The 16-year-old boy found guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of Alesha MacPhail on the Isle of Bute last July can be named as Aaron Thomas Campbell.
The trial judge, Lord Matthews, lifted the ban following an application brought by a number of media organisations, which argued that naming him would be in the public interest.
Giving his decision at a hearing attended by Campbell himself as well as Alesha’s parents, Lord Matthews said he “could not think of a crime in recent times that has attracted such revulsion”.
This is the first time that a restriction of this kind has been overturned and the ‘unique’ nature of the case was emphasised in court.
It is illegal under Scottish law to publish any information that could identify anyone under the age of 18 who is the accused, victim or witness in a criminal case. The law was changed in 2015 to extend the protection from those aged 16 or under to 18.
The application went on to note that Campbell had attempted to incriminate another teenager, Toni McLachlan, who is only two years older than him and was therefore identified across the media.
Anthony Graham QC, for the applicants, argued that there was a “distinct lack of equity in this situation that someone of 16 can impugn the character of someone at 18”, while “the dishonest accuser enjoys statutory protection”.
Iain McSporran, who prosecuted the case, said that the crown took a neutral position but noted: “It is difficult to imagine a case more exceptional both by virtue of the nature of the crime, the impact on a small community and the effect on the incriminee.”
Opposing the application, Brian McConnachie for the defence, argued that to name him because he incriminated someone else during trial would be “tit for tat”. He added that the killer had a history of self-harm, anxiety and depression, and that there was a risk of him being attacked in Polmont Young Offenders Institution, where he is jailed, as well as the risk of further self-harm.
Addressing Campbell in the dock following Thursday’s verdicts, Matthews told him he had committed “some of the wickedest, most evil crimes this court has ever heard in its long history of dealing with depravity”.
He added: “I have no idea why you did this. I do know that the evidence against you was overwhelming.”
During the nine-day trial, the jury heard that Campbell took Alesha from her bed in the seafront flat where she was staying with her father and grandparents, using a knife to silence her, and carried the child to the grounds of a disused hotel where he raped and smothered her. The six-year-old, from Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, had arrived on the island a few days earlier for a three-week summer break.
Campbell lived a short walk from the MacPhails’ flat with his mother and younger sister. His father worked off-shore in the oil industry.
The teenager attendedthe local school, where his mother said during the trial he excelled in maths. He was an active boy, enjoying trampolining and swimming. She complained that, like many adolescents, he was messy with his clothing and “always breaking his phone”.
Other witnesses described the relationship between mother and son as troubled, and during the trial audio was played of a drunken argument between the two on the night that Alesha disappeared.
Campbell’s mother said she was aware that her son smoked cannabis and she had previously asked Toni McLachlan to “please stop selling drugs to my children”. McLachlan admitted in court, along with her boyfriend, Robert MacPhail, Alesha’s father, to supplying Campbell with drugs.
The trial also heard evidence from Campbell’s friends on Bute, who described him as a popular boy with a dark sense of humour, who had discussed his experience of anxiety and depression with his peers. He was part of group of school friends who regularly drank, smoked and partied together during the school holidays.
Concerns have been raised about the ongoing welfare, not only of those young people who gave evidence, but of all those who knew him. Counselling and other support has been made available to the young people on the island since the teenager’s arrest.
During the trial the jury heard overwhelming scientific evidence linking the killer to the murder, with a match for his DNA detected on 14 different parts of Alesha’s body, as well as a match for his semen indicating that he raped the child. Fibres believed to be from the accused’s trousers were also found on Alesha’s clothing.
The pathologist who examined Alesha’s body told the court the girl had sustained catastrophic injuries, some of which he concluded had been inflicted while she was still alive.
Campbell will be sentenced on 21 March. Matthews has asked for further background and psychological reports. Campbell will be put on the sex offender register and remain there indefinitely.
