Teenager denies raping and murdering six-year-old girl Alesha MacPhail on Scottish island of Bute

Schoolgirl went missing a few days into three-week family holiday

Six-year-old Alesha was found dead in July (Angela King/Facebook)

A teenager is set to face trial early next year after being charged with the rape and murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail on the island of Bute in Scotland.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is accused of abducting, raping and murdering the girl in July.

She was at the beginning of a three-week holiday visiting family on the island, around 30 miles from Glasgow, when she was reported missing in the early hours of 2 July.

Her body was found in the woodlands’ near her grandparents’ home only a few hours later.

Police Scotland launched a major investigation and arrested a 16-year-old male. It is alleged that he disposed of a knife and clothing on the shore at Rothesay, the island’s main town.

The 16-year-old appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, where he denied the charges of rape and murder.

Judge Lady Rae set 4 February next year as the start of his trial, which is expected to last two weeks.

Brian McConnachie QC, representing the accused, told the court: “He pleads not guilty to both charges on this indictment.”

The victim was a pupil at Chapelside Primary School in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, where she had just finished her second year at primary school.

She was visiting her father Robert MacPhail and her grandparents in Rothesay when she died.

At her funeral in July, her uncle Calum MacPhail said: “She had a great amount of love for absolutely everyone. She was the brightest thing.”