Alesha MacPhail latest: Teenager Aaron Campbell jailed for 27 years for rape and murder of girl, 6, on Isle of Bute

Alesha, 6, was killed on the Isle of Bute
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The “evil” 16-year-old boy who kidnapped, raped, and murdered young Alesha MacPhail in a crime that shocked the country has been jailed for life and told he may die behind bars.

Aaron Campbell must serve at least 27 years in prison for the brutal killing of six-year-old Alesha while she was on holiday with her grandparents on the Scottish isle of Bute.

The teenager denied snatching Alesha from her bed to rape and ultimate murder the little girl, but he was convicted of last month of the “bestial” crime when Judge Lord Matthews agreed to name Campbell for the first time.

At the High Court in Glasgow today, the judge sentenced him to life imprisonment with a 27-year minimum term, saying the boy had shown "not a flicker of remorse".

Campbell has admitted he was responsible for raping and murdering Alesha, and the court heard today for the first time some of the details of how he took her.

The teenager said he had been drinking at a party on the night of the killing, and he went to Alesha’s home because he was in search of cannabis.

'Bestial' killer Aaron Campbell, 16, in his police mugshot
PA

Campbell told a psychologist it was “a moment of opportunity” when he saw Alesha asleep in her bed, and said: “All I thought about was killing her when I saw her”.

The psychologist’s report, which was read out in court this morning, went on: "You said that Alesha was drowsy and became a bit more awake when you went out. At one point she asked who you were and where you were going.

"You said you were a friend of her father and that you were taking her home."

The court heard the teenager was “slightly amused” when he was not immediately arrested, and he admitted he was "quite satisfied by the murder".

"You went into the house and then her bedroom, you removed her from there and took her to a secluded spot where you raped and murdered her in the most brutal fashion”, he said.

"It's difficult to imagine the distress her family must have suffered."

Robert MacPhail, the father of Alesha MacPhail, with his partner Toni McLachlanat
PA

The judge warned Campbell, who has shown signs of being a psychopath, that he may die behind bars as he poses such a danger to the public that it may never be safe to set him free.

Alesha's mother Georgina Lochrane leaves court today after the sentencing
PA

As Campbell was led away to the cells, members of Alesha’s Family shouted "evil" and "beast" at the killer.

Campbell snatched Alesha from her bed as she slept on July 2 last year, inflicting horrific injuries in a secluded woodland spot where he raped the young girl and then finally dumped her lifeless body.

In a victim impact statement from Alesha's paternal grandparents Angela King and Calum MacPhail, they said the death of Alesha has left them “utterly devastated and heartbroken”.

Judge Lord Matthews hands down the sentencing of killer Aaron Campbell
Sky News

“She was a beautiful, kind and thoughtful child who they miss every day”, said prosecutor Iain McSporran QC, reading the statement to the court.

"They are tortured and tormented by the circumstances of her murder. I think overwhelmed is an understatement.

"They do not see how they can live a normal life. Her future was taken and so was theirs."

While Campbell has never explained the reason for the shocking killing, his lawyer Brian McConnachie QC today said the teenager has finally admitted responsibility for the rape and murder of Alesha.

He said a psychologist had found the teenager "presents with a range of traits on the psychopathy checklist and also has a wide range of factors present in relation to potential sexually harmful behaviour".

It is believed the crime may have been inspired by the Slender Man horror character, though the judge accepted the full motive will likely never be known.

During his trial Campbell cruelly tried to pin the blame on Alesha’s father’s girlfriend, who was forced to deny in court having anything to do with the shocking crime. Jurors deliberated for just three hours before finding him guilty.

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