Alesha MacPhail: Watch CCTV video of killer returning home after murder

The 16-year-old boy who raped and murdered Alesha MacPhail can be identified as Aaron Campbell after a judge allowed his name to be reported.

The body of the six-year-old was found in woods on the Isle of Bute on July 2 last year, hours after she was reported missing from the house her father shared with his parents and partner on the island.

Recently released CCTV footage captured the murderer entering and leaving his house several times on the morning he murdered Alesha and was critical to the prosecution’s case.

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Identity of Alesha MacPhail killer revealed as Aaron Campbell
Murderer and rapist  Aaron Cameron from Bute, Scotland.Murderer and rapist  Aaron Cameron from Bute, Scotland.
Murderer and rapist Aaron Cameron from Bute, Scotland.

The killer’s mother had reviewed CCTV at the family home and spotted her son coming and going in the middle of the night.

The teen could be seen returning home about 3.35am in July 2 last year, going on a second trip out about ten minutes later.

He then returns about 3.52am - leaving again barely five minutes later carrying a torch and jogging.

By 4.07am he is filmed returning again - with Alesha reported missing at 6.23am.

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A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took three hours to find the teenager guilty unanimously on Thursday, following a nine-day trial.

He could not previously be identified because he is under 18, but judge Lord Matthews on Friday ruled he can be named after considering an application from media outlets.

The judge said: “I think it would be naive to think that publishing his name would make any difference to how he is treated in custody.

“I can’t think of a case in recent times that has attracted such revulsion.

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“I intend to grant the application. The press may name the accused and publish images of him.”

Alesha’s mother Georgina Lochrane was in court to hear the judge’s decision on Friday.

Earlier Tony Graham QC, the lawyer representing the media outlets, told Lord Matthews it would be “naive” to think the teenager’s identity is not already known among members of the Bute community and at Polmont Young Offenders Institute.

He said Campbell had already been named on Facebook, Twitter and was available via a Google search since last July.

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Mr Graham also pointed to the defence used by Campbell, who tried to blame Toni McLachlan, the girlfriend of Alesha’s father, for the crime while maintaining his own anonymity.

He said: “There is a distinct lack of equity to this if the accused can impune the character of someone of 19, where the wrongly accused can be identified quite legally and properly by the media and the dishonest accuser enjoys statutory protection.”

The media outlets represented were Associated Newspapers, BBC Scotland, Sky, News UK & Ireland, Newsquest, Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail, and STV.

The court heard Campbell has a history of self-harm, depression and anxiety and that he has been tested for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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During the trial the court heard he had a “dark sense of humour”, used cannabis and drank alcohol.

The Crown said on Friday that it would remain largely neutral on whether Campbell should be named.

Campbell will be sentenced next month.

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