The Abduction and Murder of Alesha MacPhail
Alesha MacPhail was a 6-year-old girl from Glasgow, Scotland. Her body was found in a wooded area on 2nd July 2018 and she is now known to have been murdered by 16-year-old Aaron Campbell.
On 1st July 2018, Alesha was visiting her grandparents on holiday. She was put to bed at around 23.00 she was checked on and seemed to be asleep. The key was left in the front door which was a common thing to do in the area.
That same evening 16-year-old Campbell had a party at his home and drunk heavily, friends noticed Campbell was upset and 'suicidal,' but he declined their offers of staying with him. Campbell sent messages to several people attempting to buy cannabis, including Robert MacPhail. At 01.47 and 01.48 he called Toni McLachland, the girlfriend of Alesha’s father, but there was no answer. Campbell had purchased cannabis from the couple on multiple occasions before but this has ended in early 2018 following intervention from Campbell's mother.
Campbell went out armed with a kitchen knife intending to steal cannabis. He entered the nearby MacPhail residence and went into Alesha's room, which was closest to the door, Campbell later stated he saw the sleeping girl as a 'moment of opportunity.' He lifted Alesha from her bed and carried her away. CCTV captures an individual, thought to be Campbell, walking along the shoreline carrying something, thought to be Alesha, in his arms. Alesha's feet were clean and uninjured suggesting she was carried. He took Alesha to a secluded area where he raped and murdered her before throwing his clothes in the sea, going home, showering and returning to the murder scene to retrieve his mobile phone.
At 6 am, Alesha's grandfather woke up for work and noticed the girl was missing, police were called at 6.23 am and a search began. At 6.55 a kitchen knife was found near the MacPhail residence. At 8.54 Alesha's lifeless and naked body was found in a wooded area a 15 minute walk away from the home.
A postmortem examination found Alesha had 117 injuries including indications she had been smothered and raped severely enough to cause 'catastrophic' injuries to her genitalia. A DNA sample taken from MacPhail's neck was later matched to Campbell and he was also found to have filmed himself in a Snapchat video sent to 25 people with the words 'Found the guy who has done it.'
Campbell was initially interviewed as a witness and later arrested and charged with the murder and rape of Alesha MacPhail. He entered a not guilty plea. On 21st February a jury unanimously found Campbell guilty, he was described as a 'cold, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual... completely lacking in victim empathy.' He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years due to Campbell’s young age. This was later reduced on appeal to 24 years, again factoring in his age. Campbell will be eligible to apply for parole when he is 40-years-old.
