Caroline Glachan's horror final moments and little boy's chilling memory that solved whole case

Remembered as a "bubbly girl with a wide circle of friends", Caroline Gla chan's death sent shockwaves across West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. As explored in the new BBC documentary Murder Trial: Girl in the River, on August 25, 1996 - the day of her mother Margaret's 40th birthday - a passerby discovered the lifeless, battered body of 14-year-old Caroline in the River Leven. The teenager had suffered blunt-force trauma, with significant injuries to her scalp, face and neck.

A pathologist's report determined that Caroline had already been beaten unconscious before she ended up in the river, with the cause of death given as drowning. Following the devastating discovery, Caroline's family and friends sought answers to what had happened to the vivacious teenager, who was last seen alive on the night of August 24, 1996, when she was supposed to have attended a sleepover at the home of her best friend, Joanne Menzies.

Instead, she went to meet with her boyfriend of around three months, Robert O'Brien, who, at 18, was four years her senior. A known bully, O'Brien was feared by those in the local area, and friends were worried about Caroline getting involved with him. According to BBC News, Joanne would later tell the court that the relationship had been violent and that she'd been forced to stop O'Brien from attacking Caroline on various occasions. However, Caroline, who Joanne remembered as being "a bit infatuated" with O'Brien, appeared happy when she met her at approximately 10pm on that final evening.

Caroline had asked Joanne to walk with her to meet up with O'Brien at the Black Bridge at the River Leven. However, she declined, instead begging Caroline not to go. She explained: "I never liked Robert." The schoolgirl was last seen as she walked to a friend's house from shops on Renton's Ladyton estate after spending the evening with pals. The following month, a reconstruction of Caroline's final movements took place, with Detective Chief Inspector Jeanette Joyce, the officer leading the inquiry, telling The Herald: "We don't know why she died. She was a bubbly girl with a wide circle of friends and seems to have had no real enemies. All we can do at the moment is treat her death as a random attack.''.

More than 100 people were interviewed in connection with Caroline's murder, and four names in particular were whispered around the village - Robbie O’Brien, Donna Marie Brand, Andrew Kelly, and Kelly’s girlfriend, the late Sarah Jane O’Neill. For years, however, the group stuck to their alibi, claiming they'd spent the evening at the home of Betty Wilson, babysitting her children - four-year-old son Archie and two-year-old Jamie. Little did they know that Archie's testimony would prove key to their eventual downfall.

Without CCTV or DNA evidence, officers who re-opened the case in June 2019 turned instead to witness statements. Linda Dorrian, Betty's upstairs neighbour, proved to be a particularly important witness. While at home with her 10-year-old daughter on the night in question, Linda had stayed up to watch a film that began at midnight. It was then that she heard the front door of the apartment building being opened.

Looking out, Linda saw four teenagers leaving the building, headed toward the River Leven. They were accompanied by Archie and Jamie. This testimony provided crucial evidence that the gang had left Betty's home that night. Shortly after midnight, at least six individuals reported hearing chilling screams coming from the direction of the River Leven. One witness testified: “It was a girl. She was screaming: ‘I didnae say that! I didnae dae that!’” Approximately 40 minutes later, Linda saw the gang return and recalled that they'd seemed frantic.

According to Linda: “They slammed the door. Then there was screaming—‘That wasn’t meant to happen! That went too far! How’s this going to look?". The following day, Betty realised there was something wrong with her two sons. Both of the usually energetic children had slept in until lunchtime, and the concerned mother returned home that morning to the sight of their babysitter, Kelly, drying Jamie's sodden trousers by the fire.

Kelly claimed Archie had urinated on him, leaving a wet patch on the carpet, but the story didn't seem to add up. When Archie finally woke up, Betty asked if he'd wet the carpet. He innocently replied: “No, Mummy. Robbie was wet.”. Remembering how Archie had got upset at the accusation that he'd wet himself, Betty said: "He said they were down the Leven...that they were fighting with the lassie, that she ended up falling in and that they had battered the lassie.".

Young Archie later told officers that he'd been taken “down the Leven” and had witnessed Caroline being attacked. He described an individual named Robbie hitting the girl with a “stick and a pole” before she was pushed into the river. This horrifying account was given before Caroline's body was discovered. Detective Inspector Stuart Grainger, who led the re-opened case, stated: “He talked about her being hit and having metal in her eye. How does this wee boy know that unless he was there?”.