Woman who lured Caroline Glachan to her murder 30 years ago dies in hospital while serving life sentence

Donna Marie Brand, 47, died of natural causes at Forth Valley Royal Hospital on Wednesday while serving a minimum 17-year life sentence for the 1996 murder of 14-year-old Caroline Glachan. Brand had drawn Caroline to a bridge over the River Leven in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, where she, O'Brien and Kelly carried out a brutal assault, hurling bricks at the teenager and inflicting severe skull fractures; Caroline's body was later recovered from the river. Brand had served roughly two years of her sentence, having been found guilty in 2023 and imprisoned in April 2024 after evidence was re-examined in 2019.

Brand and co-killer Andrew Kelly had their conviction appeals refused in January 2025, with Lord Carloway calling it 'an evil concerted crime.'

Caroline's mother Margaret McKeich said after sentencing: 'It's like a weight lifted off my shoulders — but ours doesn't come to an end, only we don't get parole.'

A Fatal Accident Inquiry will examine the circumstances of Brand's death in custody.