Little Archie Wilson was a typical four-year-old, full of energy and mischief. But on Sunday, August 25, 1996, something was wrong – he slept in until lunchtime. His younger brother, Jamie, was also fast asleep when their mum, Betty Wilson, came home to find their babysitter drying his soaked trousers by the fire.
Andrew Kelly told her that Archie had urinated on him and caused a large wet patch on her brand-new carpet. But something didn’t add up – and it would take nearly 30 years for detectives to uncover the horrifying truth. Now, a new BBC documentary Murder Trial: Girl in the River will delve into the case that shocked the nation.
The children left the flat in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, at about midnight with four teenagers. They returned home less than an hour later in the company of killers.
Less than a mile away, schoolgirl Caroline Glachan, 14, lay face down in the River Leven. She had suffered multiple, brutal blows to the head. Her body was found that afternoon – on the same day as her mother Margaret’s 40th birthday.
For years, the names of Robbie O’Brien, Donna Marie Brand, Andrew Kelly, and Kelly’s girlfriend, the late Sarah Jane O’Neill, were whispered around the village. But the gang stuck to their alibi, claiming they had spent the night in Betty Wilson’s flat at 12 Allan Crescent babysitting.
That lie protected them for decades. But Scotland’s Major Investigation Team re-opened the case in June 2019, with Detective Inspector Stuart Grainger leading the hunt for justice.
There was no CCTV, no DNA evidence, and no murder weapon. The suspects had left nothing behind.
The team turned to witness statements. Many potential witnesses had died, but those who remained had become parents themselves. And this time, they were willing to talk.
One witness was crucial – Linda Dorrian, who had lived upstairs from Betty Wilson in 1996. She recalled being at home with her 10-year-old daughter on the night of the murder, waiting for a film to start at midnight. That’s when she heard the front door open.
Peering out, she saw four teenagers leaving – with two-year-old Jamie in a buggy and four-year-old Archie in tow. They headed towards the River Leven.
For the first time, police had proof that the gang had left the house that night. Just after midnight, at least six people reported hearing chilling screams coming from the River Leven.
“It was a girl,” one witness recalled. “She was screaming: ‘I didnae say that! I didnae dae that!’” About 40 minutes later, Linda Dorrian saw the gang return – this time, they were frantic.
“They slammed the door,” she said. “Then there was screaming—‘That wasn’t meant to happen! That went too far! How’s this going to look?’” Then came the words that still haunt her: “The weans. The weans.”
A female voice sobbed uncontrollably. Caroline Glachan had been lured to her death.
Robbie O’Brien, then 18, had been dating Caroline, but he was also seeing 17-year-old Donna Marie Brand, who was pregnant at the time. O’Brien – described by police as a “violent bully” – was feared in the community.
He arranged to meet Caroline at the Black Bridge at midnight. It would be her final journey.
Caroline’s best friend, Joanne Menzies, had begged her not to go. But she did. By the time she was found, it was too late.
A post-mortem revealed at least ten blows to her head, extensive skull fractures, and signs that she may have been alive but unconscious when she hit the water. There were no drugs or alcohol in her system.
Her mother, Margaret, gave heartbreaking evidence in court, reliving the pain of losing her only daughter. But it was a four-year-old’s words that would finally seal the killers’ fate.
When Betty Wilson returned home on the morning of the murder, she found Kelly alone. Hours later, when Archie woke up, she asked if he had wet the carpet.
“No, Mummy,” he said. “Robbie was wet.” That innocent statement became a crucial piece of evidence.
Later, Archie told police he had been taken “down the Leven” and had seen Caroline being attacked. He described someone called Robbie hitting her with a “stick and a pole” before she was pushed into the water.
And then, the chilling detail no one could ignore: “He talked about her being hit and having metal in her eye,” said DI Grainger. “How does this wee boy know that unless he was there?”
Crucially, Archie made these statements before Caroline’s body had even been found. “How does he know a girl was battered and dumped in the Leven?” DI Grainger asked. “Because he saw it.”
For years, the case remained unsolved – partly because O’Brien’s family held power in the area. “There was a real fear of speaking out,” said DI Grainger. “People were scared of him.”
The gang of killers – O’Brien, Brand, and Kelly – were all drug users, shoplifting to fund their habits. The town was ravaged by heroin, and many witnesses led chaotic lives.
But despite the lies, the intimidation, and the fear, justice finally caught up with them. Now, three people stand convicted of Caroline’s murder, nearly three decades later.
Part two of Murder Trial: Girl in the River airs on BBC Two at 9pm tonight.