Search deep into your soul and confess, mum begs killer 21 years on
THE mother of a girl murdered two decades ago has made a heartbreaking appeal on what would have been her daughter’s 35th birthday.
Margaret McKeich has begged the killer of her daughter Caroline Glachan to search their soul and come forward.
Caroline, of Bonhill, Dunbartonshire, was found dead on the banks of the River Leven in nearby Renton, aged only 14 years old.
Her partly-submerged body – fully clothed apart from her shoes, which were removed and placed nearby – was discovered on August 25, 1996.
Her shoes had been placed beside her, and she had been left to drown minutes from her home.
Mrs McKeich, 60, said: ‘Although Caroline is in my thoughts daily, the fact that she would have been 35 today really brings home the overwhelming loss that I feel with her not here.
‘Please search deep into your soul and do the right thing and come forward. This person must surely be living their life weighed down with the burden of my daughter’s life on their shoulders.
‘I don’t understand how they can keep walking our streets knowing what they’ve done.
‘But I am asking them to release that burden and come forward.
‘Surely, after 20 years and knowing the devastation and sadness that has been endured by our family, there is something in you that knows you should do the right thing.’
The case is all the more tragic because of how much Caroline was longed for by her parents.
Prior to her birth, Mrs McKeich had already suffered four miscarriages and lost a son at birth.
In August last year, she told the Scottish Daily Mail: ‘The night before Caroline was born I prayed and begged God just to let me keep one of my babies.
‘And he did. I just didn’t know that I would only have her for a short time.’
By the summer of 1996, Caroline had grown into a typical teenager, with an engaging smile and tumbling brown curls. The night she died, she had been heading to meet her boyfriend in Renton, having spent the evening with friends, and took a short cut towards her home.
But she was brutally attacked, suffered a head injury and drowned.
Despite extensive investigations, no one has ever been arrested in connection with the teenager’s murder.
Mrs McKeich said: ‘Today, Caroline would have been a grown woman.
‘A woman who could have had children of her own and who would have been my grandchildren.
‘A woman who deserved to have a full life.
‘I will never have my daughter but I have my memories which I cherish.
‘This person has not only taken away my beautiful daughter but they have taken a life that was full of hope and optimism for her future.’
In September last year, Police Scotland made a fresh appeal for information on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme, showing CCTV footage from 1996.
Independent charity Crimestoppers has also offered a reward of up to £10,000 for information.
Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr said: ‘I echo Margaret’s message.
‘This is a difficult time for Caroline’s family and her birthday brings back all the pain and sadness of her death.
‘This young girl’s life was tragically taken away from her at the age of 14 and the person responsible
‘I’m asking them to release that burden’
is still out there, a coward in the community.
‘I am excited by the response we have had since we made the fresh appeal in August but I believe there are people in the local community who have vital information that could help us.’
He added: ‘If you know something, no matter, how small, that could help us find Caroline’s killer, please get in touch.
‘She has lived her life without any answers and she deserves some now.’