Danielle
Reid
April 23, 1997
- November 6, 2002
(Formerly
in the Faceless Innocence
section)
On November 6, 2002, Danielle
Reid was murdered by her mothers boyfriend, Lee Gaytor, and then her mother
and Lee's' brother carried Danielle's body, which they had placed in a
suitcase and weighed down with bricks, through Inverness city center and
threw it into Caledonian Canal in Edinburgh.
Lee Gaytor has admitted that
while he and Tracy, Danielle's mother, were using amphetamines, he beat
Danielle on her head and on her body and then threw her down a flight of
stairs. Danielle was locked
in a room for over two hours
while she was beaten and then she was
thrown down the stairs.
Lee had told Tracy that Danielle
was devil and that is why he was
beating her. Danielle was
left at the bottom of the stairs, in pain and
bleeding from head trauma.
After Danielle died, Tracy helped Lee clean up the blood off of the walls
and they placed her body into the
suitcase that they used to
carry her through the city.
Neighbors had seen Danielle
on the streets before she was murdered.
She was not supervised so
they would often take her home with them. Danielle was said to have been
a happy go lucky girl who smiled all
the time. All of the neighbors
saw her neglect, none of them reported
it. I have to wonder why!
For the last few weeks of
her life, she didn't have very much to smile about. Danielle was beaten,
rarely fed and was stuck in her bedroom for long periods of time while
her mother and her boyfriend did drugs. She wore a mask, in the form of
a smile, to cover it all up.
Danielle was taken out of
Crown Primary School when her mother
claimed they were moving
to Manchester. No one knew which school
she had transferred to since
normal procedure called for a transfer
of school records when the
new school asked for them. There was
never a request for records
to be transferred.
Relatives became concerned
when they would ask to see Danielle and for three months, they were given
excuses about why they couldn't. On January 1, 2003, the police were called
to Tracy's home after a relative was told that Danielle had been killed.
Police divers recovered her body from the canal six days later. Danielle's
body had been there for three months. Tracy admitted to her part in what
happened to Danielle.
Lee will serve a minimum of
18 years in prison. For their participation in covering up the murder and
disposing of Danielle's body, Tracy Reid will serve eight years and Chris
Gator will serve only one year.
The court, Lord Hardie Stated
the following:
"Your daughter could
have survived if a doctor had been called, to that extent, you are responsible
for her death"
The High Court in Edinburgh
said:
"Danielle’s death and
the disposal of her body, would not be fit for the most gruesome novel".
Det Insp Stevie Mackay, of
Northern Constabulary, said:
"Today’s verdict reflects
the severity of this heinous crime perpetrated against a defenseless young
child."
Reid’s mother, Cathy Gordon,
disowned her daughter and stated the following:
"They should put all
three in a cell and throw away the key."
 .......
UPDATE:
September 2003 - Tracy Reid
filed an appeal stating that her sentence was excessive for her participation
in the crime that was committed against Danielle. Tracy was sent to prison
on September 1 after a hearing that lasted for three days to determine
if she was responsible for her actions. The Judge Lord Hardie, dismissed
a claim from psychologist Dr Mairead Tagg which stated that Tracy was under
the influence of Lee Gaytor and was not responsible for her part in this
crime. The Judge said:
"Although you did not
inflict the fatal injuries on Danielle, it is clear that if you had summoned
medical assistance she would probably have lived. Whether your conduct
was influenced by the abuse of drugs or mere selfishness will remain a
matter of speculation."
Judge, Lord Hardie
Lee Gaytor was sentenced to
life in prison of which he must serve a minimum of ONLY 18 years.
Christopher Gaytor was sentenced
to ONLY one year for his participation in the crime against Danielle.
Read
About Changes
For information about preventing
child abuse in the state of Scotland, click the links below. If they can't
help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help
for an abused child!
Call this number to report
child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
  
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