Caroline Glachan: Three guilty of murdering schoolgirl 27 years ago

Two men and a woman have been found guilty of the murder of a schoolgirl in West Dunbartonshire more than 27 years ago.

The body of Caroline Glachan, 14, was discovered on the banks of the River Leven in Renton on 25 August 1996.

Robert O'Brien, 45, Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand, both 44, were convicted after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

The killers were all teenagers at the time of Caroline's murder.

Caroline's mother, Margaret McKeich, praised the guilty verdicts. She said: "Now I think Caroline can rest in peace."

During the two-week trial, the jury heard Caroline was "infatuated" with O'Brien and left her home in Bonhill before midnight to meet him at a bridge on the River Leven.

Soon after she arrived, the teenager was subjected to what prosecutor Alex Prentice KC described as a "horrific and violent attack".

Her body was discovered by a passer-by that afternoon, face down in the river.

The jury heard locals identified her from her trainers and blue Chipie sweatshirt.

A post-mortem examination revealed Caroline had suffered at least 10 blows to the head and extensive skull fractures.

The jury heard she may have been alive but was most likely unconscious when she entered the water.

In a cruel twist, the date on her death certificate was also her mother Margaret's 40th birthday.

The now former Strathclyde Police force launched a massive murder investigation and the case twice featured on the BBC's Crimewatch UK programme.

However, a breakthrough eluded detectives until Police Scotland's Major Investigation Team re-examined the evidence in the summer of 2019.

The killers claimed they spent the night in 12 Allan Crescent in Renton.

But while officers were re-interviewing residents of the street, they made a discovery that challenged the killers' alibi.

Upstairs neighbour, Linda Dorrian, told police she has seen four people - including Kelly and his girlfriend, the late Sarah Jane O'Neill - leaving the flat before midnight.

Kelly and O'Neill had been babysitting two boys. They were also joined by O'Brien and his girlfriend Brand.

They took four-year old Archie Wilson and his baby brother Jamie along with them when they went out.

When they returned more than an hour later, Ms Dorrian heard a massive commotion and an argument.

This discovery enabled officers to corroborate an account given by Archie the day after Caroline was attacked

Archie had told his mother Betty that he had been at the river and that had seen fighting and a girl falling into the water.

His evidence proved to be the key to finally convicting O'Brien, Kelly and Brand.

In the video of his police interview, the boy was sitting on an armchair, so small his legs didn't even reach the edge of the cushion.

He was chatty and bubbly with floppy fair hair, a pronounced west of Scotland accent and was playing with a drawing toy.

While the two male police officers asked questions about what he saw that night, Archie - who had just started school - answered in a matter-of-fact manner.

He also interspersed his answers with questions like: "What should I draw now?"

But when the focus returned to the night of the murder, Archie told them: "I saw Caroline in the water".

He also revealed he saw O'Brien hit Caroline with a stick and a metal pole, and that when she was pushed in the water he closed his eyes.

Caroline's best friend, Joanne Menzies, told BBC Scotland News that she always regretted not going with her on the night she died.

"I warned her not to go, but she was adamant," she said.

"She gave me her house keys and said: 'I'll be back up before my mum gets in'."

Joanne said she never liked O'Brien and admitted she was scared of him.

The mother-of-three said she always thinks about her friend - who she described as being "so full of fun" - and regularly visits her grave.

Caroline's friends Julie O'Sullivan and Donna Talbot also gave evidence at the trial.

Donna admitted she had dreaded the prospect, but said she felt "empowered" in court.

"It was like: 'Bring it on. I am doing this for Caroline'," she said.

"She was such a happy, cheerful wee soul."

Julie said Caroline was "so big on family" and described her as a "wee blether" who loved to chat.

She told BBC Scotland News: "Caroline could just walk into a room and literally just light the place up, she was just always smiling, full of life, full of fun, full of cheek, full of banter."

Outside court, after the guilty verdicts, Caroline's mother Margaret said it was a day the family thought they would never see.

"Now I think Caroline can rest in peace," she said.

"It will not bring her back but at least we know that who was responsible is serving time for it.

"Because for the past 25 years they've had their life and they've had their Christmases and their birthdays and my Caroline was in the ground.

"So, this is a great day."