A chilling five-word statement from a four-year-old child helped crack a murder case that had remained unsolved for nearly 30 years.
The BBC has released a new gripping true crime documentary series titled, Murder Trial, which explores various murder cases across Scotland.
The latest installment, The Girl In The River, delves into the chilling 1996 murder of 14-year-old Caroline Glachan, whose body was discovered on a riverbank in Scotland.
After nearly three decades, justice was finally served in 2023 when her killers, Robert O’Brien, Donna Marie Brand, and Andrew Kelly, were convicted.
O’Brien, who was 18 at the time of the crime, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years, while Kelly and Brand were ordered to serve 18 and 17 years, respectively.
At the heart of the chilling case was the testimony of four-year-old Archie Wilson, whose words helped expose the truth.
Wilson had been interviewed back in 1996 because Kelly was babysitting him on the night of Caroline’s murder. However, his testimony was dismissed at the time due to his young age and the airtight alibis provided by the suspects, who insisted they had stayed home that night.
But when Scottish police reopened the case in 2019, Wilson's interview - along with other evidence - was analyzed by a child psychologist.
In the haunting footage, young Archie is asked who he saw hitting Caroline. His chilling response: "Robbie". When asked what Robbie was hitting her with, he responded: "A metal pole," cited by Daily Record.
The little boy went on to describe the terrifying attack in clear detail, saying: "She got hit with a metal pole because there was metal in her eye. I saw it. I closed my eyes when the metal was in her eyes and when she got pushed into the water."
His description was eerily accurate. A pathologist later confirmed that Caroline’s injuries were consistent with being struck by a metal object - details that only someone present at the scene could have known.
Prosecutors revealed during the trial that Caroline’s murder was fueled by a toxic love triangle involving O’Brien, who was dating both the 14-year-old victim and fellow schoolgirl Donna Marie Brand.
Caroline had confided in friends that O’Brien had been physically abusive toward her. Meanwhile, Brand, described as a "jealous rival," had previously threatened to "batter" the late 14-year-old.
Speaking in the documentary, lead prosecutor Alex Prentice KC addressed concerns about relying on a child’s testimony in a murder trial.
"It is of course a concern that a very young boy is giving evidence in a murder trial and some people might think that a four-year-old boy is not someone who can be relied upon. Archie talks about Caroline getting metal in her eye and an injury being caused," Prentice said.
Wilson’s haunting statement about Caroline "getting metal in her eye" lined up with the pathologist’s findings, evidence that ultimately helped convict her killers after nearly 30 years.
Murder Trial: The Girl In The River is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.