Connor Gibson: Man who murdered and sexually assaulted teenage sister jailed for life
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
The 21-year-old was convicted in July. 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.
Judge Lord Mulholland told Gibson: “She was looking forward to seeing you the night she was murdered, she even posted a selfie of both of you on her Snapchat.
“The last person she saw alive was you, her brother, having strangled the life out of her after beating her up and trying to rape her.
“What you did was truly evil.
“Science told the world what you had done to Amber.”
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, found 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 showing 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
He was arrested on 1 December 2021. The day before, 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
Read more:
Amber Gibson murder: Independent care review set to be concluded
Man jailed for raping teenager five months before she was murdered by her brother
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.
Martin Lewis says motorists who were mis-sold car finance are likely to receive “hundreds, not thousands of pounds” – with regulators launching a consultation on a new compensation scheme.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com believes it is “very likely” that about 40% of Britons who entered personal contact purchase or hire purchase agreements between 2007 and 2021 will be eligible for payouts.
“Discretionary commission arrangements” saw brokers and dealers charge higher levels of interest so they could receive more commission, without telling consumers.
Pics: PA
Speaking to Sky News Radio’s Faye Rowlands, Lewis said: “Very rarely will it be thousands of pounds unless you have more than one car finance deal.
“So up to about a maximum of £950 per car finance deal where you are due compensation.”
Lewis explained that consumers who believe they may have been affected should check whether they had a discretionary commission arrangement by writing to their car finance company.
However, the personal finance guru warned against using a claims firm.
“They’re hardly going to do anything for you and you might get the money paid to you automatically anyway, in which case you’re giving them 30% for nothing,” he added.
Read more: How to tell if you’ve been mis-sold car finance
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Who’s eligible for payout after car finance scandal?
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority said its review of the past use of motor finance “has shown that many firms were not complying with the law or our disclosure rules that were in force when they sold loans to consumers”.
The FCA’s statement added that those affected “should be appropriately compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way”.
Lewis told Sky News that the consultation will launch in October – and will take six weeks.
“We expect payouts to come in 2026, assuming this will happen and it’s very likely to happen,” he said.
“As for exactly how will work, it hasn’t decided yet. Firms will have to contact people, although there is an issue about them having destroyed some of the data for older claims.”
He believes claims will either be paid automatically – or affected consumers will need to opt in and apply to get compensation back.
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The FCA estimates the cost of any scheme – including compensation and administrative costs – to be no lower than £9bn.
But in a video on X, Lewis said that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18bn.
The regulator’s announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled on a separate, but similar, case on Friday.
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