A brother who murdered and sexually assaulted his 16-year-old sister has been jailed for life.
When three-year-old Amber Gibson escaped the family home where her dad was beating her mother black and blue with her slightly older brother, it seemed salvation had finally arrived.
The grim reality was that her torment was only just beginning, and the sibling she trusted to keep her safe would go on to not only destroy her life but end it.
Another man who found her corpse – only to intimately touch and hide her body – was also sentenced to nine years in prison.
Connor Gibson, aged 21, was found guilty in July of attacking his sister Amber in woodland near Hamilton, in South Lanarkshire, on 26 November 2021.
By the time her heartbreaking life was ended, Amber had spent almost her entire life in the care system.
Her natural father was jailed for ten years just months ago for his violent, sexual crimes.
Peter Gibson, 62, raped a woman in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, an attack which included him tying her up and blindfolding her. He had also indecently assaulted a young boy and was found guilty of lewd and libidinous behaviour, as well as physically assaulting and threatening the child.
Gibson’s own daughter would become the victim of rape herself. Following foster care, Amber was then moved into a children’s unit at the age of 14.
It was during her period in care that she was raped by 20-year-old Jamie Starrs, who attacked her in June 2021 after being released on bail for another sex attack.
But worse was still to come for Amber – she would ultimately end up on the receiving end of a horrific, sexually motivated fatal attack by her own brother.
Yet even after his appalling crime, Connor Gibson was determined his life would continue as normal, with him even putting in a chilling request to a journalist during the hunt for Amber’s killer. But his attempt to put people off the scent would ultimately fail.
The twisted killer had previously contacted the Daily Record about Amber, claiming he wanted “everyone to know what she was really like”.
He told the reporter: “I’d like people [to know] what Amber was like. The real Amber. Not the Amber that people saw but the person she was on the inside. I’d like them to know. I know some people will not agree with me talking to you. However, this is my decision.”
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Gibson penned sick tributes to his sister on Facebook after police confirmed her body had been discovered.
He posted: “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.”
Gibson had denied the charges against him but was found guilty after a 13-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Judge Lord Mulholland told him: “Your sister – the last person she saw was you strangling her. It was depraved, and you will pay a heavy price for that.”
He told Gibson he faces a mandatory life sentence with the punishment part to be decided after considering the plea in mitigation on his behalf and a criminal justice social work report.
A senior detective branded the actions of the 20-year-old as “depraved“.
The former foster family of both siblings said in a statement that Amber was “the most giving, loving, supportive and admirable person”, and their life will “never be the same again”.
The family said: “She kept us on our toes and had the most amazing outlook on life consider the suffering she had experienced.”
The statement continued: “When they arrived at our home – Amber, aged three, and Connor, aged five – Connor stated: ‘We are safe now’. “They were until he took her safety away.”
The family said both siblings had been “let down by the system”, adding: “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.”
Her brother was captured on CCTV walking in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, at 11.44 pm (PA)
Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday November 26, and her body was discovered in Cadzow Glen at about 10.10 am on November 28.
Gibson was arrested three days later, on December 1. 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 that 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.
A 13-day trial heard that he had removed his sister’s clothes, sexually assaulted her with the intention of raping her, inflicted blunt force trauma to her head and body, and strangled her.
Her body was discovered in Cadzow Glen, a park in the town centre, two days later.
The day before his arrest on 1 December, Gibson posted a chilling tribute to his sister, writing on Facebook: “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.”
Gibson was sentenced at the High Court in Livingston on Monday to a minimum of 22 years in prison.
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Judge Lord Mulholland told him: “The person she saw last was you, sexually assaulting her with the intent to rape her, breaking her nose and strangling the life out of her. What you did was truly evil.”
Stephen Corrigan, aged 45, was also sentenced to nine years in jail on Monday after he was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and breach the peace by intimately touching and concealing Amber’s body after discovering it instead of contacting the emergency services.
During the trial, the court heard how evidence from forensic pathologists showed Amber had died as a result of compression of the neck.
When Gibson was convicted, the former foster family of both siblings said in a statement that Amber was “the most giving, loving, supportive and admirable person”, and their lives would “never be the same again”.
The family said: “She kept us on our toes and had the most amazing outlook on life consider the suffering she had experienced.”
The statement continued: “When they arrived at our home – Amber, aged three and Connor aged five – Connor stated: ‘We are safe now’. They were until he took her safety away.”
Amber’s foster family could be heard sobbing in the public gallery as Gibson was led away to begin his sentence.
Concerns were raised about the siblings soon after their foster parents were granted permanent care of them. Giving evidence during the trial, Mr Niven said he would not leave the two alone together as they were “not a good mix”.
The foster care arrangement broke down when Amber was 14 years old, and she moved into the Hillhouse children’s unit while her brother remained with the Nivens until his 18th birthday.
At the time of her murder, he was a resident at Hamilton’s Blue Triangle project, a hostel for homeless youngsters.
Despite describing their relationship as turbulent, Amber’s friend told jurors she had been looking forward to seeing him in the hours before she was killed.
CCTV footage showed the two walking along the streets of Hamilton, with Amber later sending a selfie of the two captioned “my big bro”.
It was the last time anyone would hear from her alive.
In mitigation, Tony Graham KC, representing Gibson, told the court how he had been abused in his early years and had endured a “narrative of emotional abuse and neglect”.
Mr Graham said: “I make reference to these matters to reconcile how a brother can act in such a way.”
In a separate case, it emerged that Amber was raped five months before she was murdered.
Jamie Starrs, 20, assaulted Amber and raped her while she was asleep or unconscious at a property in Bothwell in June 2021. He was jailed for ten and a half years last month.