Alesha MacPhail murder trial: Woman denies killing six-year-old girl

A woman blamed by a murder accused for killing a six-year-old girl and “planting” his DNA on the child’s body has told a court she had nothing to do with the crime.

Toni-Louise McLachlan, 18, denied murdering Alesha MacPhail. Pic: John Devlin

Toni McLachlan, 18, denied any involvement in the death of Alesha MacPhail at the trial of a 16-year-old boy accused of raping and murdering the schoolgirl.

He denies the charges and has lodged a special defence blaming Ms McLachlan, Alesha’s father’s girlfriend.

Alesha was found dead in woodland on the Isle of Bute on July 2 last year, having arrived on the island to spend the summer holidays with her father and grandparents.

Asked if she had anything to do with Alesha’s murder, Ms McLachlan replied: “No.”

She told the High Court in Glasgow: “I loved her to pieces.”

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.

Ms McLachlan said she returned the accused’s call at around 6.30am after being woken up to search for Alesha, who had been reported missing.

Call logs showed he messaged around 9am that day saying “sorry doesn’t matter” with two laughing crying emojis.

Ms McLachlan asked him to keep an eye out for Alesha since she had gone missing and he replied: “Oh damn am sure she’s not went too far.”

She said she first had a “bad feeling” about the call but after the messages this went away.

Questioned on how it felt to be accused of murder, she 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.”

She added that she was “sad, hurt and angry”.

The court heard she had been in an on-off relationship with Alesha’s father, Robert, for about two years.

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 she messaged the accused on the night Alesha went missing asking him to meet for a cigarette, they then went to a shed and had sex using a condom she provided, which she denied.

He said 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, from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, and has lodged a special defence of incrimination.

The trial continues.