A man who sexually assaulted and murdered his 16-year-old sister has been jailed for at least 22 years.
Connor Gibson, who was 19 at the time of the attack, targeted Amber Gibson in woodland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in November 2021.
He removed his sister’s clothes, sexually assaulted her with the intention of raping her, and inflicted blunt force trauma to her head and body and strangled her.
Amber died as a result of compression of the neck, Gibson’s 13-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow found.
Amber Gibson
Following the 21-year-old’s conviction in July, judge Lord Mulholland told Gibson: “Your sister – the last person she saw was you strangling her. It was depraved and you will pay a heavy price for that.”
At the High Court in Livingston on Monday, he was jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 22 years in prison before he can apply for parole.
Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday 26 November 2021 and her body was discovered in Cadzow Glen on the morning of 28 November.
Stephen Corrigan, 45, came across the teenager’s remains at some point during those two days but instead of alerting emergency services, he intimately touched and concealed her body.
Corrigan, who was not known to Gibson, lodged a special defence of alibi but was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and breach of the peace after being unable to explain why his DNA was found on 39 areas of Amber’s body, including her breasts, buttocks and thighs.
He was jailed for nine years.
At the time of Amber’s murder, Gibson was living at the Blue Triangle homeless hostel in Hamilton while Amber was at the town’s Hillhouse children’s home.
Following Gibson’s conviction, the Crown Office released CCTV evidence that showed the siblings together on the night of the murder.
Gibson was also captured on camera walking home alone after the fatal attack and attempting to dispose of items once back at his hostel.
Connor and Amber Gibson on the night of the murder. Pic: Crown Office
Gibson walking alone on the night of the murder. Pic: Crown Office
Gibson was arrested on 1 December 2021. The day before he was detained, he posted a tribute to his sister on Facebook.
He wrote: “Amber, you will fly high for the rest of time.
“We will all miss you. Especially me. I love you, ginger midget. GBFN (goodbye for now) X.”
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Moments after Gibson murders teenage sister
During the trial, the court heard how Amber’s body was found covered in mud and the cause of death was “compression of the neck”.
Widespread blood staining on Gibson’s jacket was said to be compatible with Amber and his DNA was also found on her shorts, worn as underwear, which had been “forcibly torn” off.
Amber’s body was discovered in Cadzow Glen in November 2021
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Jurors heard from the siblings’ former foster father, Craig Niven, who testified the pair could not be left in each other’s company because they were “not a good mix”.
Mr Niven and his wife, Carol, had fostered the siblings since Amber was three and her brother was five. The couple were granted permanent care of the siblings a few years later.
Following the guilty verdicts, Mr and Mrs Niven described Amber as the “most giving, caring, loving, supportive and admirable person”.
The couple said: “She had the most amazing outlook on life considering the suffering she had experienced.”
Five months before her murder, Amber was raped by a man while she was asleep or unconscious at a property in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire.
Jamie Starrs, 20, was last month jailed for 10 years and six months for the attack on Amber and for raping another teenager.
Jamie Starrs. Pic: Police Scotland
Mr and Mrs Niven also commented how they had listened to evidence in court over how the siblings had been “let down” throughout their lives by the care system.
They added: “As a family, we all feel this could have been prevented. We now have one daughter buried in Larkhall Cemetery and another child in prison. We really miss Amber – life will never be the same.”
An independent review into the care Amber received from authorities before she was murdered is set to be concluded in a move to determine whether lessons can be learned from the incident.
The findings will be publicly reported.