Man who gave ecstasy to tragic girl, 13, is cleared of killing her
He walks free from court after not proven verdict
A TRAINEE chef has been cleared of killing a 13-year-old girl by recklessly supplying her with ecstasy.
Grace Handling died after taking the drug at the home of Callum Owens. The 19year-old said he gave the schoolgirl permission to take a tablet when she went to visit him in June 2018.
He admitted he also took an ecstasy pill, fell asleep and woke up to find her dead on his living room floor, but he denied killing her.
At the High Court in Glasgow, a jury found the case against Owens not proven and he walked free.
The court heard that Grace, who died of ecstasy intoxication, had used the drug months before her death and her mother and big sister had both warned the teenager of the dangers.
Owens, of Irvine, Ayrshire, told the court that he has not taken ecstasy since 2018. Before the jury came back with their verdict, Grace’s father Stewart knelt in prayer. Outside court he sobbed as a statement on behalf of the family was read out by Anne-Marie Cocozza, of bereavement support charity FAMS.
It said: ‘Grace was an amazing young girl and a very loving and caring daughter.
‘Our lives changed forever on the evening of June 29, 2018. We will never get over the sudden loss of our daughter.
‘I didn’t even get to say goodbye. Whether Callum Owens was found guilty, not guilty or not proven it will not bring our daughter back home again.’
The court was told Grace phoned a friend that night around 8pm and told her she had taken three tablets.
In evidence, Owens claimed they had been chatting and listening to music and Grace saw a bag with nine ecstasy tablets and asked for one. He said they each took a tablet.
He later discovered there were only five tablets left which he threw away. Owens said he fell asleep on the floor and woke up with Grace nearby. He said: ‘She wasn’t breathing. She was
‘Lives changed forever’
cold to the touch and her eyes were open.’
He told the jurors he tried to perform CPR without success and later left the house.
When asked why he did not phone an ambulance or the police or his parents for Grace, he replied: ‘I was just scared.’
The jury heard that when he was questioned as a witness at Saltcoats police station, Owens told police: ‘I sold her the pills, no wait I didn’t sell the pills, I gave her them.’
Owens was asked why he had said he gave her them and he replied: ‘I just felt responsible because they were mine and it was in my house.’
The court heard that Owens Facebook-messaged his friend Alisha McLean on June 29, 2018 and told her: ‘Oft I’m going probably never coming back.’
Minutes later he said he had killed someone.
When his friend asked how, he replied: ‘They choked on their sick in my gaff.’
When asked who was dead he said: ‘Wee Grace Handling. Tried to give her CPR and she died in my arms. It’s my fault. She was just a wee lassie.’
Owens made no comment as he left court.
A social media group with 1,600 supporters named JusticeforGrace, set up by her friends in Irvine, Ayrshire, last night thanked the community for its support on behalf of the teenager’s family.
Grace’s music teacher mother Lorraine Handling was too upset to talk about the case at her home in Irvine yesterday.