By JAMES FREEMAN,
Home Affairs Reporter
NEIGHBOURS and relatives of Christine Lee, murdered minutes from her
home in Castlemilk, Glasgow, attempted in vain to revive the battered
and frozen 10-year-old before she was finally pronounced dead, police
revealed yesterday.
The leader of the search for her murderer, Detective Superintendent
John Wilson, was asked if Christine had been sexually assaulted. He
replied ''not to my knowledge.'' He ruled out nothing, however, as some
of Christine's clothing had been removed. He could not say whether what
he described as a ''spark of life'' remained in Christine's body when
she was found.
The short life of little Christine, a gentle child who loved to help
her grandmother, was brutally ended on Monday on parkland in the heart
of the Castlemilk housing scheme, which houses 40,000 people, as she
made her way home, a mere 600 yards, from her grandmother's house in
Ballantay Road, Castlemilk.
The indications yesterday were that the child's killer was local. The
murder of the Braeside Primary School pupil has traumatised an area
which is generally regarded as one of Europe's toughest housing estates,
but which is also a close-knit community. Police said they believed that
had a stranger been about, they would probably have been told.
The headmistress of Christine's school, Miss Mary Francis, said; ''We
are all numb. She was a pleasant child . . . well behaved. I have told
her class that it has happened, and I cannot make it unhappen. I am
keeping it low key to keep panic and hysteria down.''
Christine's grandparents, Matthew and Christine Lee, yesterday pleaded
with anyone who had knowledge of her last hours to come forward.
Christine left their home shortly after 4.30pm yesterday to make the
eight-minute walk to the home she shared with her mother, also
Christine, and her brothers, William, 12, Michael, nine, and sisters
Theresa, seven, and Shelly, three, in Machrie Road, Castlemilk.
Christine's parents are divorced but her father, William Lee, remains in
close touch with the family, according to friends.
Detective Superintendent Wilson said that Christine's disappearance
had been brought to police attention about 9.20pm by her mother.
Christine daily ran messages for her grandmother after school, and on
Monday afternoon she had changed into her play clothes and gone to her
grandmother's house.
She had left there between 4.30 and 4.50 to return home.
''We have no sightings of the child after that,'' said Detective
Superintendent Wilson yesterday.
It was three hours later, he said, that a relative of Mrs Lee called
at Christine's home. Her mother asked whether the child was still at her
grandmother's house. The answer that she had left there about 4.30 led
to calls being made to other relatives to find out whether Christine was
with them.
As the police were called, friends and neighbours organised a search
which quickly moved to the area known as the Pond, in the heart of
Castlemilk and more or less midway between the two houses.
Christine's father was one of a group who found the body in scrubland
at the edge of the area, and he helped others to carry her to a house in
Machrie Road, Castlemilk. Mouth to mouth resuscitation was attempted by
several people.
The temperature had dropped in the area and it had snowed. Christine
was pronounced dead at the Victoria Infirmary and a post mortem
examination was carried out.
The police also revealed yesterday that they were looking for some
kind of weapon, but they did not reveal what it was or the nature of
Christine's injuries.
Her body was barely 300 yards from her grandmother's house, but police
said it was on a slight deviation from her normal route. Her grandfather
said; ''She was under bushes next to a wall.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article