Donna Marie Brand has been sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in prison for her part in the murder of schoolgirl Caroline Glachan more than 27 years ago. The sentencing took place at the

High Court in Glasgow on Monday after Brand was found guilty in December of Caroline's murder in West Dunbartonshire, along with two others – Robert O’Brien, who was in a relationship with Caroline, and Andrew Kelly.

While O’Brien and Kelly were sentenced to life in January, Brand, who was 17 at the time of the murder, could not be sentenced simultaneously as she was hospitalized with a respiratory infection. She appeared for sentencing on Monday via videolink.

Judge Lord Braid, in delivering Brand's sentence, acknowledged that she played no active role in the assault but shared responsibility for leaving Caroline in the river. He stated, “Although you yourself did not assault Caroline, you must take equal responsibility with the others for having left her lying face down in the water when she was still alive – drowning, as we know, being the actual cause of death.”

Caroline’s mother, Margaret McKeich, expressed relief outside the court after Brand’s sentencing, stating, “It’s like a weight lifted off my shoulders and as I’ve said before it’s not closure, it’s justice – you don’t get closure."

During the trial, it was revealed that Caroline was repeatedly assaulted near a bridge beside the River Leven in August 1996, leading to her tragic death by drowning. Both O’Brien and Kelly were previously sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the murder.

Despite the sentencing, O’Brien and Kelly have lodged appeals against their convictions and sentences, confirmed by the High Court of Appeal in Edinburgh earlier this year. Photo by Michael Coghlan from Adelaide, Australia, Wikimedia commons.