Cold case investigations in Scotland have finally caught up with killers who evaded justice for years, including the gang who murdered teenage Caroline Glachan in 1996. The trio, who went to extreme lengths to cover their tracks, were eventually snared after the case was reopened in 2019.
Murder of Caroline Glachan
Donna Brand, Robert O’Brien, and Andrew Kelly battered 14-year-old Caroline before leaving her to die in the River Leven at Renton, Dunbartonshire. Caroline, who had been in a relationship with O’Brien, was found face down in the river with her cause of death listed as drowning.
Initial investigations were bungled, with police time wasted on wild goose chase leads, and vital evidence was never given proper priority until the case was reopened in 2019. The trio had gone about their lives for 30 years before they were arrested in 2021.
Conviction and Sentencing
Following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow in late 2023, the trio were found guilty of murdering Caroline. Jurors heard that they arranged to meet her near a bridge by the river before she was attacked. The court was told how Brand “threatened to batter” Caroline after she found out that O’Brien was seeing both of them at the same time.
When Brand was sentenced, the judge said she had played no active part in the assault but shared responsibility for the schoolgirl’s death because she had abandoned her in the river. In 2024, O’Brien was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years, Kelly was sentenced to 18 years, and Brand was jailed for 17 years.
Family Reaction and Appeal
Speaking outside the court, Caroline’s mother Margaret McKeich said it was a “great day” to see her daughter’s killers convicted. “This is a day we never thought would happen,” she said. “It will not bring her back, but at least we know who was responsible is serving time because for the last 25 years, they’ve had their Christmases and birthdays, but my Caroline has been in the ground.”
Brand appealed her sentence, but it was blocked. Judge Lord Carloway said: “It is not possible to categorise the punishment part as excessive for what was an evil, concerted crime.”
Brand's Death in Custody
Brand served less than three years of her prison time before she died from a sleep disorder. She died in custody on August 26, and her cause of death was logged as respiratory failure, progressive lung condition COPD, and obstructive sleep apnoea. Prison bosses were reportedly furious at a jail memorial organised after her death, with officers made to organise a service at HMP Stirling and Brand's family invited to see her cell.
A source said: “Officers weren’t happy about having to facilitate this. It is extremely unusual, extraordinary even, for a murderer to be afforded this level of courtesy within a prison when they die. There was a lot of muttering about it and most people didn’t think it was appropriate.”
