Wicked Boys Rescheduled

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Sunday 3rd July at 5pm online via Zoom.

The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale recounts the case of Robert Coombes who murdered his mother then took his friends out for ginger beer and ice cream. What made Coombes so callous and manipulative? Was something wrong with his brain as his father believed?
The press went into overdrive and many sensational articles were written about “evil” Robert with much speculation about his motives and madness.

Sound like a familiar story? Indeed it is.
However Robert committed his crime in 1895.

Has the media changed in its approach to covering teenage killers in the last 100 years?
The headlines we read today echo the early days of Victorian tabloid media and we still find very similar representations of young males who commit murder. The search for motive continues while pundits ponder the question of mad or bad.

With these issues in mind join us to discuss two high profile contemporary cases, both involving young male perpetrators.

-The murder of Alesha MacPhail

On 2 July 2018, six-year-old Scottish girl Alesha MacPhail was abducted from her bed and murdered by 16-year-old Aaron Campbell. Alesha was three days into a stay with her grandparents on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, when Campbell entered their unlocked home and took Alesha. Her body was later discovered at an abandoned hotel on the Isle. Campbell logged a “special defence of incrimination” and claimed the girlfriend of Alesha’s father had committed the murder and framed him.
He was ultimately found guilty and given a life sentence. He confessed prior to sentencing and said he was “quite satisfied with the murder.”

Campbell’s behaviour in court and outrageous accusations caused a media frenzy.
What was wrong with Aaron Campbell?
Did the media overstep the mark with its reporting of this tragedy?

-The Murder of Rebecca Aylward

Rebecca Aylward, 15, died after her boyfriend Joshua Davies,16, lured her to woods near Bridgend, Wales, and attacked her with a rock in October 2010.
Davies had previously attempted to poison Rebecca and she had spent time in hospital with a mystery illness.
He plotted her murder for weeks and was promised a free breakfast by a friend if he went through with the killing. The friend later claimed he believed Davies was joking.
Like Aaron Campbell Davies refused to admit guilt and attempted to blame another person for Rebecca’s murder.
Both boys showed no remorse and used social media to bait the victims’ families.
Rebecca’s mother later sued The Sun newspaper for its coverage of the story.

Background research:

Alesha MacPhail

Extensive BBC coverage

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49638211

Red Handed podcast

https://play.acast.com/s/redhanded/episode94-aleshamcphail-

Crime and Investigation U.K. (You Tube)

https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/articles/she-was-brightest-thing-murder-alesha-macphail

A Monster Among Us: Aaron Campbell (You Tube)

https://youtu.be/C22el3FYmOg

Rebecca Aylward

Guardian article