Paige Doherty

A Saturday morning routine should not end in a national tragedy, yet that is exactly what happens in Clydebank when 15-year-old Paige Doherty sets off for work and never arrives. We walk through who Paige is beyond the headlines: a small, energetic teenager with a sharp sense of humour, a close bond with her mum, and a clear dream of building a future in beauty and hairdressing. That normality is what makes the silence that morning so frightening, and why her disappearance is treated as urgent from the start. 

From the first missing hours to the discovery off Great Western Road, we follow the investigation step by step, focusing on how Scottish police use timeline checks, witness accounts, and CCTV to narrow the search. The story turns on Delicious Deli, the last place Paige is clearly seen, and on the growing contradictions around what happened inside. We dig into the missing footage, the shutter coming down, the odd movements captured on camera, and the forensic evidence that transforms suspicion into proof. 

We also look at what comes after the court case: the impact on Paige’s family, the strength and mourning of the Clydebank community, and how remembrance becomes action through Page’s Promise and calls for better support for victims’ families, including limits on post-mortem waiting times. If you care about Glasgow true crime, forensic evidence, and the real human cost behind a case, listen through to the end. Subscribe, share with someone who follows Scottish crime stories, and leave us a review with the detail you think people should remember most.

Transcript

Introduction To A Dark City

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Welcome to A Dark City, the podcast that delves into the shadowy underbell of Glasgow, a city with a storied past and a reputation for resilience. Here, we uncover the chilling true stories of serious crimes that have left their mark on the city's history. From notorious gangland wars to unsolved mysteries, join us as we explore the darker side of Glasgow and the people whose lives were forever changed by its crimes.

Paige's Life And Plans

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And only a few hours later, the community was overwhelmed with concern when she vanished in broad daylight without a trace. Paige Doherty was born on April 17th, 2000, and grew up in Clydebank, Scotland, United Kingdom, where she lived with her mother, Pamela Munro, her stepfather, Andy, and her three siblings in a close-knit family. And she attended a local high school where teachers described her as a hard-working student who always put genuine effort into every task given to her. And outside of school, Paige worked part-time at a nearby hair salon on weekends, seeing it as the first step toward her passion for beauty. And she was especially close to her mother, with Pamela being the person Paige confided in about everything. And although she was only about four feet, eight inches tall, Paige was an energetic and resilient teenager with a talent for dancing, who often impressed her teachers with her humor and wit. And with her love for fashion and beauty, she always hoped to one day own a salon of her own, a dream she was determined to pursue. On Friday, March 18, 2016, Paige left home to spend the night at a friend's house as she had already planned. And the next morning, she woke up early to head to her part-time job at a hair salon in Kirkintillock, about 12 miles from Clydebank, a job she deeply valued as the first real step toward her dream of one day opening her own beauty salon. And with her love for hair, makeup, and fashion, Paige was always excited to experiment with new styles, seeing it as a source of daily joy. And after leaving her friend's house at around after 8 a.m., she walked to the bus stop as usual, often stopping by a small shop to buy her breakfast before continuing her trip to work.

The Disappearance Timeline

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Around midday, Paige's boyfriend, Dylan, began to worry because he had not received any messages or calls from her all morning. And since Paige was someone who always kept her phone with her, stayed active on social media, and almost never left a message unanswered for long, this unusual silence immediately caught his attention. And thinking her phone might have run out of battery, he called the hair salon to check whether Paige had arrived at work. But even though the shop was open and everyone was expecting her, no one had seen or heard anything about her that morning. And her absence only increased the concern because Paige was a responsible employee who was always on time and had never skipped work without notice. And Dylan quickly contacted Paige's mother, Pamela. And when he learned that she had not heard from her daughter either, everyone began to realize the situation was becoming serious. And Pamela immediately asked relatives and friends to help search, while also notifying the police so they could begin verifying and investigating the case. Police were quickly notified and arrived at Paige's home to gather initial details about the last moments she was seen. And once they learned that Paige had not used her phone, had not been active on social media, and had not contacted her mother, boyfriend, or workplace throughout the entire morning, they identified this as an unusual situation requiring urgent attention. And officers immediately began searching the areas around Paige's house, the home where she had stayed the night before, and the routes she normally traveled. But as time passed and the search radius expanded, there were still no signs indicating where Paige had gone or whom she might have encountered, which quickly ruled out the possibility that she had simply forgotten to charge her phone or had been occupied with something personal. And the situation was now treated as a serious disappearance that required a full investigative response. And

Community Search And Last Sighting

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while police were carrying out the search, Paige's family grew increasingly worried and wanted to spread information as quickly as possible. So they created a Facebook page called Help Find Page, where Pamela posted photos of the clothes Paige was last seen wearing, the locations she frequently passed, and the bus routes she might have used, hoping the community would help provide any useful leads. Based on the routes Paige usually took, police began checking every house and business located along the bus line she used to get to work. And during this process, a local shop owner named Ashi Ahmed reported that he had seen Paige walking past his store that morning, and that she had waved at him as she usually did, and the time was around 8 15 a.m., a detail that helped police confirm that Paige had indeed left her friend's home and was on her way to work as planned that day, while also giving them the last clearly verified moment she was seen. Ashi added that on previous Saturdays, Paige would sometimes stop by his shop to buy a breakfast roll, but that morning he saw her walk straight toward a fast food deli right next door, a place called Delicious Deli, owned by a man named John Letham. And this information helped police identify Paige's next direction of travel and narrow down the area they needed to examine during the investigation. Ashe explained that after seeing Paige walk toward Delicious Deli, he spoke with John Letham to ask whether Letham had seen her that morning. And Letham's reaction at the time showed no unusual signs. And because Ashy had run his shop for about 20 years and had known Paige since she was a child, he wanted to support the police as much as possible. So, he provided surveillance footage that captured the front area of the row of shops, helping investigators determine the direction Paige moved after entering the area where the fast food deli was located. And although his CCTV system only covered the storefronts, it still gave police a clear overall view of the location where Paige was last seen. And extracting and processing the full footage required additional time. But at this stage, it was the only direct lead the investigation team had to continue tracing Paige's movements. On

Discovery And Early Evidence

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Monday afternoon, at about 12.45 p.m., two days after Paige was last seen, the news that her family and the community had feared was finally confirmed as a passerby walking through a wooded area along Great Western Road discovered a body in the bushes and immediately called the police, and officers quickly secured the area and examined the scene. And when she heard the news, Paige's mother shared that she had felt a deep sense of unease since Saturday night when she could no longer reach her daughter. And although she had hoped for a different outcome, she had already been bracing herself for the possibility of a heartbreaking situation. The examination was carried out after Paige's body was taken to a forensic facility in the Glasgow area, where forensic specialists evaluated all of the injuries, and they documented multiple marks caused by a sharp object on her neck, along with about 61 deep injuries and more than 100 additional signs of harm on her body, which were determined to have been caused by at least three different types of dangerous objects. And these findings showed that Paige had faced an act of harm of exceptional severity, reflected in the large number of injuries and the complex nature of the marks left behind, confirming that this was an incident involving a level of damage far beyond ordinary cases. No one could understand why someone like Paige would face such a severe and troubling incident, and the absence of any clear leads only intensified the fear surrounding the case. And during this time, Paige's mother became the target of anonymous online accounts that sent her images of her daughter, accompanied by comments filled with disturbing insinuations. And although these actions caused her significant emotional distress, police determined that the individuals behind those accounts showed no signs of being directly connected to the incident. So,

Delicious Deli Under Scrutiny

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investigators decided to return to the row of shops where Paige had last been seen that morning to continue gathering information. And while waiting for CCTV footage from multiple sources to be processed and delivered, officers proactively revisited the local shop owners in the area in search of any additional details that might assist the investigation. Despite the information Ashi Ahmed provided about his conversation with John Leetham, the 31-year-old man told police that he could not remember every customer who came in and insisted he did not recognize Pai that morning. And although this explanation could be possible in some situations, officers remained doubtful because the area was a small community, and Page was a familiar face who often stopped by on weekends. So, to clarify the situation, police conducted a formal interview with Letham right inside Delicious Deli, asking him to describe the entire morning timeline, including when he opened the shop, how many customers came in, and any activities that took place inside the store. And during questioning, several of Letham's answers did not match what the neighboring shop owner had reported. And he also could not clearly identify the moment Page supposedly left the deli, an unusual detail for such a small space like delicious deli. And when asked to explain more specifically, Letham altered his statement and said he did remember Paige stopping in to buy a breakfast roll, that they had a brief conversation, and that she then left to catch a bus. But this sudden shift in his account, noticeably different from what he originally claimed, immediately drew police attention, placing Letham among those who needed closer scrutiny as investigators prepared to request a review of any recording devices inside the shop to compare with his statements. From the location where the body was found, police determined that Paige almost certainly never made it onto the bus as she had originally planned. And when the CCTV footage was finally delivered, the images clearly showed Paige entering delicious Delhi at about 8.21 a.m., consistent with the information Ashi Ahmed had provided earlier. But after reviewing the entire recorded time frame, investigators did not find any moment showing Paige leaving the shop, and the absence of footage of her walking back out raised a serious question, because based on the schedule, she needed to be at work shortly after, leaving no reasonable explanation for why she would have stayed inside the store for an extended period. And although the footage only covered a limited window, and it was possible she had been inside before or after the recorded segment, John Letham's statement that Paige simply stopped in to buy something and then immediately left did not match the CCTV data. And this contradiction between his account and the surveillance footage prompted police to examine more closely what had taken place inside Delicious Delhi that morning, while placing John Letham among those requiring deeper investigation. Police requested that John Letham come in for a formal interview to clarify why he had provided information that did not match the actual time frame of Paige's presence inside Delicious Delhi. And during the questioning, they asked Letham to hand over all interior surveillance footage from the shop, while also collecting additional CCTV clips from the storefront cameras belonging to Ashi Ahmed in order to compare the full sequence of events. And although Letham submitted the videos he claimed were complete, the technical team quickly noticed that large portions of the data were unusually missing. And even more concerning, the footage he provided did not include the moment Paige entered the shop, despite the exterior camera clearly showing her walking in at 8.21 a.m. And the fact that the interior surveillance had been cut and did not match the external recordings led police to suspect that something serious had occurred involving Paige inside the building, as well as the possibility that someone had intentionally removed critical sections of the video. And recognizing how abnormal the CCTV data was, investigators immediately increased their focus on what took place inside Delicious Deli that morning and shifted their analysis toward the likelihood of deliberate concealment connected to the incident. The footage

CCTV Timeline And Cover-Up Signs

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collected by police showed that John Leetham opened Delicious Deli at about 7.17 a.m. and brought in several takeaway coffees consistent with the shop's usual morning routine. And at 8.21 a.m., the camera from Ashi Ahmed's row of shops captured the moment Paige walked into the area of the deli. But only about 10 minutes after that, the front shutter of Delicious Deli was pulled down, blocking the exterior camera's view and preventing it from capturing any further activity inside the shop. The CCTV system continued to capture several unusual actions from John Letham that morning. And at about 9.27 a.m., he left Delicious Delhi and returned a few minutes later with his car parked right in front of the shop. And by 9.36 a.m., the deli was opened again to serve customers as usual. And not long after, at 9.58 a.m., the camera recorded Letham running from the back of his shop into the neighboring store, then just a minute later, running back out and moving toward the rear of the building, showing hurried and repeated movements. And about four minutes after that, he appeared beside his car and opened the trunk while shifting several items inside. And the trunk remained open as he went back into the shop, before soon bringing out a large trash bag. And near midday, he left the building, got into his car, and drove away, later returning at about 6.04 p.m. wearing a different set of clothes. And this rapid sequence of irregular actions, inconsistent with normal business operations, led police to treat them as significant details requiring careful analysis in the investigation. According to a shop owner, next to Delicious Deli at about 9.58 a.m., John Leatham appeared at their store to buy cleaning products and trash bags, which matched the moment the camera captured him, moving hurriedly back and forth between the shops. And in addition, a local hairdresser said she saw John shortly before 9.30 a.m. as he was walking toward his car, where he explained that he had just had a nosebleed and needed to get something from the vehicle. And while these explanations were documented by police, when placed alongside the full CCTV data and Letham's sequence of movements that morning, they further increased investigators' attention on the unusual activities taking place inside Delicious Delhi. On March 21st, two days after Page was last seen, footage from another surveillance camera captured John Letham in a wooded area off Great Western Road, less than one mile from Delicious Delhi and very close to the location where Paige's body was later discovered. And his presence in that area during such a sensitive time frame drew significant attention from investigators. The

Arrest And Forensic Breakthroughs

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evidence quickly became clearer, and on March 23, 2016, four days after Paige Doherty went missing, authorities officially sealed off Delicious Deli as an active investigation scene and took John Leatham into custody for questioning. And during the first interview, he chose to remain silent with repeated no-comment responses while insisting that officials would not find any marks related to Paige inside the shop. But forensic results disproved this almost immediately. And when specialists examined the structure of the building, they discovered Paige's DNA in multiple areas, including spots on the walls, between the wooden floorboards, and in several hidden sections behind the counter, locations that indicated there had been significant impact and attempts to handle the aftermath. And several items in the small kitchen and counter area had been moved in unusual ways, exposing surfaces that showed signs of being wiped with cleaning chemicals. And under specialized investigative lighting, the forensic team documented large areas that had been thoroughly scrubbed, creating irregular patterns inconsistent with normal cleaning routines in a business setting. And these findings showed that deliberate cleanup activity had taken place, strongly reinforcing the investigative focus on what occurred inside Delicious Delhi on the morning of March 19th. Based on the surveillance data and the evidence collected, police determined that near midday on March 19th, after leaving Delicious Delhi, John Letham drove to his home, located only about 500 yards from the shop, and investigators believe he stored Paige's body in the shed behind the family's garden. And what drew particular attention from authorities was that the very next day, Letham still took his wife and child out for a meal as usual, maintaining normal routines without showing any visible signs of distress. And on the following day, he was believed to have moved Paige's body from the shed and taken it to the wooded area off Great Western Road, where it was later discovered. On March 24th, the town's iconic Titan crane was illuminated in pink throughout the night as a tribute to Paige Doherty and as a symbol of the community's unity during a time of loss. And the severe incident that led to her passing left a profound sense of shock, placing the entire town in a state of mourning. And residents, both those who knew Paige and those who had never met her, were deeply affected by the loss, showing how important she was to the Clydebank community. The case moved quickly, and John Leatham was charged in connection with the incident and appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court on March 26th, and again on April 1st, but both times he offered no plea. On April 26, 2016, Paige Doherty's funeral was held, marking the moment when the Clyde Bank community came together to say goodbye to the young girl in an atmosphere filled with sorrow, and the pain felt by residents was unmistakable, along with the sense of outrage that such a severe incident could happen to a teenager so deeply loved. And just a few days after the service, Paige would have turned 16. And in response to the family's loss, two fundraising campaigns were created and quickly received overwhelming support from the community, collecting more than 14,000 pounds in just one day to help cover funeral costs and other essential needs for Paige's family. Seven

Court Sentencing And Aftermath

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months after Paige was last seen, on October 12, 2016, John Letham appeared at the High Court in Glasgow and formally admitted responsibility for the incident that led to the passing of Paige Doherty, as well as for attempting to conceal what happened afterward. And based on the investigative record, forensic evidence, and the exceptional severity of the situation, the court sentenced Letham to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years before review. And the panel emphasized that the nature of the case, the number of marks documented on the victim's body, and the actions taken to handle the scene afterward showed a level of harm far beyond typical incidents, meaning the punishment needed to reflect the seriousness of the behavior. And the sentencing brought the months-long investigation to a close and provided the legal resolution that Paige's family and the Clydebank community had been waiting for. The judge said, You have pleaded guilty to the murder of a 15-year-old defenseless child and a second charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to cover up your actions. The circumstances of the crime, all as described in the agreed narrative, disclosed that this was a savage, frenzied attack. In my view, no evidence of any motive has been put before me to explain the ferocity of this attack. You must have struck the victim in excess of 146 times with a knife, which on your account just happened to be handy in the back room of your shop. These were not just stab wounds, but they included many slashing type injuries, and this number of injuries excludes separate repeated blows which must have been delivered to inflict the large gaping wound on her neck, which ultimately left, led to her. Bleeding to death. What you did was truly reprehensible. It is impossible to comprehend how an apparently happily married man with a young child who's running a successful business is capable of such an horrific level of violence. Your mental state has been investigated, and there is no suggestion, as far as I can determine, of any psychiatric or psychological explanation for what you did. In respect of the murder charge, there is only one sentence which I can impose, and that is life imprisonment. On charge one, you'll be sentenced to life imprisonment. And in view of the brutality and nature of this attack, together with the aggravating factors, all as disclosed in the narrative, including the circumstances of charge two, the punishment part I would have imposed. But for the discount is 30 years. I'm prepared to discount that by three years, having regard to the point at which you pleaded guilty. The resultant punishment part is 27 years. Those periods will run concurrently and will date from the 26th of March this year, when you were first remanded in custody. During the proceedings, John Leatham claimed that on the morning of March 19th, Page had asked him about a job at Delicious Delhi. But when he learned she was only fifteen, he told her the chances of being hired were very low, and he then offered the explanation that Paige pressured him by saying that if she was not given the job, she would tell others he had behaved inappropriately, which he said caused him to panic and led to the harmful incident. But this account was immediately rejected by Paige's family, who insisted she had never behaved that way, and that there was no independent evidence supporting Leetham's explanation. And prosecutors also emphasized that his version of events had no solid basis and did not reduce the seriousness of the situation. And after the trial concluded and the sentence was delivered, Paige's mother, Pamela Munro, stepped before the press to make an official statement, saying that, Today, we see a monster put behind bars for the unthinkable, brutal crime he committed against our daughter, Paige. A beautiful 15-year-old with her whole life ahead of her, and a massive family group and friends are left to carry on with her no longer here. There is no sentence high enough to justify what has happened, but we can now say there is one less evil man in this world, which then makes the world that bit more safe for our kids to grow up in. Paige is now safe and can finally rest in peace knowing justice has been served to a high standard. We would like to thank the public for their support over the last seven months. Without their support, we might very nearly have gave up. But reading comments and hearing some touching words gave us strength to carry on. All we can do as a family is take each day at a time. There is a huge piece missing in our family that can never be replaced. I am thankful for the 15 years we had with Paige, from the kind and generous wee soul she was, to the mature young woman she grew into. She may not be with us anymore, but she will live on through her brothers and sister, and all the memories that we share. Also, we would like to give the murder investigation team and anyone else who worked on Paige's case at the time a huge thank you. Without their hard work, we would never have got the results so quickly. Special recognition must also give to be given to two women, Maureen Sharkey and Shona Baird. These ladies worked around the clock to get us answers, while also seeing to us as a family. Nothing was too much bother to them. They taught us how to trust and be patient. Without them close at hand, I personally would never have coped. If I could give them a medal for their work, I would do it right now. As everyone is aware, Paige's case has been very high profile, it's exhausting. As a family, we need some space to collect our thoughts and start to rebuild our lives, knowing we can only have memories of Paige included in this long road ahead. We ask that media sources can now leave us alone. We understand as journalists, you have a job to do. But please also understand that as parents, we also have a job to do, which to us is far more important than a story in a newspaper. If and when we decide to speak out, we have numerous amounts of business cards, letters, emails, text messages, and phone numbers provided by yourselves. We know where to contact you if that time ever comes. Thank you for your time. When delivering the sentence, Judge Ray noted that John Letham's explanation had no verifiable basis, stating that Letham claimed Paige pressured him by threatening to spread information about inappropriate behavior if she was not given the job. Yet, no independent evidence was presented in court to support that claim. And the judge emphasized that, even if his account were assumed to be true, Letham's reaction could not in any way be justified or seen as reducing the seriousness of what happened. And he confirmed that there was no data indicating any specific motive or reasonable explanation for the level of harm that escalated far beyond control in this case. Not

Appeal Memorials And Page's Promise

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long after he began serving his sentence, John Letham filed an appeal. And in February 2017, the Court of Appeal reviewed the case file. And after evaluating the factors related to the sentencing guidelines and the way the minimum punishment period is determined under case law, the panel granted part of Letham's request and decided to adjust the minimum term from 27 years to 23 years. And this reduction was not based on any new mitigating factors, but on the assessment that the original figure was higher than what is typically applied in incidents of comparable severity. Although the nature of the case, the investigative findings, and Latham's legal responsibility remained entirely unchanged. On the second anniversary of Page's passing, the West Dunbartonshire Council held a tribute by illuminating the Titan Crane in red lights to honor Page, as well as other victims of severe harmful incidents within the community. And this gesture reflected the town's unity and commitment to remembering the losses that had occurred, while also raising awareness about safety for the wider public. Page's mother, Pamela, worked together with Kevin Woodburn, whose son, Sean, passed away in a severe incident in 2017, and therefore deeply understood the pain she was experiencing. And the two of them proposed a legal change aimed at supporting families of victims, stating that the time frame for a post-mortem examination should be limited to a maximum of 14 days unless the family agrees to an extension. And the purpose of this proposal was to prevent grieving families from enduring prolonged waiting periods and to allow them to lay their loved ones to rest sooner. And the petition was submitted to the Justice Committee for review, beginning a three-stage parliamentary process. And if it passed all stages, it would become official law. And as of May 2020, the bill was still in the first phase of the legislative procedure. The charity, Page's Promise, was created with the goal of supporting families experiencing loss by organizing retreat programs, providing emotional support services, and offering self-defense classes for children to help raise awareness about personal safety. And Paige Doherty, the young girl whose memory inspired the Foundation, is remembered as energetic, enthusiastic, and intelligent, carrying many big aspirations for her future. And although her journey ended early, Paige's bright personality and positive presence left a lasting impact on the Clydebank community, where people continue to speak of her with affection and respect. And that is the full story of the loss surrounding Paige Doherty, a reminder of the importance of vigilance, compassion, and the shared responsibility to protect those who are vulnerable within our communities. And this story, beyond becoming part of the True Crime Documentary series, leaves us with the lesson that every uncontrolled action can create far-reaching consequences, and that we must take an active role in building a safer, more understanding, and more supportive environment for those around us.