Family of murdered teen targeted by vile Internet trolls

The mum of a murdered teenager has told how she has been targeted by vile Internet trolls - who sent death threats to her other kids.
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Pamela Munro from Bishopbriggs lost daughter Paige Doherty in 2016, when she was knifed to death at the age of 15 by John Leathem in his Clydebank deli.

The mum-of-seven received depraved anonymous messages saying her other children should "kill themselves" and another calling for her family to "be murdered", on the Facebook page of a charity she set up, Paige's Promise, in her daughter's memory.

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The charity runs self-defence classes and offers holidays to bereaved families.

Paige Doherty was murdered in 2016Paige Doherty was murdered in 2016
Paige Doherty was murdered in 2016

Pamela said: "The messages my family receive on a regular basis are horrific.

"I've been told my kids are ugly, that they should be hit by a bus, that they deserve to die like Paige.

"Anytime I post an update on my daughter's charity page, I receive a string of dreadful messages about myself or my children.

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"The comments come from anonymous accounts and can't be identified easily.

"As a family, we've been through so much since Paige was taken from us.

"I don't know why any right-thinking person would set out to try and cause hurt to people who have already been through so much.

"We just want the messages to stop, for good.

"I tell my kids to ignore them and rise above them, but of course they are young and what they read has a terrible impact.

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"We're a strong family and this won't break us, but it is incredibly difficult to cope with.

"I want to see tougher new laws introduced to catch and punish the people who send abuse online.

"Right now, it's far too easy to hide behind a computer screen and be unaccountable for what you write.

"It is about time something was done to introduce a proper deterrent.

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"If people knew they were going to face the full weight of the law, they would think twice before hitting the send button.

"Things have to change.

"There must be better ways of protecting victims of crime and holding these people to account - and punishing them when their identities are discovered.

"Social media companies themselves need to look at better ways of policing their platforms."

She recently welcomed baby Kailo, aged one, and said the family will make sure he knows about his big sister.

Pamela added: "Paige would have loved Kailo.

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"She was such a caring girl and would have loved being a big sister and watching her siblings grow up, but we were all robbed of that by Leathem.

"We'll make sure he grows up knowing just how special his big sister was."

West Scotland list MSP Russell Findlay, who is also the shadow community safety minister, said: "No family should have to suffer such poison and I would urge Police Scotland to do whatever it can to identify those responsible and bring them to justice which would surely deter others.”

A spokesperson from Police Scotland added: "If you become aware of anyone acting illegally or behaving in a threatening way online report it to police."