My sister, 19, took her own life three months after being raped by our dad in filthy flat as ‘other men watched’

WHEN teenager Jamieleigh Craig knocked on the door of her dad’s flat, she was seeking sanctuary and a place to stay. Instead she was pinned down to the floor by her own dad and brutally raped in front of three other men. Jamieleigh was raped by her estranged dad at his flat aged 19Credit: Refer to Source Vile James Elder at High Court Glasgow in 2018 before he was jailed Credit: Tom Farmer – The Sun Glasgow The 19-year-old had arrived on James Elder’s doorstep with a bag and hoped to move in after a row with her mum – only for him to subject her to a horror attack which led her to take her own life three months later. Jamieleigh claimed three other men were also at Elder’s home – and one tried to kiss her before her dad attacked. In her heart-breaking statement, read out in court after her death, she said: “I was being held down by my arms and he was having sex with me.” The attack was said to have lasted 10 minutes, but “seemed like forever”. Jamieleigh remembered at one point “slapping” out in an effort to get away, adding: “I remember feeling disgusting.” Evil Elder was locked up for nine years – but is due out in a matter of months, much to the horror of his surviving daughter Chloe, now 26. Meanwhile, no-one else was ever convicted after the horror at Elder’s flat in Parkhead, Glasgow. Chloe has spoken about how the attack tore her family apart, leading to Jamieleigh’s death shortly after before their mum Liz died from a “broken heart”. Chloe is calling for a change to the law to see the likes of Elder tried for manslaughter. Mum-of-one Chloe Craig, 26, is calling for a change in the law after her sister’s death Credit: Andrew Barr Chloe with her tragic sister Jamieleigh and their mum Liz Credit: Chloe Craig “It’s not enough,” she told The Sun. “In these cases, the victims are still there, they’re still suffering or they’ve ended their own lives because it was all too hard for them. “They couldn’t live the rest of their lives in that pain… the conviction should reflect this.” She continued: “My mum ended up so ill that she’s no longer here. It’s just me and my daughter now. “I’ve not got that instant family that I used to have and it’s all because of him.” Vile Elder had disappeared from his daughters’ lives when they were very young after separating from Liz. But years later, Jamieleigh reached out to him in a bid to build a relationship. Chloe was just three when Elder left, and when he came back into their lives in 2013, she and her mum Liz had little interest in re-connecting, but were determined to support Jamieleigh. “My sister loved him,” she said. “She wanted him to come off the drugs, she wanted him to get in with a better crowd, meet people and friends and find something that was good for him – a nice home. She only wanted the best for him.” Following an argument in late August 2016, the teenager stormed out and went to stay at her dad’s – something she often did. Chloe and Liz in 2019 after Elder was jailed Credit: Mark Ferguson – The Sun Glasgow Liz passed away in her sleep in 2021 – with Chloe convinced it was from a broken heart Credit: Mark Ferguson – The Sun Glasgow But a couple of days later, in the early hours of September 1 2016, a drunken Jaimeleigh was brought back home by the police. Liz was asleep and when Chloe answered the door she assumed her sister and dad had had a blazing row. Chloe tried to shush the intoxicated Jamieleigh as she clattered into the house followed by the officers. Liz woke up and trudged into the living room. “She told my mum, ‘dad raped me’ and then me and a policewoman were in the hallway and we had overheard her saying that,” explained Chloe. “So I walked into the living room and I was like, ‘did I hear that? Am I hearing what you’ve said there?’ And my sister just broke down.” The police then opened an investigation, and after many attempts, over a few days, Jamieleigh was able to give a full statement detailing the harrowing attack. “My sister was not the same person after all of that,” said Chloe. “It all really, really damaged her. “She suffered so badly with post-traumatic stress disorder to the point, she was forgetting who me and my mum were.” Chloe and Jamieleigh were very close Credit: Chloe Craig Chloe hopes that something positive can finally come out of her sister’s death Credit: Chloe Craig Elder was arrested and charged with rape. But Jamieleigh remained terrified. She would stay up all night – to the point where Chloe and Liz would take it in turns to stay up with her. Jamieleigh turned 20 on November 19 and then on December 22 Liz came home from shopping to find she’d taken her own life. “My sister really, really tried,” said Chloe. “She wasn’t the same person anymore. It was horrible to see her like that because it was a completely different person. “She just didn’t have her spirit anymore.” She continued: “I had to try and work around that and help her as best I could. But at the same time, I was only 17 myself. “I never really knew what to do that could help. “There was nothing I could do because it was simply all down to him and his actions. She loved him and for her to be betrayed in such a horrible, horrible way, it’s unspeakable.” During the three months before her death, Jamieleigh hadn’t left her mum’s house. Liz only went out for an hour and assured her daughter she wouldn’t be long. How to get help EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicideIt doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858 Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk HUMEN www.wearehumen.org Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393 Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41 Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123 Chloe said: “It was the first time my sister was left by herself. She didn’t leave a note, nothing. My mum came home and found her.” Chloe, a care worker, was at work supporting children, when she got a call from her auntie. “My auntie was saying she’d tried to hang herself and I best get here,” she explained. “My knees gave way when I heard that and I fell to the ground. “One of the kids said ‘Chloe’s crying’. I got up and rushed for the door.” As Chloe got home, she saw and ambulance and police cars outside. “I said to a police officer ‘is it good news or bad?’ and he just looked at me and didn’t say anything, and I knew. “That was a horrible gut wrenching feeling.” Chloe then became a carer for her mum, who was broken by the trauma. “She was having flashbacks of finding my sister and was severely depressed,” she said. “Losing your child, that’s against the laws of nature.” Liz passed away on Halloween 2021 aged 45 and was laid to rest the following month on what would have been Jamieleigh’s 24th birthday. “She died of a broken heart,” said Chloe, who praised her mum’s bravery but said her health had rapidly declined. “My dad is potentially out of prison next year and he can go and live a life and pretend it never happened,” she continued. “I’m still here without my sister and without my mum, trying to figure out how to be happy. “The only thing that’s kept me sane in all of this is I’ve now got a daughter of my own. That’s given me more fire to try and protect women and children, and everyone. “Having a daughter of my own, I can’t imagine losing her, she’s my whole entire world. “My life would never ever be worth anything if I lost her.” Holding back tears, Chloe said: “She never got to meet my sister or my mum, but I’ll make sure she knows who they were.” Chloe had looked into her dad’s eyes in the dock during his trial in 2018 as she gave a witness statement before he was jailed for 11 years, though is expected to only serve nine in custody. Judge Lord Matthews said: “For a father to assault his daughter in this way is unthinkable.” He further described the offence as “abhorrent” and a “gross breach of trust”. Referring to her campaign to change the law around such cases, she said: “I feel like if any type of person who has gone through sexual assault and been driven to suicide because of it, the abuser should be held accountable. “There should be a manslaughter charge within that.” She added: “If something good can come from the loss of my sister, then maybe it will help. “I can’t live with it like this, I need something good to have come from it. “It can’t all be for nothing.” To sign Chloe’s petition click here.