Murdered teenager’s mother slates killer’s sentence appeal

THE mother of murdered schoolgirl Paige Doherty has claimed her killer should be “utterly ashamed”after he lodged an appeal against his minimum prison sentence of 27 years.

Pamela Munro said that she wants to tell former shopkeeper John Leathem in person that he had already destroyed their family by murdering the 15-year-old.

The Appeal Court confirmed yesterday that Leatham, of Clydebank, who murdered Paige in his shop in the town before dumping her body in March, planned to appeal the sentence imposed earlier this month.

Ms Munro, 33, who has three other children, told the Clydebank Post: “If I could see him just now I’d tell him ‘You’ve already destroyed a family and now you’re putting us through this’.”

She added that the 32-year-old showed he had a complete “lack of remorse” for the killing in which he stabbed Paige more than 60 times.

He was sentenced earlier this month at the High Court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to what the court heard was a “savage and frenzied” murder.

Ms Munro added that it was “crazy” that Leathem believes he should receive less time in prison.

She added: “It makes us, as a family, feel like he’s not remorseful because if he was he would accept the time given to him.

“He didn’t look remorseful and I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt thinking maybe he was but this shows me isn’t.

Sentencing, Judge Lady Rae rejected Leathem’s claim, produced without any evidence, that Paige had threatened to report him for touching her inappropriately unless he gave her a job at the shop.

Ms Munro added: “He tried to ruin Paige’s name with his motive and it never worked, every step of the way he’s tried to get to us as a family and it just hasn’t worked.”

She added that Paige’s family had faith in the justice system that the judges would reject his sentencing appeal.