Paedophile Pair Found Guilty Of Killing Woman - previously linked to Madeleine case

Paedophile Pair Found Guilty Of Killing Woman

5:51pm UK, Thursday June 10, 2010

James Matthews, Scotland correspondent

Two of the country's most dangerous paedophiles have been found guilty of killing a woman who was going to report their abuse of a young boy.


Charles O'Neill, 47, and William Lauchlan, 33, strangled 39-year-old Alison McGarrigle before dumping her body in the sea off Largs in Ayrshire.
Police initially believed that she had simply gone missing when she disappeared in 1998. In 2005, however, they declared her dead.
The breakthrough in the hunt for her killers came when they boasted about the murder.
Both Lauchlan and O'Neill had a history of abusing young boys. In 1998, they were jailed for abusing five youngsters.
Following their release, their child sex crimes continued - in Scotland and in Benidorm, where they had set up a cleaning business.
It was while they were abusing a boy in Ayrshire that Alison McGarrigle found out and threatened to tell the police.

Convicted paedophiles Charles O'Neill (left) and William Lauchlan
Detectives believe they strangled her in their flat, which she was sharing at the time, and then hid her body under rocks on Largs beach before putting it in a wheelie bin and dumping it at sea.
Despite repeated appeals for information and an extensive search of the seabed off Largs, no trace of Alison was ever found.
Police suspicions surrounding Lauchlan and O'Neill were never brought to court due to a lack of strong evidence.
Over the years, however, different witnesses heard them boast about having killed the single mother.
One man told the High Court in Glasgow how O'Neill said to him "she's feeding the fishes down there," and nodded towards the Firth of Clyde.
In Spain they told a man they knew that Ms McGarrigle had been "got rid of" and repeated she had been "fed to the fishes."

Allison McGarrigle, killed by two paedophiles she threatened to expose
In prison, O'Neill had told a fellow prisoner she had been "done away with."
Just weeks prior to their murder conviction, the pair were found guilty in a separate trial of grooming a six year-old boy for sex.
In the same trial, they were also convicted of abducting and sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy in Spain and O'Neill was convicted of drugging a 14-year-old boy and abusing him.
The judge in the murder trial, Lord Pentland, described the pair, who were lovers, as "evil, determined and manipulative paedophiles of the worst sort."
Both were given life sentences, with O'Neill to serve a minium of 30 years and Lauchlan a minimum of 26 years.
They were also jailed for 10 years each for the recent sexual abuse convictions.
Sentencing the pair, Lord Pentland said: "It is clear that you are both dangerous and determined predatory paedophiles and that you now represent a high risk to the safety of the public."://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3009422/Life-for-murder-paedo-wanted-by-Maddie-tecs.html

By ANTONELLA LAZZERI
Published: Today
A SERIAL paedophile linked to the Madeleine McCann case was yesterday jailed for life for murder.
Charles O'Neill has repeatedly refused to be quizzed by detectives working for Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry.

But the private eyes will now try again. O'Neill, 47, is believed to have been in Portugal when Maddie, then three, vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve in May 2007.
Yesterday he was sentenced for killing mum-of-three Allison McGarrigle who threatened to reveal he and gay lover William Lauchlan were abusing a child.

Ex-boxer O'Neill and Lauchlan, 33, strangled Allison 13 years ago in Largs, Ayrshire.

They dumped her body at sea and it has never been found.

The High Court in Glasgow ordered O'Neill to serve a minimum of 30 years and Lauchlan, a minimum of 26 years.

They were handed a further 10 years each for abusing two boys aged six and 14.
The pair had been jailed in 1988 over 31 charges of drugging and assaulting young children but were freed in 2002.

They fled to Spain and set up a cleaning business for holiday apartments.

They travelled to Portugal several times.

In April 2004 they abducted, drugged and abused a 15-year-old English boy in Spain.

O'Neill was still there three years later when seven-year-old Spanish Jeremy Vargus vanished from Gran Canaria.

Two months later Maddie went missing - and O'Neill was thought to be on the Algarve at the time.

Jeremy's mother Ithaisa Suarez, 24, and Kate, 41, from Rothley, Leics, have written to each other regularly.

Kate and Gerry have also included information about the Jeremy case on their website.

Last night the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed: "Investigators have been fully aware of O'Neill and his background but have not been able to take him any further forward as an active line of investigation."


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3009422/Life-for-murder-paedo-wanted-by-Maddie-tecs.html#ixzz0qVQfytlv

Here's an old article about this pair :

http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2007/10/14/murder-
suspects-pose-as-holiday-cleaners-78057-19948531/


Murder Suspects Pose As Holiday Cleaners

Oct 14 2007 By Billy Paterson

Child Abusers Linked To Murder Pose As Cleaning Experts At Family
Holiday Homes Exclusive

TWO prime murder suspects are posing as directors of a firm that cleans
family holiday homes in the island of Gran Canaria.

Paedophiles Charles O'Neill, 44, and William Lauchlan, 30, fled
Scotland when they were released from prison last year.

We can reveal they now run Rainbow Cleaning Services on the Canary
Island where unsuspecting parents of young children let them into their
holiday homes.

O'Neill calls himself a "forensic cleaner" and a member of the British
Institute of Cleaning.

Last night a spokesman for the BIC said no one with that name was
registered with them.

The former boxer was jailed for eight years and his cousin, Lauchlan
sentenced to six years in 1998 for abusing six boys aged between 11 and
15.

One key witnesses was to have been mum-of-three Allison McGarrigle, who
once stayed with O'Neill and Lauchlan at their home in Largs, Ayrshire.

The 40-year-old, of Rothesay, Isle of Bute disappeared 10 years ago and
has not been seen since.

In April 2005 both men appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court charged
with her murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice by
disposing of her body.

O'Neill was alleged to have boasted to fellow inmates at Glasgow's
Barlinnie Prison and Peterhead jail he had killed Allison and fed her
"to the fishes".

But the Crown never brought the case to court after "very careful
consideration" of the evidence.

When they were released from prison for the child abuse offences
O'Neill and Lauchlan broke their parole conditions by fleeing to the
Spanish resort of Benidorm.

They were arrested in 2004 and returned to Scotland to serve the rest
of their sentences. O'Neill was released in November last year, a month
after Lauchlan.

Elizabeth Marshall, a Largs councillor, was a member of Victim Support
at the time the paedophiles' offences came to light and counselled one
of their victims.

She said last night: "That victim said his life was ruined by these two.

"They spiked drinks and drugged and threatened victims saying the same
fate would befall their mothers as had happened to Alison McGarrigle
and that they would be fed to the fishes.

"It is very disturbing people like that are running a business where
they have access to young children.

"I will alert the police here and hopefully they will pass it on to the
authorities in the Canary Islands."

An advertising feature for Rainbow Cleaning Services on the Canary
Islands Round Town News site states: "William and Charlie have invested
a lot of time and money and recruited and personally trained their
staff.

"This is a polished service (no pun intended) with a professional image
to boot.

"Charlie is a former environmental health officer who trained in the UK
and is a registered member of the British Institute of Cleaning
Science.

"William is a forensic/industrial cleaner and the inhouse trainer of
staff."

When the Sunday Mail first contacted Rainbow Cleaning Services we were
told neither O'Neill or Lauchlan was available.

When we made a second call we were told they had sold the firm three
weeks ago.

Last night a senior police source said that the Allison McGarrigle case
remained open.

He added: "These inquiries are never closed and are pursued if any new
information comes to light."

SUNDAY EMAIL

b.paterson@sundaymail.co.uk

Their work advert in 2007 :

http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11653&Itemid=38

Rainbow Cleaning Services

Tuesday, 03 July 2007

Pottering around with my spray polish and duster, I decided to have a coffee break and lo" and behold the "phone rang. Would I be interested in meeting with William from Rainbow Cleaning Services and having a chat about this new company? William and Charlie have invested a lot of time and money and recruited and personally trained their staff. This is a polished service (no pun intended) with a professional image to boot. Charlie is a former Environmental Health Officer who trained in the U.K. and is a registered member of the British Institute of Cleaning Science. As well as this, William is a Forensic/Industrial cleaner and the in-house trainer of staff. Yes, a busy young man, because all staff who work for Rainbow Cleaning Services are personally trained to his high standard.
William is the Marketing Director and even he has been known to strip off from his very smart business attire and don the company uniform and get his hands on the power tools with his team. Yes, William is fully trained too. All Rainbow Cleaning Services staff wear the company uniform and arrive at your premises in the company van. Whether you live in an apartment, duplex with swimming pool or run a "pool bar /restaurant, pub/club, or have apartments for let to holiday-makers, Rainbow Cleaning Services are on hand to help you.
All their products are purchased and shipped from the U.K. Pressure washing/steam cleaning/terraces, swimming pools/graffiti removal/extractor fans/bathrooms/toilets/mattresses, general household upkeep, it"s all provided. This range of services is for households and company premises alike. For commercial premises, Charlie is qualified to issue a certificate to state that all cleaning is carried out to Environmental Health Standards. Look around in the south of Gran Canaria and you can see these certificates already being displayed in some restaurants. That certainly gets my vote of approval. Keys can be held and are currently held for existing clients.
Residential premises...trust is a big issue for many of us, isn"t it, and Rainbow Cleaning Services already have keys for many private houses on the island and operate an Index Security System with cross references for these keys. In other words, no-one picking up these keys can identify the premises they relate to...relief and assurance that all is safe. Let me run through just some of their areas of excellence...hair and skin in household drains, sinks, showers trays, bathrooms, toilets, bidets. Rugs, carpets, window cleaning, stain removal, rust stains, red wine stains, gum stains, awnings/toldos, wood/marble flooring. All equipment is to professional standard. All cleaning cloths are NEW for every job which greatly reduces the risks of cross contamination and infection.
When these boys come into your home they can clean away the bacteria under your taps, yes, it"s probably lurking there. I just had to mention this because it is a rather gruesome thought, but it is reality staring us in the face. Rainbow Cleaning Services are the "dirt detectives" of Gran Canaria and once you have used their very professional service, you will be calling them on a regular basis. Give their office a call on 679 30 40 80 for more information. Remember, consultations are free and without any obligation.

I really don´t understand, why these newspapers or people have to publish or say that paedophiles are linked with this case, when there is nothing to suggest (apparentely) any connection with this case. In my opinion, more speculation.

I know it is unpleasant Pedro and its not a place in my mind that I like to go, but Clarence has said the PI's have been aware of this persons background but have not been able to take him any further forward.

I understand what you mean my friend. Bu I still think, in my opinion, that paedophiles (apparentely) may not be connected to this case, but, I say, everything must be explored. Let´s suppose (although no evidence to prove this) that a paedophile abudcted her, because she fits a purpose, she is alive, so, she can be found, she have the entire life to endure with the support of family, experts / psychologists to assist in this issue. Take a look for example: Natasha Kampusch, Jaycee Dugard. Shawn Hornbeck. Children are more though then we think. Although about paedophiles in this case: it´s not a path I´m following.

Following their release, their child sex crimes continued - in Scotland and in Benidorm, where they had set up a cleaning business.

that bit as stood out for me....i remember way back in the beginning reading both brians dreams and merlin. Both mention a cleaner of some sort.I know they mentioned cleaner because minxy and myself were thinking someone at the ocean club.The reason we thought that was because a cleaner who got fired from working at the ocean club not to long before Madeleine was taken was said to have been angry about losing her job and wanted revenge.

Im glad kate and gerry are in touch with Jeremy Vargus parents still,ive always wondered weather these two little ones abduction were connected because there were soo many similaritys between the both .

.

.

You're right, closure, knowing what's happened is important, even if it isn't a happy ending.
Unfortunately many cases remain unresolved.