| Murder of Paige Doherty | |
| Location: | Clydebank, Scotland |
| Date: | 19 March 2016 |
| Type: | Murder |
| Victim: | Paige Doherty |
| Assailant: | John Leathem |
| Weapon: | Knife |
| Verdict: | Guilty |
| Convictions: | Murder |
| Charges: | Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years at HMP Dumfries |
| Paige Doherty | |
| Birth Date: | 17 April 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Scotland |
| Death Place: | Clydebank, West Dumbartonshire, Scotland |
| Death Cause: | Stabbing |
| Parents: | Pamela Doherty, Jon Bothwell |
Paige Doherty was a 15-year-old student from Clydebank, Scotland who was murdered on 19 March 2016 by 32 year-old John Leathem in his deli.
Paige had stayed at her friend's house on the night of 18 March. On the 19th, at around 8:21am, she went to John Leathem's delicatessen. Normally she would have gone to her hairdressing job in Kirkintilloch, 12miles away, however after she failed to arrive the search for her began.[1] [2]
| John Leathem | |
| Birth Name: | John Leathem |
| Birth Date: | 1983 or 1984 |
| Birth Place: | Scotland |
| Criminal Charge: | Murder |
| Criminal Penalty: | Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years |
| Status: | Incarcerated |
| Apprehended: | 26 March 2016 |
| Imprisoned: | HMP Dumfries |
Her body was found on the roadside near Glasgow's Great Western Road two days after she disappeared. Doherty had been stabbed in the head and neck and suffered more than 250 wounds, though her mother, Pamela Doherty, claimed that there were more than 500 wounds. The last sighting of her was on CCTV at a deli shop in Clydebank, owned by John Leathem, who later admitted to murdering Paige Doherty.[3] Pamela set up the charity, Paige's Promise, in her daughter's name to teach children self defence, as well as support families whose children have been victims of murder.[4]
John Leathem claimed that Paige threatened to tell people that he had "touched her" inappropriately, if he refused to give her a job, because she was underage.[5] The main evidence used in the trial was CCTV footage of Leathem closing the Deli, running to the shop next door, and then returning with the deli remaining closed for about an hour. The footage then shows him putting a full bin bag in his trunk. The bag was confirmed to contain the body of Paige and when the owner of the shop he visited was questioned, it was confirmed that Leathem had purchased gloves, bleach, and the bin bag.
On 12 October 2016, seven months after Doherty's murder, Leathem was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow, where judge Lady Rae set a minimum time of 27 years in jail before becoming eligible to apply for parole.[6] However, in February 2017, following an appeal by Leathem, the minimum term was reduced to 23 years.