Teen accused of murder chatted about missing child (5) on social media

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy accused of abducting, raping and murdering a six-year-old girl sent a video of himself to friends with the message “found the guy who’s done it”, a court has heard.

Giving evidence, a girl (16), who was good friends with the accused, said the disappearance of Alesha MacPhail was discussed in a Snapchat group of around 25 friends on July 2.

Alesha (below) had been staying in the house her father shared with her grandparents on the Isle of Bute when she was reported missing shortly after 6am on July 2 last year.

Her body was found hours later in a wooded area on the i sland.

The witness told the High Court in Glasgow the accused sent a video of himself in the mirror showing his top half but not his face to the group chat that afternoon, followed by the message “found the guy who’s done it”.

She said she thought it was a “bad joke”, but she later told police when it emerged an arrest had been made in the murder inquiry.

The teenager said that he also sent messages to the group “saying what he thought could’ve happened” and “how could (Alesha) have got out the house without anybody noticing in the house”.

She agreed other people in the group were contributing “gossip, rumour and speculation”. Questioned by Brian McConnachie QC, for the accused, she said at the time it was posted she was not aware Alesha had been murdered and agreed others were making comments in poor taste. He asked her: “If (the accused) had not been arrested, you would have continued to think this was a bad joke?”, to which she replied: “Yeah.”

Another friend said he found the accused talking about suicide early on July 2 after a party at his home but left after he seemed bet- ter. The court also heard from another friend of the accused, who said the boy had messaged her at around noon on July 2 asking if she had seen anything and if she had walked her dog that morning as she normally went where Alesha’s body was found. “He started to get anxious and said the police were going to blame it on him,” she said.

He told her police always blamed him for things that happened in that area. She said she tried to calm him down and “brushed it off ” at the time as she knew he suffered from anxiety.

The witness also showed police messages he sent her in 2017, saying he “might kill one day for the lifetime experience”.

Other messages said he would probably “stalk her” and “go into her room”.

She asked him the chances of getting away with murder with a good plan and he replied: “Well if it was a good plan then 100%.”

She later messaged: “I’m glad I’m not at the top of your hit list.” He replied: “No one is.”

The teenager agreed these were theoretical exchanges where she brought up the subject of murder and at the time caused her no concern, saying they both had a dark sense of humour, adding the conversation was “not serious”.

The 16-year-old accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies abducting, raping and murdering Alesha, and attempting to hide evidence.

The teenager has lodged a special defence blaming Toni McLachlan — the girlfriend of Alesha’s father Robert MacPhail — for the killing, who told the court on Wednesday that she “loved” Alesha and had nothing to do with her death.

The trial continues.