Young girl found body of victim

A WOMAN told a murder trial how she found a body as she and two friends went to watch Celtic players training.

Kerry Gillespie, now 36, said that she was a 14-year-old schoolgirl when she discovered the body of Derek Sheerin lying on waste ground behind the Celtic Supporters social club, close to the stadium.

Ms Gillespie was giving evidence at the trial of Philip Morrison, 40, from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, who denies murdering 24-year-old Mr Sheerin near to London Road, Glasgow, on September 25, 1994. It is alleged Mr Morrison compressed Mr Sheerin’s neck with a belt and robbed him of a watch, tobacco and £20.

Ms Gillespie said she and her friends were walking with her in front when she spotted the body. At the High Court in Glasgow prosecutor Iain McSporran asked Ms Gillespie: “What did you do when you saw the body?”

She replied: “I screamed and ran back.”

She was then asked how close she had been to the body and said: “Quite close. It was on my left hand side, I just looked and screamed and ran.”

The jury heard that Ms Gillespie ran up to two men who were walking down the path from London Road towards the River Clyde.

One of the men, Duncan Innes, phoned the police.

When the first police officer arrived he put Ms Gillespie and her friends in the back of his van, before walking down to where the body lay.

The court heard that officer James Grayson has since died, but his statement was read out, saying the victim’s trousers were down and a belt around his neck.

The trial continues.