Caroline Glachan murder: Two men jailed for killing schoolgirl in 1996

Two men have been jailed for life for murdering a schoolgirl in West Dunbartonshire more than 27 years ago.

The body of Caroline Glachan, 14, was discovered on the banks of the River Leven in Renton on 25 August 1996.

Robert O'Brien must serve at least 22 years in prison and Andrew Kelly will have to serve at least 18 years before they can apply for parole.

Donna Marie Brand, who was also found guilty of murder, was not in court due to illness and will be sentenced later.

The trio had denied murder but were convicted after a two-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

• How a four-year-old boy helped solve 1996 murder

• Three guilty of murdering schoolgirl 27 years ago

Judge Lord Braid described the killing as "brutal, depraved and above all wicked".

Caroline's mother, Margaret McKeich, said: "This is the day that I've been waiting for for 27 years."

And she added: "It's not going to bring Caroline back but it's justice for her.

"I don't know if closure is the right word but justice has certainly been done."

Robert O'Brien, Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand were found guilty of murder after a two-week trial

The jury was told that Caroline, from Bonhill, had been "infatuated" with O'Brien.

On the night of her murder, she had arranged to meet him at a bridge on the River Leven at around midnight.

She was killed in what prosecutors described as a "horrific and violent attack", suffering at least 10 blows to the head and extensive skull fractures.

The jury heard she may have been alive but was most likely unconscious when she entered the water.

Her body was later discovered by a passer-by, face down in the river.

A massive murder investigation was launched, but there was no breakthrough until the case was re-examined by Police Scotland's Major Investigation Team in 2019.

Officers re-interviewed residents of a street in Renton where O'Brien, Kelly and Brand had claimed they spent the night of the murder.

An upstairs neighbour said she had seen four people - including Kelly and his girlfriend, the late Sarah Jane O'Neill - leaving the flat before midnight.

Kelly and O'Neill had been babysitting two boys, and had been joined by O'Brien and his girlfriend Brand.

They took four-year old Archie Wilson and his baby brother Jamie along with them when they went out.

When they returned more than an hour later, the neighbour heard a commotion and an argument.

Caroline sustained extensive skull fractures in the attack

This discovery enabled officers to corroborate an account given by Archie the day after Caroline was attacked.

Archie had told his mother Betty that he had been at the river and that had seen fighting and Caroline falling into the water.

His evidence proved to be the key to finally convicting O'Brien, 45, and Kelly and Brand, who are both 44.

Passing sentence, Lord Braid said: "You have taken a daughter from a loving mother.

"Mrs McKeich has spoken of the pain that Caroline's death has caused, the void her death has left that will never be filled.

"She has been deprived of seeing the woman that Caroline would have become. No sentence that I pass could possibly make up for what she has lost."

Images of Caroline as a younger child were released by her family after the sentencing

He said O'Brien had been the main perpetrator of the "murderous assault", and that no-one who heard evidence of the injuries he inflicted on Caroline could fail to be sickened.

"Then having assaulted her and left her unconscious, you left her face down in the river," he said.

"While she may have died from the injuries inflicted on her, she died from drowning."

The judge said that while Kelly played a lesser role, he was also involved in inflicting "murderous violence" on the teenager.