Mhari O'Neill death: A timeline of her last known movements

The family of a 15-year-old girl who was found dead on Calton Hill are calling on the public for help to piece together the circumstances surrounding her death.

Mhari O'Neill, a pupil at Portobello High School from Willowbrae, was discovered at around 6.30am on Saturday morning by a passer-by.

But she said there are still several hours unaccounted for beforehand.

Mhari O'Neill's body was discovered on Calton Hill on Saturday morning

And in the hope it might elicit some more vital information from the public, here is a timeline of events prior to the discovery of Mhari's body.

Friday, December 7th

Early afternoon - Mhari meets with a friend at Waverley Station and the pair spend time in the city centre.

Mid-afternoon - Police believe the pair headed up Calton Hill mid-afternoon while it was still daylight. It is unknown at this stage if they met others at the popular tourist attraction.

Night - Mhari's friend goes home. The 15-year-old's family begin making initial enquiries among family and friends as concern grows for Mhari's whereabouts.

Saturday 8 December

1am - The family of Mhari O'Neill call Police Scotland to report her missing after she failed to return to their Willowbrae home, which was "out of character".

6.30am - A member of public discovers Mhari's body near a bench on Calton Hill. Police and ambulance attended but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

She added: "We don’t believe it’s suicide, however, we’re at the early stages.

A number of heartfelt tributes have been left around the Calton Hill bench close to where Mhari’s body was found.

In a statement issued through Police Scotland this morning, the girl's family said: “Mhari was much loved by all that knew her and we know that her passing will have a profound impact on her closest friends, as it has ourselves.

“Mhari was considering applying to attend university and one of her main passions was music; she loved going to gigs.


“What we need now is to find out exactly what happened to Mhari and we want anyone who thinks they may have information to get in touch with the police.

“We thank everyone for their support and ask that we be left in privacy to grieve at this time.”