Scotland’s youngest killer enjoys life outside of prison

Tragic: Jamie Campbell was just three when he was lured from his grandma’s garden 

The family of a toddler lured to his death by Scotland’s youngest killer are calling for justice after finding the murderer on Facebook bragging about his new life outside prison.

Jamie Campbell was three when he was taken from his grandmother’s garden in August 1990 by twisted 11-year-old Richard Keith who beat him with sticks and stones before drowning him.

The murder shocked the nation with Keith named as the youngest killer in Scotland.   

The victim’s family say the case bears resemblance to the murder of Jamie Bulger, who was abducted by ten-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in Merseyside in 1993. 

But while the killing became one of the most high-profile cases in British legal history, Jamie Campbell’s cousin feels their own tragedy has been forgotten.  

This week relative Kimberley McPhillips said they were left bereft after discovering Keith, who was released at the age of 20 in 1999, was on Facebook and enjoyed posting updates about his life outside prison. 

Speaking to the Daily Record, she said: ‘It just doesn’t seem right that he is allowed to be all over Facebook on a public profile where the family of his victim can see him getting on with a new life.

‘I know my aunt and uncle still grieve every single day. They will never get over losing Jamie – this feels like a slap in the face to them.

Heartbroken: Cousin Kimberley McPhillips, pictured as a child left with Jamie right, described the family’s heartache over the ‘injustice’ of her relative’s murder

Kimberley McPhillips said they were left bereft after discovering Keith, who was released at the age of 20 in 1999, was on Facebook and enjoyed posting updates about his life outside prison 

Miss McPhillips said: ‘After I posted on social media asking people not to forget Jamie’s case in light of the attention given to Jon Venables, I received hundreds of messages.

She said it was really upsetting to find out Keith was living in Scotland with his own name and not a care in the world.

She added: ‘I don’t want retribution, I think he should be given another identity and told he can’t use social media. Just a little consideration for the victims is what we are asking for.

‘We never forget Jamie. He’s a constant in our family, there’s pictures of him in our family home.

Devastatingly similar: Jamie Bulger was killed by two child murderers three years after Jamie Campbell’s death 

‘The James Bulger case was huge and everyone remembers it. It’s very upsetting for the horror of what that family went through. But it just always makes me think of what my family went through.

‘It upset me because seeing that brings it all back and I just want to keep Jamie’s memory alive.

‘It’s strange because there are so many similarities in the cases but no one remembers our Jamie.’

Jamie had been playing near his grandmother’s home in Drumchapel, Glasgow, when he went missing. 

Ahead of the trial, it emerged that Keith had attacked another three-year-old in Drumchapel with a penknife and beaten him.

He was detained without limit of time after being convicted of culpable homicide and spent eight years at Kerelaw secure unit in Stevenston, Ayrshire.

But the killer was released at the age of 20 in January 1999 following a decision by the parole board. 

When Keith was released in 1999, Kim said: ‘Keith is evil to the core and you can’t cure evil. I can’t bear the thought of him running the streets.’

 

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