Alesha MacPhail: Teenager accused of raping and killing six-year-old ‘sent laughing emojis after she went missing’

Accused lodges special defence claiming Toni McLachlan, 18, is instead responsible for child’s death

Toni McLachlan denies claims by the defendant in the trial she was instead responsible for the murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail (PA)

A teenager accused of raping and killing a six-year-old girl sent texts containing “laughing crying emojis” to her father’s girlfriend after the child went missing, a court has heard.

The accused, a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murdering schoolgirl Alesha MacPhail.

He has instead lodged a special defence blaming Toni McLachlan, 18, for her death.

Ms McLachlan, the partner of Alesha’s father, said during the trial at the High Court in Glasgow she had nothing to do with the crime.

“I loved her to pieces,” she told the court.

The court was told how in July last year, Alesha was spending the start of the school holidays with her father and grandparents in the house they shared on the Isle of Bute.

The court heard Ms McLachlan and her partner would deal cannabis to the accused, who phoned them in the early hours of the day Alesha was allegedly taken from her bed at her grandparent’s house, where the couple also stayed.

The child’s body was found in woodland on the island hours after she was reported missing on 2 July.

Ms McLachlan said she returned the accused’s call at around 6.30am after being woken up to search for Alesha.

Call logs showed he messaged around 9am that day, replying “sorry doesn’t matter”, accompanied by two emojis laughing with tears of joy.

The court heard Ms McLachlan asked him to look out for Alesha after she had gone missing, to which he replied: “Oh damn am sure she’s not went too far.”

She said she first had a “bad feeling” about the call and thought the messages she exchanged with the accused were “dodgy looking”.

Questioned on how it felt to be accused of murder, Ms McLachlan said: “Horrible, especially when it is somebody that you do love so much.

“But she knew I loved her and that’s what I’m trying to keep in my head just now.”

In response to questioning from the accused’s lawyer, Brian McConnachie QC, Ms McLachlan denied being jealous of Alesha or threatened by her.

She also denied the suggestion she had been in a sexual relationship with the accused for several months between autumn 2017 and early 2018.

Mr McConnachie suggested Ms McLachlan messaged the defendant on the night Alesha went missing asking him to meet for a cigarette.

He then said they had gone to a shed and had sex using a condom she provided, a claim she denied.

Mr McConnachie went on to suggest she then went into Alesha’s room, took her to the woods where she was found, “attacked and brutalised her” and “planted” the accused’s semen from the condom, then murdered her, all of which Ms McLachlan denied.

The accused denies raping and murdering Alesha, as well as attempting to hide evidence.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by PA