A TEENAGER has been found guilty of the murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail.

The 16-year-old was convicted of abducting, raping and killing Alesha on July 2, 2018 on the Isle of Bute.

Her naked remains were discovered in the grounds of the former Kyles Hydro Hotel on Bute on July 2.

Judge Lord Matthews told the boy he had committed some of the "wickedest, most evil crimes this court has ever heard".

READ MORE: Alesha MacPhail: Police welcome guilty verdict of boy convicted of killing six-year-old

He deferred sentence until March 21.

As the accused was led downstairs, a man in the public gallery shouted "evil" and another said "fu**ing scumbag".

Advocate Depute Iain McSporran, who led the prosecution, said that to have a child taken in the "bestial manner" in which Alesha lost her life was "infathomable".

READ MORE: "I will miss you forever": Alesha MacPhail's mum reacts to guilty verdict

He read excerpts from a victim impact statement which said her mother suffered nightmares about what had been done to her daughter and her father had experienced "insufferable pain".

Lord Matthews told the teenager: "I have no idea what made you do this but I do know that the evidence you did it was overwhelming."

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The judge will on Friday consider an application from media outlets to lift a ban on identifying the boy.

Ms Lochrane, who sobbed in court as the verdict was announced, did not comment as she left the building later.

Members of the jury were offered a counselling service and were told they did not have to sit on a case again in future if they did not wish to.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran said they had listened to “one of the worst cases” a jury has had to hear.