The body of teenager Caroline Glachan was found in the River Leven in Scotland in August 1996 but it would take more than 27 years to bring her killers to justice.
Now the story of how they were caught and brought to trial will be revealed in a new two-part documentary for BBC Two.
Murder Trial: The Girl in the River airs on Wednesday night at 9pm, with the second episode shown at the same time next Wednesday 5 February.
Made by Firecrest Films, The Girl in the River follows one of the nation’s biggest cold cases as the murder suspects go on trial.
Featuring interviews with Caroline’s mother, it also has testimony from her friends, DCI Stuart Grainger, the senior investigating officer in the case, and the mother of key witness “Archie”.
As the truth begins to emerge in the murder trial, chilling details are revealed for the first time, shedding light on a crime which has proved impossible to solve for years.
Caroline Glachan was just 14 years old at the time of her death (Photo: Police Scotland/PA)Caroline Glachan was born in Derry, Northern Ireland on 8 January, 1982.
She was the only child of William and Margaret Glachan. The latter had suffered a series of miscarriages before the birth of her daughter.
The family lived in West Dunbartonshire in Scotland and Caroline attended Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School in Dumbarton.
At the age of 14, she had begun a relationship with 18-year-old drug user Robert O’Brien in the summer of 1996 and the pair had attended an Oasis concert together.
They would meet at a bridge over the River Leven as not only did Caroline’s mother disapprove of the relationship but O’Brien also had a girlfriend, Donna Marie Brand, who was pregnant with his child at the time.
Caroline was said to be “infatuated” with O’Brien, who had physically abused the teenager previously and whose family police described as being known locally to have “a lot of control” in the area.
On the night of 24 August, 1996, Caroline had invited friends to a sleepover at her home while her mother was out celebrating her 40th birthday.
But in the end, she went out to Black Bridge over the River Leven, between the villages of Renton and Bonhill, just before midnight to meet O’Brien.
O’ Brien arrived with his girlfriend Brand, friend Andrew Kelly, his girlfriend Sarah Jane O’Neill and two young children, who Kelly and O’Neill had been babysitting.
Brand had previously threatened to “batter” Caroline sparked by jealousy over her relationship with O’Brien.
That night the four older teenagers launched a vicious assault on Caroline, repeatedly punching and kicking her, throwing bricks and hitting her round the head.
She was pushed or fell into the undergrowth and her body was eventually found the next afternoon in the River Leven, a mile from her home, by a passer-by.
She had sustained at least ten blows to the head and extensive skull factures before ending up in the river.
Pathologist Dr Marjorie Turner told the jury at the murder trial “she was still alive when she was in the water” but had been knocked unconscious.
Her cause of death was drowning.
Robert O’Brien, Donna Marie Brand and Andrew Kelly, from left to right, were convicted of murdering Caroline (Photo: Police Scotland/PA)How were Caroline Glachan’s killers finally caught?
Although suspicions were raised about the involvement of the group in Caroline’s death at the time, the four had stuck to the same alibi that they had never left home that evening.
One witness, a taxi driver, had reported seeing a hooded figure who had been seen walking behind Caroline on the night she disappeared.
Archie Wilson, who was just four at the time of the murder and was being babysat along with his two-year-old brother by Kelly and O’Neill, had told his mother and then detectives that he had witnessed the attack.
He recounted how “Robbie” hit Caroline with a pole “down the Leven”.
He also recalled there was “metal in her eye”, a detail detectives said could only have been known if you were present.
The child told the officers: “When she was pushed in the water I closed my eyes.”
But at the time, the statement was reported to be considered insufficient to prosecute.
However, pivotal evidence did emerge at a later date from Linda Dorrian, who lived in the flat above Archie’s mother.
She said she had seen the group of four teens leave the flat, pushing a buggy with Archie holding on to the side, just before midnight.
And when they returned about an hour later, Ms Dorrian said she heard a commotion and “wailing” which frightened her daughter.
This was at odds with the group’s alibi.
It was uncovered following a re-examination of the case by Police Scotland‘s major investigation team launched in 2019.
O’Brien, Brand and Kelly were eventually charged with Caroline’s murder in November 2021.
Sarah Jane O’Neill had died in 2019.
The three went on trial in Glasgow in November 2023 and were convicted of murder in December that year.
During the trial Elizabeth Wilson, the mother of Archie, gave evidence as her son was unfit to appear at court.
She recalled how her young son had not woken until lunchtime and had told her he had been taken down to the River Leven late that night and saw a “lassie” being “battered” and falling into the water.
She 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.”
His account of the night’s events came hours before Caroline’s body was discovered.
O’Brien was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years, Kelly to 18 years and Brand to 17 years.
Caroline’s mother, now known as Margaret McKeich, said after the trial: “For the past 25 years they have lived their lives and they have had their Christmases and birthdays and my Caroline was in the ground.
“This is a day we never thought we would see and now I think Caroline can rest in peace.”
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