Deli owner admits murdering 15-year-old schoolgirl Paige Doherty by stabbing her 61 times in random attack
Deli owner admits killing teenage girl and dumping her body
A MAN is facing life behind bars after he admitted murdering Scottish teenager Paige Doherty by stabbing her 61 TIMES in a savage, random attack.
The 15-year-old's body was found in a wooded area of Clydebank, near Glasgow, on March 21 this year.
She was last seen alive two days earlier near a deli in the town, before setting off for her part-time hairdressing job.
At the High Court in Glasgow this morning, deli owner John Leathem admitted murdering Paige.
He will be sentenced later today.
John Leathem, the owner of a deli the petite teen was last seen in, was suspected of murdering the schoolgirl after she bought a sausage roll from his shop on the day she died.
Tragic Paige, who was just 4ft 8in, was on her way to work after a sleepover at her friend’s when she disappeared.
She was last seen buying a sausage roll at Leathem’s deli before her body was found by passers-by in Clydenbank, West Dunbartonshire two days later.
She had been killed using "sharp force" and had 43 stab wounds to her face and neck.
In total the teenager had 146 individual wounds, 85 of them minor and mostly defensive, the court heard today.
In a statement released at the time, Paige's mother Pamela Munro said: "We are absolutely devastated that we have lost our beautiful little girl.”
Fundraising pages created to finance Paige’s funeral raised £12,000.
Following her death hundreds of mourners donned pink clothing and carried heart-shaped balloons when they took part in a memorial walk to pay tribute to her.
The landmark Titan Crane in Clydebank was lit up in pink one evening in memory of the teenager and as a gesture of support for everyone affected by the crime.
Following the girl's death, people including Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon showed the family support by posting pictures of themselves pouting with the hashtag PoutforPaige.
Paige's mother told mourners at the service to turn their anger at her death in to cherishing the memory of her ''beautiful smiling girl''.
Leathem’s family had previously backed the killer, claiming he had no involvement in the tragedy.
Shortly after her murder Leathem's wife was forced to flee the family home with her baby after vandals began attacking the house and shop.
Katya has left the flat where she lived with him and their baby after windows were smashed and eggs thrown.
A neighbour said at the time: “The police sat outside the home 24 hours a day.
“There was a lot of anger among people here because Paige was well-known and very popular.
“Some of the youngsters were quite open about smashing the windows of the flat as soon as the police moved out, so it would have been difficult for a young mother to return here.”
Paige’s disappearance sparked intense police activity in the areas where she was last seen and where her body was eventually found.
Specialist forensic officers narrowed down their search to the Delicious Deli in Clydebank's Fleming Avenue, the premises where the teenager was last spotted after leaving a friend's house.
Paige's body was found on March 21 in a wooded area behind a path off Great Western Road, a busy route connecting Clydebank and Glasgow.
Shop owner Leathem was arrested three days later over the death - a killing which stunned the community and wider public.
Police Scotland Detective Superintendent Duncan Sloan said: "Paige's whole future lay ahead of her and her life has been brutally cut short by the vicious actions of one man.
"It was evident from the outset that Paige's body had been abandoned where she was found and detectives from the major investigations team worked closely with local community policing officers and search specialists to track her movements, which led to the final sighting of her at the Clydebank shop two days earlier.
"CCTV has been vital throughout this inquiry and officers painstakingly reviewed hours of footage which ultimately revealed that Paige walked into that shop but didn't leave.
"This, coupled with extensive forensic examinations of the crime scenes, helped to establish what happened to Paige and who was responsible. I am sure that the sheer weight of this evidence has led to the guilty plea at court today."
He added: "These type of incidents are very rare in Scotland and Paige's untimely death shocked a community to its core, particularly as the man responsible was one of them.
"The support from the local community has been much appreciated and I hope that Paige's family can take some comfort from the result of the court proceedings today."
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