A REVIEW into the case of the teenager who murdered Alesha MacPhail has found his actions could not have been predicted by authorities. However, the six-year-old’s family have called for further investigations to find out if her death could have been prevented.
Aaron Campbell was jailed for life after snatching Alesha from her bed on the Isle of Bute before raping and murdering her in July 2018.
Argyll and Bute Child Protection Committee carried out a review which said Campbell, then 16, had been known to the authorities and was twice referred to the Youth Justice Service. His offending was considered low-level, however, and did not warrant the implementation of the authority’s sexual harmful behaviours protocol.
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The report was produced in June but not published in full due to data protection laws.
A summary, which refers to Campbell as “X”, said: “The review has established that those professionals working with X were not aware of concerning behaviours. The review group is of the view that there was no indication that agencies could have foreseen or predicted X’s offending behaviour.”
The review group ruled out carrying out a significant case review but Alesha’s uncle, Calum-John MacPhail, told the Daily Mail: “There should be a full investigation to find out if opportunities were missed to save Alesha. We had no idea before this that there were any markers or concerns about Campbell – apart from unconfirmed rumour – and I’m angry about that. There has to be a full significant case review and we need to find out what happened to prevent any future tragedies.”
Campbell was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in jail, reduced to 24 after an appeal.
READ MORE: Alesha MacPhail's killer Aaron Campbell appeals against life sentence
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