Man 'seen killing schoolgirl and later confessed to relatives'

A heroin addict confessed to murdering a 14-year-old girl to two relatives while his ex told police she witnessed it, a court has heard.

Three separate witnesses named George Graham – who is now dead – as being responsible for Caroline Glachan’s death in 1996.

Donna Marie Brand, 44, Robert O’Brien, 45, and Andrew Kelly, 44, are on trial at the High Court in Glasgow and deny murdering the schoolgirl on 25 August 1996 in West Dunbartonshire.

Her body was found in the River Leven on that date.

One of the witnesses was Mr Graham’s girlfriend at the time, who said in a statement in 2002 that she witnessed the alleged murder.

Jean McIntyre, who is also now dead, said she stayed quiet for six years because she was “scared”.

She claimed she was at a party at Caroline’s mother’s house to collect her teenage son and had arranged to meet Mr Graham, who she referred to as Geordie, later.

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In a statement given to police, Ms McIntyre said she told Mr Graham to “go first” as she didn’t want her son to see her.

While she followed Mr Graham, he was said to be walking behind Caroline, who was “meeting her new man at Bonhill Bridge”.

Ms McIntyre said: “Geordie was wearing a hooded top. I never shouted at Geordie because I didn’t want Caroline to know I was going with Geordie.

“Geordie was at this stage very close to her, he then grabbed her from behind.”

She described him picking up an implement, and said: “He then hit her on the back of the head, it was more than once.

“Caroline didn’t even scream, she never had a chance. He then put her head in the water, her arms were moving.”

The statement said Mr Graham told her to “shut her gob or she’d get the same”, and she ran past Bonhill Bridge.

She said: “I never phoned [the] police because I was scared. I have seen Geordie since this has happened and he said to me ‘I hope you haven’t opened your mouth’.”

Ms McIntyre claimed the alleged incident made her start drinking.

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The court also heard a witness statement from Mr Graham’s teenage cousin, who regularly used heroin with him and was friends with Caroline,

Margaret Connolly, 16, told police in December 1997 that Mr Graham confessed to killing Caroline while the pair discussed the murder as they watched TV.

She said in her statement: “He definitely said ‘it was me’, he then said ‘no, I’m only kidding on’.

“Then he looked me straight in the eyes and said ‘but it was me’. I felt as if someone had winded me.

“I don’t know if he was joking or serious, but you don’t joke about things like that, especially as she was one of my best mates.”

Ms Connolly’s aunty, Mary Rose Connolly, had taken in Mr Graham after his mother kicked him out.

She has since died, but in a statement earlier given to police, she said: “He told me he had murdered Caroline. He told me he had hit her with a baseball bat and held her head underwater.”

Ms Connolly said she threw him out of her house two days later.

The statements were read out to the court during the defence case.

The trial continues.

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