The cousin of Scottish murder victim Jamie Campbell has spoken out about his killer’s Facebook activity, which apparently shows him boasting about his freedom.
Three-year-old Jamie was taken from his grandmother’s garden in Drumchapel, Glasgow, during August 1990 by the then eleven-year-old Richard Keith.
In a case the family compare to the murder of James Bulger, Keith beat the toddler with sticks and stones before drowning him.
Keith was released from prison in January 1999 at the age of 20-years-old.
Now Jamie’s family have been appalled to unearth details of Keith’s life after coming across his Facebook profile.
Keith is living openly under his own name in Scotland, and apparently has a girlfriend.
The disturbing posts have prompted Campbell’s family to speak out.
31-year-old Kimberley Mcphillips has now written the following Facebook post where she expresses concern about her cousin’s murder being forgotten:
Like many who watched the James bulger story followed and grew up with it, it saddens me and makes me angry. But there’s a story very close to home that no one remembers but one that me and my family will never forget.
This is Jamie Campbell my cousin he was 3 years old when he was taken in broad daylight from my Grans garden in drumchapel on 24th August 1990.
He was taken by a young boy Richard Keith who was 11 years old he took Jamie to the park then murdered him. He was the youngest person to have committed murder in Scotland and still is to this day.
He was charged with culpable homicide and only served 8 years at Kerlaw. He was released with a new identity and now lives amongst us with his family.
She continued:
I’m not taking anything away from the Bulger family and the horror they went through god bless them.
When Jamie bulger was killed a Scottish social worker was interviewed by the news and was quoted to say ‘This would never have happened in Scotland’ just 3 years after Jamie… his story forgotten.
I just wanted to share this and to let people know how sweet and funny Jamie was a little Ray of sunshine and my partner in crime.
Kimberley’s original post was shared over fifteen thousand times.
She then spoke with the Daily Record, who chose not to include images of Keith or his Facebook activity, about the response she had received:
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.
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.
It was really upsetting to find out Keith was living in Scotland with his own name and not a care in the world.
She then 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.
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.
Our thoughts are with the family of Jamie Campbell.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.