- Jury Begins Deliberations in Trial of Man Accused of Assaulting and Killing Sister
- Connor Gibson Denies Allegations of Sexual Assault and Murder
- Stephen Corrigan Also on Trial for Handling and Concealing Victim’s Body
20-year-old Connor Gibson is accused of sexually assaulting and killing his sister. Stephen Corrigan, 45, is on trial for allegedly discovering the corpse of a 16-year-old girl. But instead of calling the police, he allegedly inappropriately touched and hid her body.
A man accused of sexually abusing and murdering his 16-year-old sister has been sent out to deliberate.
Connor Gibson, age 20, is accused of assaulting Amber Gibson on 26 November 2021 in woodland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
He is accused of disrobing her, sexually assaulting her, hitting her head and body, and strangling her.
Gibson denies the allegations against him and is on the thirteenth day of his trial in Glasgow’s High Court.
Amber’s body was found in Cadzow Glen at 10:10 a.m. on Sunday, November 28.
The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Amber’s body testified in court that she was discovered covered in mud and that “neck compression” was the cause of death.
In addition, jurors heard additional forensic evidence that ‘widespread blood staining’ on Gibson’s jacket matched Amber’s, and that his DNA was found on Amber’s ‘forcibly shredded’ knickers shorts.
Gibson’s previous foster parent Craig Niven said he wouldn’t leave the siblings alone because they were “not a good mix.”
Since Amber was three and her brother was five, Mr. and Mrs. Niven have fostered the siblings. A few years later, the couple was granted permanent custody of the siblings.
Mr. Niven told the court that he had not heard from his former foster son during Amber’s disappearance. Gibson told him on the day her corpse was recovered that they had “fallen out” two days before.
Also on trial is 45-year-old Stephen Corrigan, who is accused of attempting to thwart justice by inappropriately handling and concealing Amber’s body rather than calling emergency services.
Corrigan, who the court heard was unfamiliar with Gibson, rejects the charge and filed a special alibi defence.
His father, William Corrigan, 79, told the court that his son was at home in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, that weekend, with his arm in a splint, after a fall on ice, and he denied lying to protect him.
Corrigan told police he was “completely at a loss” to explain why his DNA was discovered on 39 areas of Amber’s body, including her breasts, buttocks, and thighs.
Alana Gunn, a forensic biologist, testified that she believed this was the result of direct contact, but she could not rule out the possibility of secondary transmission, and she was unable to determine whether the virus was present before or after Amber’s death.
Tuesday morning, Lord Mulholland sent the jury out to deliberate their verdicts.
