Dramatic footage of a four-year-old boy describing how he witnessed the brutal murder of a schoolgirl is to be shown in a new TV documentary.
Archie Wilson's testimony was crucial in bringing the killers of 14-year-old Caroline Glachan to justice after more than 27 years.
Robert O'Brien, Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand were convicted of killing the teenager, whose body was discovered on the banks of the River Leven in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, in August 1996.
The case was one of the longest running unsolved murders in Scotland and documentary makers from Glasgow-based production company Firecrest films were given unprecedented access to the High Court in Glasgow for the trial.
BBC Series Murder Trial: The Girl in the River will show a police interview with Archie recorded shortly after the murder when he was four and a half years old.
He was dragged from his home in Renton shortly before midnight on August 24, 1996, and taken to a trail next to the river life by Kelly who was babysitting him.
They were accompanied by O'Brien, Brand and Kelly's then-girlfriend, Sarah Jane O'Neill, who has since died.
Archie told officers he saw Caroline being attacked 'Down the Leven'. He also identified O'Brien as the person who hit Caroline with a pole.
Four-year-old witness 'Archie' gives video evidence to police detectives a month after Caroline Glachan's murder
The body of Caroline Glachan was discovered on the banks of the River Leven in Renton, West Dunbartonshire in August 1996
The case of Caroline Glachan (pictured) was one of Scotland's longest running unsolved murders
Caroline knew Robert O'Brien for only two months before he and Donna Marie Brand, along with boyfriend Andrew Kelly, lured her to a bridge and killed her
In the police interview he said: 'She was hit with a metal pole because there was metal in her eye. I saw it.
“I closed my eyes when the metal was in her eyes and when she was pushed into the water.”
During the interview, Archie drew a picture of the river life on an Etch-A-Sketch Board and said that all three accused were at the murder scene.
The killers all stuck rigidly to the same alibi, telling officers they spent the night of the murder in the flat where Archie lived.
His evidence was not considered credible at the time due to his age, but his account was later corroborated by other evidence and was crucial in bringing the trio to justice.
Police Scotland's main investigation team began re-investigating the case in June 2019.
As part of the resettlement, police sent a child psychologist a package detailing everything that had been done to Archie and his family members.
Detective Inspector Stuart Grainger – the senior officer who led the Cold Case Review – said the expert believed Archie was 'experiencing a lived event'.
Robbie O'Brien was convicted of murdering 14-year-old Caroline Glachan in 1996
Donna Marie Brand was also convicted of her murder
Fellow killer Andrew Kelly was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison
Speaking about the documentary, barrister Alex Prentice KC, who led the prosecution in the trial, said of the footage of the police interview with the boy: 'It is of course a concern that a very young boy is providing evidence in a murder trial and what people may think that a four-year-old boy is not someone who can be relied upon.
'Archie says that Caroline gets metal in her eye and an injury is caused.
'We heard from the pathologist who illustrated to the jury that there was such an injury.
“The question would be, 'How would he know?'.”
O'Brien, Kelly and Brand were found guilty of the murder after the trial in 2023.
All three were given life and O'Brien was ordered to serve at least 22 years in prison. Kelly must serve at least 18 years and mark 17 years.
Brand and Kelly, both 45, appealed, claiming there was insufficient evidence to support their beliefs.
O'Brien was denied permission to appeal.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh earlier this month, judges rejected an appeal against conviction and a plea by mark to reduce her minimum prison sentence.
The trial heard that Caroline was 'in love' with O'Brien and had gone to meet him at the river life when the trio attacked her and left her to drown.
Murder Trial: The Girl in the River airs on the BBC Scotland channel on Tuesday 28 January and BBC Two on Wednesday 29 January at 9pm.
