Killer who lived in Shrewsbury sentenced to life for murder and rape of Alesha, 6

Aaron Campbell, 16, who lived in Shrewsbury at a young age, was found guilty last month of raping and murdering Alesha MacPhail on the island of Bute, near Scotland.

Campbell, who lived in Shrewsbury until the age of five, repeatedly denied his involvement in the murder, which caused the child 117 injuries during his nine day trial.

She died of significant pressure being applied to her head and neck, and last month a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty.

During his sentence this morning, his defence QC Brian McConnachie revealed his client has finally admitted his crimes, before being sentenced to life in prison with Lord Matthews setting a minimum release date of 27 years.

Lord Matthews said the victim had been violated and murdered in the most brutal fashion, causing revulsion and disbelief.

He described Campbell showing breathtaking arrogance and callousness during the trial, and he had failed to plead guilty despite overwhelming evidence against him.

Alesha was on holiday when she was abducted from her bed on July 2 last year, and reported missing from her grandparents house.

Dozens of people searched for her, before her naked body was found in a wooded area in the grounds of a former hotel.

Campbell was arrested after his mother contacted police when she became concerned about his movements.

Shoreline

CCTV footage showed Campbell leaving his house with a torch the morning the six-year-old was found dead, with other footage showing a figure walking along the shoreline in the early hours of the morning.

In the footage, the individual appeared to be carrying someone, and Campbell's DNA was later found on the victim's body.

The teenager lodged a special defence of incrimination naming Toni McLachlan, the 18-year-old girlfriend of Alesha's father Robert MacPhail, as the killer.

Ms McLachlan, who was the last person in the flat to see the child alive, denied having anything to do with the crime.

Last month it was reported that Campbell spent the first years of his life living in Shropshire with mother Janette and father Christopher.

Born in May 2002, Campbell lived with his family in Shrewsbury until, when he was aged five, his parents decided to move to Bute, where Christopher would continue his career in the oil industry.

With Bute's 7,000 population just 10 per cent of the size of Shrewsbury's, Mrs Campbell said she and her husband chose the west Scottish isle so their son could "live in a safe place, a peaceful environment".