This is the chilling moment an older brother led his 16-year-old sister to a woodland where he tried to rape her before strangling her to death.
Connor Gibson attacked his younger sibling Amber in a park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. He removed her clothes before attempting to rape her, repeatedly hit her on the head, and fatally strangled her.
Jurors heard the siblings had been in foster care together, but had latterly been living apart. Amber had been ‘excited’ to catch-up with her older brother on the night of November 26, 2021, before he savagely attacked her after a row.
CCTV from before the attack shows Connor, now 20, walking side by side with Amber down a pavement. Footage from later on catches Connor walking home alone before stooping over for several seconds by a fence – apparently exhausted.
He is later filmed tiptoeing out of his sheltered accommodation before disposing of items he wore during the attack, including a bloodstained coat that later helped convict him.
Today, the siblings’ foster parents, Carol and Craig Niven, recalled how Connor had said ‘we are safe’ when they first took him and Amber into their care, before adding: ‘They were until he took that safety away,’
Connor Gibson is seen walking with his sister Amber to a patch of woodland where he murdered her
Gibson ambushed his sister Amber in a park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Amber (pictured) was found dead at Cadzow Glen in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, on November 28, 2021
Connor and Amber with their foster parents, Carol and Craig Niven
CCTV from after the murder shows Gibson walking down a darkened pavement before stooping over for several seconds by a fence
Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday, November 26 and her body discovered in Cadzow Glen at 10.10am on November 28.
Before then, local man Stephen Corrigan, 45, had come across the lifeless teenager during a walk. But instead of alerting police the pervert touched her inappropriately and then hid her body from view.
Gibson was arrested on December 1 and – the day before his arrest – posted a fake Facebook tribute to his sister, writing: ‘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’.
He denied sexually assaulting and murdering Amber but was convicted following a 13-day trial based on a combination of CCTV footage and DNA evidence, including his bloodstained jacket.
Gibson faced a life sentence after being convicted of murder and attempted rape. Corrigan was convicted of a breach of the peace and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. They will be jailed in Livingston on September 4.
Amber was last heard from at 9:51pm on the night of her murder. She sent an apparently cheeky selfie with Gibson to a friend over Snapchat with the caption ‘my big bro’.
The friend, Angel McKean, described Amber as her ‘wee sister’ and recalled seeing her just hours before she was murdered.
‘She said that she was going to meet her brother and seemed quite excited about it,’ the 19-year-old remembered.
Local man Stephen Corrigan, 45, came across the lifeless teenager during a walk. But instead of alerting police the pervert touched her inappropriately and then hid her body from view
Amber was last heard from at 9:51pm on the night of her murder. She sent an apparently cheeky selfie with Gibson to a friend over Snapchat with the caption ‘my big bro’
Connor Gibson, who was previously living with his sister in foster care
Today, Lord Mulholland remanded Gibson and Corrigan in custody after the jury returned its verdicts.
Turning to Gibson first, he said: ‘Your sister – the last person she saw was you strangling her. It was depraved. You will pay a heavy price for that.’
The judge then told Corrigan: ‘You have been convicted of two horrific crimes. You came across a young girl who had been strangled to death and was naked.
‘Instead of altering the authorities, you handled her body and your DNA told the story. Be under no illusion what is also coming your way.’
Neither showed any emotion as they were taken handcuffed to the cells.
The children’s foster parents, Craig and Carol Niven, were in court to hear the verdicts. In an emotional statement, they said: ‘When they arrived at our home, Amber was three and Connor aged five.
‘Connor stated: ”We are safe” – they were until he took the safety away. Amber deserved to live a life of hope and opportunities. As a family, we will never be able to get over how this was taken from her.
‘We are relieved the people involved in what happened to her are now behind bars. However, no amount of time will be justice enough for such a young innocent life.’
The forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination on Amber’s body told the court she was found covered in mud and the cause of death was ‘compression of the neck’.
Jurors also heard other forensic evidence that ‘widespread blood staining’ on Gibson’s jacket was compatible with Amber and his DNA was also found on her shorts, worn as underwear, which had been ‘forcibly torn’ off.
The court heard Gibson, also known by the surname Niven, did not seem emotional as he spoke to his and Amber’s former foster father, Craig Niven, on the day Amber’s body was found.
Giving evidence, Mr Niven had said he would not leave the siblings in each other’s company because they were ‘not a good mix’.
Mr Niven and his wife 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.
Foster parents Carol and Craig Niven after Connor Gibson’s conviction today
At the time of Amber’s murder, Connor was living at the Blue Triangle homeless hostel in Hamilton while Amber was at the town’s Hillhouse children’s home.
Mr Niven told the court he had not heard from his former foster son during Amber’s disappearance but, in a call on the day her body was discovered, Gibson told him the pair had ‘fallen out’ when they saw each other two days previously.
Jurors also heard from Peter Benson, of Police Scotland’s cyber crime group, who examined a phone found where Gibson was living.
It showed that on November 27 at about 12.34am, the phone’s user wrote to a Snapchat group with five recipients: ‘I’m really going to need you guys help with something when yous come back. I’m being serious.’
The court saw evidence that about 40 seconds later the user messaged Amber Gibson on the app: ‘Are you ok?’
The user then told the group chat at approximately 1.33am: ‘nvm (never mind) it’s all good.’
The search history obtained from the phone also showed the user searched ‘How to get nosy police officers to stop monitoring your phone’ at 11.38pm.
Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday, November 26 and her body discovered in Cadzow Glen (where forensic officers are pictured) at about 10.10am on November 28
Police tape around a sculpture in the park where Amber was found on December 1, 2021
Iain Currie, manager of Hillhouse children’s home, told the court he spoke to Gibson at about 9pm on November 26 after he called to speak with his sister, but noted him appearing ‘sharp’ on the phone after making no greeting.
Also on trial was Stephen Corrigan, 45, who was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by intimately touching and concealing Amber’s body after discovering her at some point in the following two days, instead of contacting the emergency services.
Corrigan, said in court not to be known to Gibson, also denied the charge and had lodged a special defence of alibi.
His father, William Corrigan, 79, told the court his son was at his home in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, that weekend after a fall on ice left his arm in a sling, and denied lying to protect him.
The court heard Corrigan told police he was at a ‘complete loss’ to explain why his DNA was found on 39 areas of Amber’s body, including her breasts, buttocks and thighs.
