UK - Alesha MacPhail, 6, raped & murdered, Ardbeg, Isle of Bute, Scotland, 2 Jul 2018 -*arrest* #6

[Owlpellet]

I don't think he has gone round there to ask directly for weed. He didn't have any for months (from Rab) before then and at that time in the morning too. Why would he go knocking on their door at a ridiculous time when he knew his parents and daughter was there, after his mother warned Rab not to sell to him. Toni would have passed the message back to her via her aunt.

I think it was a spontaneous fantasy plan (to some extent). There may have been lots of social media photos of Alesha inside the house so he at least had a feel for the layout. People were known to leave their doors unlocked too. This mixed with an overwhelming urge that night and pure luck that the door was open got her out the house.

And if Alesha was lying awake and heard someone opening the outside door, she may well have been excited rather than afraid, thinking it was her nice uncle or some other friend or relative who was used to entering the house unannounced. She might have tiptoed excitedly out of bed into the hall to greet them and maybe even recognised AC as a trusted friend of people she knew from the dance school. He may never have even entered the house but simply stood smiling at the doorstep with his finger in front of his lips and beckoning her out to play.

She is said to have liked trampolines. He may even have already promised her a shot one day. Who knows? Anyway, he certainly sounded smug about how it was done.

 

[Owlpellet]

Fab post! But you missed one, if I may...

If only he hadn't removed the condom after having sex, and handed it to his partner saying "take this and bin it for me, would you?"

Nah, thought about that...he’d just have chucked it!

 

[Eve71]

I don't think he has gone round there to ask directly for weed. He didn't have any for months (from Rab) before then and at that time in the morning too. Why would he go knocking on their door at a ridiculous time when he knew his parents and daughter was there, after his mother warned Rab not to sell to him. Toni would have passed the message back to her via her aunt.

I think it was a spontaneous fantasy plan (to some extent). There may have been lots of social media photos of Alesha inside the house so he at least had a feel for the layout. People were known to leave their doors unlocked too. This mixed with an overwhelming urge that night and pure luck that the door was open got her out the house.

Your post has made me think a little . It’s always been my belief that he went for weed. He had tried several times to score that night/morning but was unsuccessful. He left his home not long after having called Rab and Toni so I assume he thought he’d knock there on the off chance they may still be up. Considering we are talking about someone who had the brass neck to enter and abduct Alesha from her home, full of adults , I doubt he’d have any qualms about knocking on Rabs door at silly o clock to buy some weed. However, it’s just as likely he had everything planned to abduct Alesha and that was his sole reason for entering her home that morning. The fact she was raped points to him having a perverse interest in very young girls.

I do think you may have hit the nail on the head about how he knew the layout of the flat, pics on social media could be the key. Another thought I’ve had is if at some time A.C. had been in the flat as a guest of Toni’s unbeknown to Rab and his parents.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Nah, thought about that...he’d just have chucked it!

Definitely! Yuk, who'd want to take that?!

 

[Eve71]

And if Alesha was lying awake and heard someone opening the outside door, she may well have been excited rather than afraid, thinking it was her nice uncle or some other friend or relative who was used to entering the house unannounced. She might have tiptoed excitedly out of bed into the hall to greet them and maybe even recognised AC as a trusted friend of people she knew from the dance school. He may never have even entered the house but simply stood smiling at the doorstep with his finger in front of his lips and beckoning her out to play.

She is said to have liked trampolines. He may even have already promised her a shot one day. Who knows? Anyway, he certainly sounded smug about how it was done.

Yes, anything is possible. Each scenario I go through just makes me feel a little more nauseous . That poor little girl! He really is the stuff of nightmares.

 

[TaylorCallum]

No matter how much I've read and mulled over this case (and I do believe he is guilty) part of me still feels sorry for him. I know that isn't a popular consensus here, understandably so, and the major sympathy should lie with Alesha and her family but I just think it's a tragic situation that he's only 16 and he's thrown his entire life away by committing such a brutal act. It's his own fault but it still saddens me and it could have been very different. It's weird.

 

[Owlpellet]

No matter how much I've read and mulled over this case (and I do believe he is guilty) part of me still feels sorry for him. I know that isn't a popular consensus here, understandably so, and the major sympathy should lie with Alesha and her family but I just think it's a tragic situation that he's only 16 and he's thrown his entire life away by committing such a brutal act. It's his own fault but it still saddens me and it could have been very different. It's weird.

Yes, it is a waste of a life. Or at least the youth of it. I imagine he’ll be out in 14 to 25 years depending on how well he can convince the parole board. I think there is a limit to the length of sentence he will receive as he IS only 16. And I think that’s as it should be. I don’t want to live in a country where children are sent to jail for life. I do want to see the public protected. So the supervision needs to be very close indeed.

And I don’t doubt that something happened in his life that has at least contributed to this appalling deed. At one point he was a victim. That doesn’t excuse his actions as the rest of us don’t take our pain out on others. But it can help perhaps explain the perfect storm that led to this. And I hope he finds some purpose and healing in his years of imprisonment. For everyone’s sake.

There is no “beginning point” to these cycles of abuse. Only end points as more and more people throw light on darkness, refuse to stay silent and always prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable in any abusive situation.

 

[TaylorCallum]

Yes, it is a waste of a life. Or at least the youth of it. I imagine he’ll be out in 14 to 25 years depending on how well he can convince the parole board. I think there is a limit to the length of sentence he will receive as he IS only 16. And I think that’s as it should be. I don’t want to live in a country where children are sent to jail for life. I do want to see the public protected. So the supervision needs to be very close indeed.

And I don’t doubt that something happened in his life that has at least contributed to this appalling deed. At one point he was a victim. That doesn’t excuse his actions as the rest of us don’t take our pain out on others. But it can help perhaps explain the perfect storm that led to this. And I hope he finds some purpose and healing in his years of imprisonment. For everyone’s sake.

There is no “beginning point” to these cycles of abuse. Only end points as more and more people throw light on darkness, refuse to stay silent and always prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable in any abusive situation.

Very well said. I also think something may have happened to him in his life to contribute to this. However, as you said, that is never justification to continue that cycle of abuse and cause pain and suffering to another innocent person. That is all conjecture though and I could be wrong, perhaps he just had an impulse and decided to carry out this horrible act regardless of the ramifications it would have. But usually, there is something in someone's past that goes at least a little way to explaining this type of malevolent behaviour.

 

[Eve71]

Yes, it is a waste of a life. Or at least the youth of it. I imagine he’ll be out in 14 to 25 years depending on how well he can convince the parole board. I think there is a limit to the length of sentence he will receive as he IS only 16. And I think that’s as it should be. I don’t want to live in a country where children are sent to jail for life. I do want to see the public protected. So the supervision needs to be very close indeed.

And I don’t doubt that something happened in his life that has at least contributed to this appalling deed. At one point he was a victim. That doesn’t excuse his actions as the rest of us don’t take our pain out on others. But it can help perhaps explain the perfect storm that led to this. And I hope he finds some purpose and healing in his years of imprisonment. For everyone’s sake.

There is no “beginning point” to these cycles of abuse. Only end points as more and more people throw light on darkness, refuse to stay silent and always prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable in any abusive situation.

He is a very strange case and not just because of his age, the brutality he used was such that both the pathologist and the judge had not come across anything quite like it before. That in itself shows a very damaged, dangerous individual. Take into account his casual approach to entering the home where four adults slept , abducting and then carrying Alesha along a very public path where he could have been seen at any moment and you have a killer very much out of the ordinary.

I have no sympathy for him at all but I do know that by taking Aleshas life that night , he also took his own and any hopes and dreams he may have had died too. In just one hour his actions ruined so many lives and caused so much pain. I hope one day he may realise that .

He may have been a victim himself at some point but even so that does not excuse his crime or explain it. Sometimes I think we just have to accept that some are simlply just born to kill .

 

[Kikixxxx]

He is a very strange case and not just because of his age, the brutality he used was such that both the pathologist and the judge had not come across anything quite like it before. That in itself shows a very damaged, dangerous individual. Take into account his casual approach to entering the home where four adults slept , abducting and then carrying Alesha along a very public path where he could have been seen at any moment and you have a killer very much out of the ordinary.

I have no sympathy for him at all but I do know that by taking Aleshas life that night , he also took his own and any hopes and dreams he may have had died too. In just one hour his actions ruined so many lives and caused so much pain. I hope one day he may realise that .

He may have been a victim himself at some point but even so that does not excuse his crime or explain it. Sometimes I think we just have to accept that some are simlply just born to kill .

Yep I think this is how I feel too, he ruined a lot of people’s lives that night including his own.
I don’t think he realised this at the time though, I’m not sure if he could go back in time would he still do it and clean up better, or not do it at all?

He could of quite possibly got away with it even despite the DNA evidence. The Toni planted it story could of gave jurors a reasonable doubt, it was all the other evidence on top that really nailed the coffin for him. if he’d disposed of his clothes better, deleted the cctv, took the knife home instead of throwing it away, he might of got a not proven/not guilty. Scary to think about but it’s true.

 

[Crestnut]

Yep I think this is how I feel too, he ruined a lot of people’s lives that night including his own.
I don’t think he realised this at the time though, I’m not sure if he could go back in time would he still do it and clean up better, or not do it at all?

He could of quite possibly got away with it even despite the DNA evidence. The Toni planted it story could of gave jurors a reasonable doubt, it was all the other evidence on top that really nailed the coffin for him. if he’d disposed of his clothes better, deleted the cctv, took the knife home instead of throwing it away, he might of got a not proven/not guilty. Scary to think about but it’s true.

I pondered for ages over why he did not take the knife home especially as there was no knife injuries noted in the autopsy

 

[Kikixxxx]

I pondered for ages over why he did not take the knife home especially as there was no knife injuries noted in the autopsy

I think it was cause he had nowhere to put it when he was carrying alesha. It was a huge kitchen knife and if he put it in his pocket it would of cut him, I think he just flung it and luckily ( or unlucky for him ) the tide washed it up.

 

[Owlpellet]

I really don’t want to dwell on this aspect of the case but I think reading between the lines of what was described in the press regarding the injuries, (and the fact that the media actually decided not to report on it) then it’s likely a knife was used. There were two Jamie Oliver knives missing from the block. I’ve wondered if the injuries were carried out post mortem in some kind of insane attempt on his part to destroy evidence.

 

[Gardenista]

Sexual preferences are genetic. IMO, anyone convicted for child *advertiser censored* or any type of sexual crime on a child needs to be imprisoned for life.

 

[Owlpellet]

Sexual preferences are genetic. IMO, anyone convicted for child *advertiser censored* or any type of sexual crime on a child needs to be imprisoned for life.

Sexual preferences are influenced by all kind of things.

Let’s not forget that rape isn’t really about sex. It’s about things like violence, power and a sense of entitlement.

 

[Gardenista]

Sexual preferences are influenced by all kind of things.

Let’s not forget that rape isn’t really about sex. It’s about things like violence, power and a sense of entitlement.

It's not worth it to me to risk even one child. YMMV.

 

[Owlpellet]

It's not worth it to me to risk even one child. YMMV.

If there was an easy solution, believe me, I’d go for it.
What does YMMV mean? Thanks.

 

[Gardenista]

If there was an easy solution, believe me, I’d go for it.
What does YMMV mean? Thanks.

There is an easy solution. Life in prison for anyone convicted of possession of child *advertiser censored* or sexual crime on a child.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

 

[Owlpellet]

I think sentencing has to be proportionate to the crime. So if we lock someone up for the rest of their life for possessing cp that leaves us with a dilemma in sentencing someone who murders their wife and two daughters.

But I do understand your feelings on the matter. And I would never play down the impact of cp on victims and society. CSE is both a personal and professional issue for me. I’m sure we both have high mileage around this...

 

[Gardenista]

I think sentencing has to be proportionate to the crime. So if we lock someone up for the rest of their life for possessing cp that leaves us with a dilemma in sentencing someone who murders their wife and two daughters.

But I do understand your feelings on the matter. And I would never play down the impact of cp on victims and society. CSE is both a personal and professional issue for me. I’m sure we both have high mileage around this...

CP is no different to me than first degree murder.

ETA, and I think it is sick that our society does not see it the same way.