The jury in the trial of a teenager accused of raping and murdering six-year-old Alesha MacPhail is considering its verdict.

The child's family arrived at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday ahead of the decision relating to the 16-year-old accused, who denies the charges.

The jury of eight men and seven women retired around 11.15am to consider three possible verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not proven.

Judge Lord Matthews told them: "It's for you to decide which version you accept, which witnesses you believe and disbelieve and which you think are reliable and unreliable."

Alesha was reported missing from her grandparents' home on the Isle of Bute at 6am on July 2 last year.

Her body was found in a wooded area of the island a few hours later.

Prosecutors allege the boy was armed with a knife when he took Alesha from her bed at a house in Ardbeg Road in Rothesay, Bute, on July 2 last year.

It is claimed the boy then carried the schoolgirl to the site of the former Kyles Hydropathic Hotel on the island.

The indictment states he took off Alesha's clothes, shook her violently before placing his hands over her nose, mouth and around her neck.

The boy is said to have "applied pressure" to her face, inflicted injuries by "means unknown" with prosecutors alleging he went on to rape and murder Alesha.

Speaking to the jury before they retired to consider their verdict, Lord Matthews said: "Suggestions made to witnesses are not evidence but it's whether they agree with the suggestions or not.

"You should consider all the evidence to see how, if at all, it fits together.

"Even the most honest witness trying their level best to tell the truth may be wrong.

"This could be due to time or consuming drugs or alcohol at the time something happened."

He added: "Emotions shouldn't play into your decision. At the end of the day, your duty is to return a true verdict according to the evidence."