Man convicted of raping alleged murder victim Amber Gibson

Amber Gibson's body was found in Cadzow Glen in Hamilton days after she was last seen

A man has been convicted of raping an alleged murder victim five months before she was found dead.

Jamie Starrs, 20, attacked 16-year-old Amber Gibson - also known as Amber Niven - at his home in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, in June 2021.

Another man is on trial for murdering and sexually assaulting Amber in November 2021. He denies the charges.

The High Court in Lanark heard Starrs was also convicted of raping a second teenager two weeks earlier.

A statement Amber gave officers before she was found dead was crucial evidence during the five-day trial.

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Starrs had been released on bail from Hamilton Sheriff Court following the first attack on 26 May but went on to attack Amber on 8 June.

Det Con Ross McCaig told the jury he had taken the statement from Amber.

She said she met Starrs, who was a stranger to her, and two others before heading to Bothwell.

The court heard that Amber revealed she had been attacked while in a supported accommodation unit in Blantyre.

The jury heard a teenage boy told staff, who alerted police.

Amber told officers: "The reason I think I was raped was that I woke up in a bed with no clothes on my bottom half with a boy I had only met naked under the covers.

"I can't remember hugging him or kissing him at all."

Jamie Starrs has been remanded in custody

Amber identified her attacker after being shown a board of photographs by police.

The other victim told the court she had been attacked by Starrs while she was drunk and unable to give consent.

Judge Thomas Welsh KC deferred sentencing until 8 August at the High Court in Glasgow and remanded Starrs in custody.

He added: "For two rapes like these a custodial sentence is inevitable."

Starrs, who is being held in Polmont, was placed on the sex offenders register.

Murder trial

Meanwhile, at a trial over Amber's alleged murder at the High Court in Glasgow, a police officer said she found stained items of clothing in a wheelie bin where the accused was living.

Connor Gibson, 20, denies sexually assaulting and murdering Amber, whose body was found in Hamilton's Cadzow Glen days after she was last seen.

PC Rachel Morning told the court about a welfare check she carried out on Mr Gibson at the Blue Triangle Housing Association unit in Hamilton.

She said that after speaking to staff she looked in wheelie bins outside.

PC Morning told jurors that she saw a light-coloured t-shirt and grey trousers or shorts and that the shorts appeared to have staining, which she believed to be blood.

Amber gave crucial evidence to police about her rape before she was found dead

Det Sgt Joanne McCall told the court she later recovered grey cotton shorts, a white Levi's t-shirt and a facemask from the bin.

Jurors were then shown pictures of the clothing and were told by Det Sgt McCall that the t-shirt had "red staining" on it.

The court was also told a pair of seized Adidas Gazelle trainers also had dirt and staining to the sole.

And a Canada Goose jacket recovered from Mr Gibson's room had a stain on the front and arm.

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CCTV of Mr Gibson and Amber walking near Cadzow Bridge on the night of the alleged murder was also played to the court.

The pair were seen walking in the direction of Cadzow Glen at around 22:00, jurors were told.

Mr Gibson was not picked up by CCTV until 23:40 but Amber was not seen again.

The accused was then tracked by cameras from Cadzow Bridge to the Blue Triangle, where he arrived before midnight.

Footage from the premises showed the Mr Gibson in a change of clothes leaving the accommodation at 00:22.

Det Con David Cameron stated: "He walked towards the bin area and could be seen carrying a bin with items within."

Remains 'hidden'

Another man, Stephen Corrigan, 44, is also on trial in relation to the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Amber's remains.

It is claimed Mr Corrigan found her body, but rather than alert police he inappropriately touched her and then hid her remains under bushes and branches.

He is accused of a breach of the peace and trying to defeat the ends of justice. Mr Corrigan has lodged a special defence of alibi saying he was elsewhere at the time.

Both men deny all the charges against them and the trial continues.