of his “dark sense of humour” they only reported it to police after he was arrested and thought there might have been more to it

 

[Eve71]

Unfortunately, Scotland does not have a whole of life sentence so the best the Judge can do would be to set a precedent by giving him - say - 40 years or more.
I expect it will depend on the reports that have been ordered, as to whether or not the Judge feels there is a possibility of rehabilitation which would allow a release at some point in his life.

I believe Lord Matthews will set a precedent with this one. He made his feelings very clear in court. I’m sure he’ll do everything within his power to make certain AC is detained for as long as legally possible. He has already told him he may never be released, that’s a big statement.

 

[bronzepurple]

The messages may have been because of his odd Snapchat posts regarding Aleshas disappearance and people were putting two and two together. Even if he’s innocent ( he’s not) the posts were bizarre, what kind of person would find humour in a missing/murdered child, especially one so close to home ? Did you ever see Alesha around ?

I think the snapchat messages were only to his close friends as part of their snapchat group convo….Toni was older and had her own set of friends, so I don't think the people contacting her saying they thought he was involved were Aaron's friends....also he sent that message with a photo of him with his top off saying 'found the guy who did it' after Alesha had been found and she'd been murdered...whereas Toni got the messages when Alesha was still just missing, she hadn't been found yet so at that point they didn't know if she had just wandered off as opposed to foul play.

No I never saw Alesha around, or Aaron. The only person I saw before all this happened was Alesha's grandmother....then after the media printed pictures of the rest of the family I then saw Alesha's dad Rab and her grandfather around town.

 

[Eve71]

Oh yeah, you could be right because it never made sense why people would just randomly text say Toni and say “Aaron might of done it” so surely something must of happened for them to say it?? but I’m sure at the time his friends thought it was a joke coz of his “dark sense of humour” they only reported it to police after he was arrested and thought there might have been more to it

Yes he was having a right old laugh about it on social media which did un nerve his friends . They put it down to his dark humour but it still came across as strange behaviour. I really can’t fathom why he’d leave himself wide open like that....he was certainly bragging but why? Did he want to get caught ?

 

[Eve71]

I think the snapchat messages were only to his close friends as part of their snapchat group convo….Toni was older and had her own set of friends, so I don't think the people contacting her saying they thought he was involved were Aaron's friends....also he sent that message with a photo of him with his top off saying 'found the guy who did it' after Alesha had been found and she'd been murdered...whereas Toni got the messages when Alesha was still just missing, she hadn't been found yet so at that point they didn't know if she had just wandered off as opposed to foul play.

No I never saw Alesha around, or Aaron. The only person I saw before all this happened was Alesha's grandmother....then after the media printed pictures of the rest of the family I then saw Alesha's dad Rab and her grandfather around town.

Thank you for answering my questions. Living there this past 8 months must have at times felt rather surreal , especially with the intense media intrusion. Your island looks beautiful, I’m hoping to visit one day.

 

[bronzepurple]

Thank you for answering my questions. Living there this past 8 months must have at times felt rather surreal , especially with the intense media intrusion. Your island looks beautiful, I’m hoping to visit one day.

It was a bit crazy/hectic when the media turned up, papparazzi standing outside the house waiting for anything to happen so they could photograph it. Police cordoned off the beach and one of the streets so the buses has to go a different route. A police van and police permanently outside Alesha's grans house. Reporters standing by bus stops hoping to catch people to speak to and get statements to print.

It is a beautiful place, definitely worth a visit.

 

[Edinlass]

I think it was common knowledge in the island that he was a bit weird. There’s weird and what he done though eh. I bet no-one in their wildest imagination could of imagined what he actually carried out, it’s the stuff of nightmares it really is. I wonder what if any the physchy reports will shed on him, i’d like to read them.

 

[PR274]

He was in the same year of school as a friend's son. I know his name came up in conversation before any arrest was officially announced. The friend's son said he was weird.

I know three of the people mentioned in the media. Have worked with two of them. I met Alesha about a month before she died. I remember seeing her at the Port Gala Day. One of the stalls has a guess the teddy's name and she was desperate to win it, which she did. She was so, so happy.

 

[TaylorCallum]

I wonder if he thought he could get away with it? It's really odd when you look at some of the things. Like apparently posing the body, leaving it in such an easily discoverable location with all of the DNA evidence, bragging about the abduction/killing to friends. Sometimes it seems like he wanted to be caught but maybe thought he would not actually get punished.

 

[nothinonyou]

I read an article when the thread was closed which mentioned that much of the details of what happened to Alesha's body weren't made public knowledge as they were too graphic. is this true or just a statement for shock value? I'm pretty sure we heard mostly everything

 

[Eve71]

It was a bit crazy/hectic when the media turned up, papparazzi standing outside the house waiting for anything to happen so they could photograph it. Police cordoned off the beach and one of the streets so the buses has to go a different route. A police van and police permanently outside Alesha's grans house. Reporters standing by bus stops hoping to catch people to speak to and get statements to print.

It is a beautiful place, definitely worth a visit.

Yes, I heard about reporters desperately trying to get a story and generally being a nuisance. I will visit, maybe next year.

 

[Eve71]

I wonder if he thought he could get away with it? It's really odd when you look at some of the things. Like apparently posing the body, leaving it in such an easily discoverable location with all of the DNA evidence, bragging about the abduction/killing to friends. Sometimes it seems like he wanted to be caught but maybe thought he would not actually get punished.

When you look at the whole case , his behaviour in parts is very immature with no self awareness. The abduction itself was incredibly risky, almost as if he didn’t care about being caught. Breaking into a flat with four adults , carrying Alesha along a very public route, dropping an easily identified knife opposite her home, erratic behaviour captured on CCTV, which he must have known would record him, boasting on Snapchat . He may as well have arrested himself! It’s a mixture of a very dangerous and warped individual with a 16 year olds logic.

 

[Edinlass]

When you look at the whole case , his behaviour in parts is very immature with no self awareness. The abduction itself was incredibly risky, almost as if he didn’t care about being caught. Breaking into a flat with four adults , carrying Alesha along a very public route, dropping an easily identified knife opposite her home, erratic behaviour captured on CCTV, which he must have known would record him, boasting on Snapchat . He may as well have arrested himself! It’s a mixture of a very dangerous individual with a 16 year olds logic.

And then to top it off had the audacity to take the stand in a court of law in front of Aleshas family and not be intimidated by the prosecution whilst lodging a special defence on an innocent girl. This 16 year old has no limits, he’s a very dangerous individual, imagine an adult AC- it’s frightening. Even more reason to throw the key IMO

 

[Eve71]

I read an article when the thread was closed which mentioned that much of the details of what happened to Alesha's body weren't made public knowledge as they were too graphic. is this true or just a statement for shock value? I'm pretty sure we heard mostly everything

True, I’d say. It serves no purpose for the public to know. It’s also withheld to protect the family (although I’m sure they’re privy to everything ) but most importantly to protect the victim and her dignity

 

[Eve71]

And then to top it off had the audacity to take the stand in a court of law in front of Aleshas family and not be intimidated by the prosecution whilst lodging a special defence on an innocent girl. This 16 year old has no limits, he’s a very dangerous individual, imagine an adult AC- it’s frightening. Even more reason to throw the key IMO

Yes. The dangerous individual would have preserved but the 16 yr old logic would have certainly evolved.

 

[TaylorCallum]

I wonder if he had been a bit older and a bit more cautious he would have gotten away with this. Like people had theorised before, if he had moved to a big city and started killing when he was an adult he may not have been caught as quickly. A scary thought but definitely a possibility.

 

[Eve71]

For some reason I keep going back to Ettrick Bay . I always thought A.C. had gone to the flat to buy weed, he could not have known the door was unlocked, so how did he expect to get Alesha out ?...But..l do know that both Alesha and A.C. were at Ettrick Bay the fri and possibly the sat before her death. Did he see her there ? It’s obvious that he is sexually interested in very young girls. Did he see a very pretty blonde girl in a swimming costume and that’s when the seed was planted. If his only motive was to abduct Alesha there must have been a very recent trigger.

 

[Eve71]

He was in the same year of school as a friend's son. I know his name came up in conversation before any arrest was officially announced. The friend's son said he was weird.

I know three of the people mentioned in the media. Have worked with two of them. I met Alesha about a month before she died. I remember seeing her at the Port Gala Day. One of the stalls has a guess the teddy's name and she was desperate to win it, which she did. She was so, so happy.

Awww, so pleased she won. She really did spend a lot of time on the island with her paternal family. They obviously loved her very much. Whatever is said about her father regarding the drugs, etc , he was a very spot on dad . Judging by social media she was a very much adored little girl. Her 6 short years on this Earth were filled with lots of love, fun and happiness.

 

[bfin1995]

l do know that both Alesha and A.C. were at Ettrick Bay the fri and possibly the sat before her death. Did he see her there ?

This article seems to imply Alesha went to Ettrick Bay on the Thursday.

"When she arrived on Bute on Thursday 28 June Alesha wanted to go Highland dancing.

But by the time they reached the 292 Club the class had finished.

Instead, Alesha's grandparents, Calum MacPhail and Angela King, took her to the idyllic beach on Ettrick Bay."

Alesha: The little girl with the big smile