Monster John Leathem who murdered schoolgirl Paige Doherty, 15, in knife attack jailed for life
FIEND behind bars after butchering teen, stabbing her 61 times and leaving her with 146 knife wounds in savage killing
EVIL John Leathem was sentenced to life in prison today for the frenzied murder of Scottish schoolgirl Paige Doherty.
The monster will spend at least 27 years behind bars for killing the 15-year-old teen in fit of rage in his deli in Clydebank, near Glasgow on March 19.
The killer's frenzied knife attack left the schoolgirl with 146 knife wounds after being stabbed 61 times. She also suffered 43 blows to her head and neck, some of which were "fatal lacerations".
Leathem, 32, was handed the mandatory life sentence at the High Court in Glasgow this morning after admitting on September 5 to killing the teen in a ten-minute bloodbath at Delicious Deli.
There were cries of "monster", "beast", "why did you do that?"and "dirty b*****" from Paige's family as Leathem was led down to the cells.
Judge Lady Rae, sentencing, described Paige as a "defenceless child" who endured a "savage and frenzied attack."
She added: “What you did was truly reprehensible. It is impossible to comprehend how a happily married man was capable of such a horrific level of violence.” She said the jail-term would have been 30 years if Leathem hadn't pled guilty.
She also said there had been no evidence put before her to explain the "ferocity" of the attack or motive.
Leathem's lawyer told the court there is no explanation for the killer's actions, and that "no-one could possibly" have predicted Leathem acting the way he did.
He added that Leathem had no history of anger - and that murdering Paige was "inexplicable" given his "pride and pleasure" in the community". He told the court: "This is an individual acting so out of character...how ordinary he had been in his day to day life."
But he also said that there was a "verbal exchange" between Leathem and Paige, "which may have frightened him".
His defence counsel previously claimed he struck after she threatened to "say you touched me" if she wasn't offered the post. But Judge Lady Rae said this morning that the assertions saying Paige would say Leathem had touched her were unfounded.
She added that it was clear Paige's family had been left “heartbroken, bereft and devastated” at the girl's death.
Her mum, Pamela Munro, sobbed heavily and was consoled by her husband Andy when Leathem was handed his sentence.
Surrounded by her family and friends, she paid tribute to her daughter outside the court after the hearing.
She said: “Today we see a monster put behind bars for the unthinkable, brutal crimes he committed against our daughter, Paige.
“A beautiful 15-year-old with her full life ahead of her with a massive family and group of friends left to carry on with her no longer here.
“There is no sentence high enough to justify what has happened but we can now say there is one less evil man in this world which then makes the world that bit more safer for our kids to grow up in.
“Paige is now safe and can finally rest in peace knowing justice has been served to a high standard.
“We would like to thank the public for the support over the last seven months without this support we might very nearly have given up the amazing comments and touching words gave us strength to carry on.
“All we can do as a family is take each day at a time, there is a huge piece missing in our family that can never be replaced.
“We are thankful for the 15 years we had with Paige from the kind and generous wee soul she was to the mature young woman she grew in to she may not be with us any more but she will live on through her brothers and sister and all the memories we share."
She this morning that Paige was her "best friend".
She said: "She was like a wee mammy, always helping with the kids. She had her moments with me, she would argue with me like I was her best friend.
"I was her best friend, she was my best friend. We told each other absolutely everything, we never kept anything from each other.
"She was an absolute delight. I've never heard anyone say a bad word about her."
"I've never had anybody chap my door and say Paige done this or Paige done that. Everybody just said 'oh my God, how does she have so much manners, she's lovely she wants to help tidy my house, she would go to shops for older people, she just done anything.
"If anybody asked her to do anything she would never ever say no."
She added: "She'll be glad that we've made her name be known and are going to honour her through her charity. She'll never be forgotten."
The tragic teen was on her way to work after a sleepover at friend Lauren Stewart's house in Clydebank when she disappeared on March 19.
She was last seen buying a roll and sausage at killer Leathem's Delicious Deli before her body was found by passers-by in Clydebank two days later.
Dad of two Leathem was nailed by CCTV footage from outside the deli. It showed Paige entering the deli just after 8:20am on March 19. But the tragic teen didn't make it out alive.
Leathem grabbed a blade and struck after chatting to her about a job in his shop. He stabbed her 61 times, including 43 times to the head and neck.
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A post-mortem found a further 85 cuts on her body described as "defensive in nature" - sustained as Paige tried to fight off her attacker.
Just ten minutes later Leathem pulled down the shutters of the deli, telling the owner of a nearby hairdressers "What a morning - the lassie didn't turn up.I had a nose bleed and I need to collect my car."
He then jogged towards his home nearby before returning in his silver Ford Focus to cover up the murder.
He bought bin bags and anti-bacterial wipes from the shop next door.
Five minutes later, he dumped Paige's body wrapped in a black bin liner in the boot of his car.
He then changed his trousers and bought bleach before going back to the shop - which remained open until 3:15pm that afternoon.
It's believed that Leathem initially moved Paige's body from his car to his garden shed.
The next day he treated his unsuspecting wife and young child to a family day out to Balmaha on the shores of Loch Lomond before dumping the corpse in the woods.
Meanwhile, Paige's mum Pamela Munro was frantic after reporting her daughter missing when she had failed to turn up for work.
At 6am on March 21, just two days after her murder, Leathem dumped Paige's remains in a wooded area less than a mile away, near Glasgow's Great Western Road, before opening his deli as usual.
Her body was discovered by two passers-by that morning.
Leathem was also handed a six-year term for attempting to defeat the ends of justice. It will run concurrently with his life sentence after he pled guilty.
He originally denied knowing the teen when contacted by one of his staff on behalf of Paige's worried mum.
But he later revealed she had been in the deli to buy a roll that morning.
After her body was found he was quizzed by police about her murder.
Investigations had found she had gone into his deli "but had not walked away", which led to his shop, home and car being searched.
But he still denied having anything to do with the killing - telling detectives he was "positive" they wouldn't find Paige's blood in his shop.
But blood was said to have been found in "numerous locations" despite "obvious efforts to clean up."
The killer was snared thanks to CCTV footage, which showed Paige entering the deli but not coming back out. Ten minutes later, Leathem was caught on camera putting her body in the boot of his car - CCTV shows her foot with a white sock on sticking out from the bin bag he wrapped her in.
Her devastated mum Pamela admitted she has nightmares about her daughter's final moments after the full extent of Paige's injuries was revealed in court at an earlier hearing.
Pictures of the wounds were too horrific to be shown, but Pamela admitted she wakes up in the middle of the night and imagines she can hear the teenager’s cries.
She says she is tortured by the “awful realisation” she wasn’t there to help Paige, 15, in her last moments.
Prosecutor Iain McSporran read a heartbreaking statement to the High Court in Glasgow during an earlier hearing describing how grieving Pamela’s life had been shattered by the killing.
“Her mother’s victim statement expresses her feelings more eloquently than I could, listing all the things she was entitled to expect for the future — a trip to New York, her daughter’s wedding day, a grandchild.
“Even her 16th birthday was denied her. She describes sleeplessness and nightmares, waking to hear her daughter’s screams and the awful realisation that she was not there to help her.”
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.
Fundraising pages created to finance Paige’s funeral raised £12,000.
The landmark Titan Crane in Clydebank was lit up in pink one evening in memory of the teenager and people including Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon showed the family support by posting pictures of themselves pouting with the hashtag PoutforPaige.
Paige’s mum told mourners at the service to turn their anger at her death in to cherishing the memory of her ”beautiful smiling girl”.
She said: “There is no disputing Paige was taken from us in the most cruel way imaginable.
“Yet I take comfort in knowing Paige is in a safe and happy place where no one can hurt her.”
Pamela told how she hoped her daughter would be remembered for having a “smile across her face every day”.
And she told loved ones that the teenager would have wanted them to move on with their lives, despite the tragedy.
She said: “Today will be the saddest and hardest day most of us will ever face, but I want everyone to take two minutes to ask yourself — when did you ever see Paige sad?
“When did you see Paige upset, scared and alone?
“The answer will most likely be never and if you have, it will be very few and far between.”
Timeline of horror: How Paige ended up in monster's clutches
MARCH 19, 8am: Paige Doherty leaves her best friend Lauren Stewart’s house in Clydebank after a sleepover.
March 19, 8.20am: She visits Johnny Leathem’s Delicious Deli to buy a roll and sausage ahead of her shift at Street Image hairdressers in Kirkintilloch.
March 19, evening: Paige is reported missing by her family after she fails to turn up for her work
March 20: Paige’s mum Pamela Munro makes a tearful plea for Paige to come home. She tells The Sun her disappearance is her “worst nightmare”.
March 21, 12.45pm: Cops are called after a body was discovered in a wooded area behind a path off Great Western Road, Clydebank.
March 22: Police confirm the body is Paige, and launch a murder investigation. Paige’s mum Pamela says their family are “devastated”.
March 23, 9pm: Officers swoop on Leathem’s deli and also his nearby flat as they step up their murder probe.
March 24: Leathem is charged with Paige’s murder. His twin brother George denies Johnny was involved in the crime, and told The Sun: “He never did anything”.
March 26: Leathem is remanded in custody after making his first appearance at Dumbarton Sheriff Court. Crowds - including Paige’s grandad William Munro - hurl abuse at his G4S security van as he is driven into the court building.
March 28: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Celtic star Leigh Griffiths are among hundreds to post selfies as part of a “Pout for Paige” social media tribute campaign.
April 1: Leathem makes his second court appearance, and again makes no plea nor declaration.
April 19: Paige’s mum Pamela leads mourners on a horse-drawn procession as the schoolgirl’s body was taken into church for a service before her funeral at Clydebank’s St Margaret’s chapel.
April 20: Pamela tells mourners at Paige’s funeral that “there is no disputing Paige was taken from us in the most cruel way imaginable.”
April 29: Paige’s family and friends hold a celebration on what would have been her 16th birthday.
September 5: Leathem pleads guilty to Paige's murder at the High Court in Glasgow.
October 12: Leathem is sentenced to life in prison for murdering Paige.
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