Man left schoolgirl to die on hill in freezing weather - BBC News
Mhari O'Neill is thought to have died from hypothermia and intoxication after being abandoned by Ewan Fulton.
Mhari O'Neill's body was discovered on Edinburgh's Calton Hill in December 2018

A man has admitted killing a schoolgirl after buying her alcohol and abandoning her on Edinburgh's Calton Hill.

Ewan Fulton, who was 18 at the time, bit and throttled Mhari O'Neill, 15, before leaving her on Edinburgh's Calton Hill on 7 December 2018.

Her body was found by a dog walker. Hypothermia, with intoxication, was said to be the most probable reason for her death.

Fulton, now aged 20, was remanded in custody at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He will be sentenced next month following background reports.

The court heard that Fulton met Mhari through social media site Yubo.

Before they met, he sent her a message which read: "It is freezing today should've worn my pimp coat". In a later message he wrote: "Ur gonna freeze to death OMG."

After she was found dead he told police he was aware Mhari was 15 years old.

He said he had bought a large bottle of vodka for them to share after he travelled to Edinburgh from Livingston to meet her.

Ewan Fulton was aged 18 at the time of the killing

Fulton told police Mhari had been so intoxicated that she kept falling off a bench and could not walk.

He claimed he was starting to panic and knew he needed to get the last train home. He maintained he told her several times he was leaving, but did not get a response as she was "unable to speak".

The following day the shop worker sent her a text stating: "Are you alive?" He said he was "freaking out" because he had not heard from her.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice told the court after his meeting with Mhari, Fulton had texted a friend the next day.

In a message he wrote: "I had no choice but to leave, what was I supposed to do?" and "I got her drunk she's 15".

He told another friend: "That girl has a family and if I had stayed she would be alive."

Mr Prentice said pathologists considered hypothermia, with intoxication, was the most probable reason for the Portobello High School pupil's death.

Fulton pleaded guilty to culpable homicide. He admitted taking part in sexual activity with the schoolgirl, culpably and recklessly endangering her health and life, and exposing her to risk of injury and death.

He had provided her with alcohol which resulted in her becoming intoxicated and incapable of looking after herself.

Fulton, from Livingston, West Lothian, abandoned the girl "in a remote and exposed location" in a state of partial undress without means to contact anyone and failed to seek help for her.

The culpable homicide charge stated he behaved with "utter disregard" for the consequences of his actions towards her.

In impact statements, Mhari's parents described her as "a much-loved daughter".

Mhari had asked her mother, Donna O'Neill, if she could go to the city's Christmas market with a friend. Her mother agreed and told her she had to be home by 21:00.

When she failed to return home her family began looking for her and contacted her friends, before reporting her to police as a missing person at about midnight.

Det Insp Susan Balfour from Police Scotland's major investigation team said: "This has been a distressing time for Mhari's family and our thoughts remain with them and her friends.

"We welcome the conviction of Ewan Fulton and hope it brings some comfort to Mhari's loved ones."

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