Jealous love rival of teenager Caroline Glachan who was murdered after being pelted with bricks and left to drown is jailed for at least 17 years

The jealous love rival of teenager Caroline Glachan who was murdered after being pelted with bricks and left to drown has been jailed for at least 17 years.

Donna Marie Brand, 44, was convicted of murdering the 14-year-old more than 27 years ago, along with Caroline's drug-addict boyfriend Robert O'Brien and friend Andrew Kelly.  

Caroline found herself at the heart of a fatal love triangle before she was brutally killed in August 1996. 

The teenager was repeatedly punched and kicked, and had bricks or similar items thrown at her, causing blunt force trauma to her head and body.

She was pushed or fell into undergrowth and her body was discovered in the river at Place of Bonhill, Renton, West Dunbartonshire, later the same day, which was her mother's 40th birthday.

The schoolgirl had known 'violent' 18-year-old Robert O'Brien for just two months before he, Brand, and Kelly, lured her to a bridge near the towpath beside the River Leven and killed her.

Caroline's mother Margaret McKeich did not approve of her daughter's relationship, describing her as 'infatuated' with the 18-year-old, who boasted of having multiple girls on the go at once.

At the same time as seeing Caroline, O'Brien was also in a relationship with Brand and before her death, the jealous schoolgirl had threatened to 'batter' Caroline if she spent time with O'Brien, friends of the 14-year-old said.

Soon after Caroline struck up a relationship with O'Brien, the 14-year-old confided in another friend, Tracy McFetridge, that she had become pregnant.

Ms McFetridge told the trial she initially did not believe Caroline, but accompanied her to a pregnancy test which came back positive.

However, forensic pathologists found no evidence of a pregnancy during their 1996 investigations.

Caroline suffered physical abuse from O'Brien, telling her mother he had 'lifted his hands to her'.

A friend, Joanne Menzies, now 42, revealed at trial he had threatened to kill her after she was seen 'kissing another boy' and described him as a serial 'bully'.

On the night of the murder, Kelly and his then-girlfriend, Sarah Jane O'Neill, had been babysitting four-and-a-half year-old Archie Wilson and his brother before O'Brien and Brand arrived at the house.

The four teenagers left the property with the young children at around 11pm before returning later that night.

Once they had met with Caroline, they launched a vicious assault on the schoolgirl which included repeatedly punching and kicking her to the face and body.

Caroline sustained at least ten blows to the head and extensive skull factures before ending up in the river.

Her cause of death was drowning, with pathologists concluding she was still alive when she entered the water, but had been knocked unconscious by a head injury.

After ending up in the River Leven, the 14-year-old was left to die by the callous group of killers.

The evidence of one of the children, Archie, who is now in his 30s but was unfit to appear at trial, was described as 'pivotal' to detectives solving the case.

He told his mother, Elizabeth Wilson, how he had been taken down to the River Leven late that night before witnessing a 'lassie' being 'battered' and falling into the water.

Asked what he said happened, Ms Wilson told jurors: '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.'

Both Ms Wilson and her son were interviewed in 1996, and the mother was again in 2020 when the case re-opened.

Miss Wilson admitted she had not wanted her young boy 'involved' at the time. But, asked by police what her reaction was when she discovered Caroline had been found in the river, she stated: 'The blood just kind of drained from my face.

'I just knew that the story Archie had told us was related to the body.'

The tragedy witnessed by the two youngsters occurred as Caroline's mother was out celebrating her birthday with friends.

O'Brien was said to be the primary assailant who attacked the teenager with the other two responsible on an 'art and part' basis - with Kelly also throwing rocks at the teenager.

All three lied and concocted alibis, which were only exposed when a new probe in 2019 saw police take statements from more than 200 people who had not spoken to the initial investigation.

One of the key missing pieces for police was the evidence of neighbour Linda Dorrian, who was at home on the night of the murder with her ten-year-old daughter.

She told police how she saw two young men and women leave Ms Wilson's house, and later returning. This was the first time any evidence had emerged to counter the trio's alibi that they were inside the house the whole night.

O'Brien also told brazen lies to police at the time of the investigation, claiming Caroline had a stalker who had followed her home on multiple occasions.

Brand was found guilty in December at the High Court in Glasgow along with O'Brien and Kelly.

Brand was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years when she appeared for sentencing on Monday.

O'Brien and Kelly were sentenced to life terms in January, with O'Brien ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years behind bars and Kelly a minimum of 18 years.

Brand could not be sentenced in January because she was in hospital.