Child killer Aaron Campbell has lodged an appeal against his sentence for abducting, raping and murdering six-year-old Alesha MacPhail.

The 16-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years for his crimes on the Isle of Bute last July.

He was convicted last month at the High Court in Glasgow, where a jury unanimously found him guilty following a nine-day trial.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said Campbell had lodged the appeal on Thursday.

Moment Alesha's killer sentenced to 27 years

The teenager maintained his innocence during the trial, where he blamed the death on the girlfriend of Alesha's father, before finally admitting his crimes ahead of sentencing.


Judge Lord Matthews said social work and psychologist reports "had painted a clear picture of a cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual".

He said Campbell had to stop himself laughing at points during his trial and showed a "breathtaking lack of remorse" throughout.

Image: Alesha had been staying with her grandparents on the Isle of Bute

A psychological evaluation carried out on 9 and 10 July last year highlighted no issues to suggest the teenager was not of sound mind when he murdered Alesha.

Campbell abducted the little girl at knifepoint from her grandparents' home on the Isle of Bute in July 2018.

The teenager, from Rothesay on the Scottish holiday island, then carried her half a mile to a woodland clearing where she was raped and smothered to death.

Child killer Aaron Campbell on his trampoline

Pathologist John Williams told the trial that Alesha suffered 117 separate injuries.

A police officer wept in the dock while giving evidence because he was so badly affected by the memory of seeing the six-year-old's body.

During the trial, Campbell denied having ever met Alesha despite the fact traces of his DNA were found on the girl's neck, shorts, vest and her private parts.

After the teenager was convicted, Lord Matthews lifted a ban on identifying Campbell which had been in place due to his age.

Following his sentencing, Alesha's mother Georgina Lochrane said: "I am glad that the boy who did this has finally been brought to justice and that he will not be able to inflict the pain on another family that he has done to mine."