Trial told accused spotted on CCTV

T H E A lesha MacPha i l murder trial has been told the accused left his home early in the morning on the day the six-year-old’s body was discovered.

The court heard from the 16-yearold boy’s mother, who said her son had been drinking with friends at home early on July 2.

The boy denies abducting the schoolgirl from the home her grandparents shared with her father on the Isle of Bute, raping and murdering her and attempting to hide evidence.

She said they argued about damage to furniture and then she thought he had gone to bed. The following day she helped search for Alesha and later checked her CCTV system covering her home and saw her son on the footage.

The court was shown footage in which she identified her son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, leaving the home at 1.54am and returning at 3.35am.

He left the house again at 3.58am, before returning at 4.07am.

The mother said she told her son about the footage and asked him why he was out, to which he said: “I don’t know, I might have been looking for my phone.” She asked him if he knew anything about the missing girl and he said “no”.

She was later shown pictures of a knife found on the shore, which she said is “very similar” to those in her kitchen but she had “no idea” how it got there.

The court also heard from pathologist John Williams, who said Alesha suffered more severe injuries to her genital area than he had ever seen before. The youngster had a total of 117 separate injuries, he said.

The High Court in Glasgow was shown graphic i mages of the injuries.

Dr Williams said his post-mortem examination of her body indicated the cause of death was “significant and forceful pressure to her neck and face”.

The court heard from the mother of the accused.