Father of girl, nine, 'found on industrial estate' appears in court charged with her murder

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 16:37 EDT, 13 August 2026 | Updated: 17:17 EDT, 13 August 2026 A father has appeared in court after being charged with murder following the death of his daughter.Christopher Rice, 35, appeared in court for a second time on Thursday after his daughter Minnie Merriman, nine, was found injured just after midnight on August 3 at the Elliot industrial estate in Arbroath, Angus.The family had been camping nearby.Rice, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, made a second appearance in private at Forfar Sheriff Court where he did not enter a plea.He was remanded in custody though the date of his next court appearance is unconfirmed.Minnie's family said they were 'devastated' by her death.In a statement released by Police Scotland they said: 'We are devastated with the loss of our beloved, absolutely incredible, beautiful and brave Minnie Moo.'Our family asks that our privacy is respected at this extremely difficult time.'Minnie Merriman died after suffering injuries at an industrial estate in Arbroath on August 3 Christopher Rice appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court again on Thursday after being charged with his daughter's murderFlowers were left at the industrial estate as officers investigated Minnie's death in the days following her injuries.Last week it was reported NHS staff had allegedly accessed her medical records.Health board NHS Tayside, which runs the hospital, said it was investigating claims staff accessed Minnie's medical records without clinical need or permission.In the early hours of Monday morning, emergency services including four ambulances were called to the estate, where the family had camped the night before.Minnie and three others were taken to hospital – Rice was taken separately and later discharged before being arrested.A spokesman for the health board said: 'NHS Tayside is currently investigating the circumstances of an alleged data breach, which happened in a working clinical area where staff access patient information.'As a matter of governance, any data protection breach would be recorded and investigated by NHS Tayside and, where appropriate, reported to the Information Commissioner's Office.'It would not be appropriate for us to comment further on individual staffing matters.'If the data breach is proven, matters could be escalated to the Information Commissioner's Office.