KILLER drug dealer James McCairn is today behind bars after a High Court jury found him guilty of the culpable homicide of Port Glasgow schoolgirl Cerys Reeve.

McCairn, 18, of Greenock, sold a deadly dose of crystal MDMA (ecstasy) to 14-year-old Cerys after setting up an online drugs supply shop on the Snapchat social media app.

Judge John McCormick yesterday refused a motion for his bail to be continued pending a sentencing hearing, and instead remanded him in custody.

The judge told McCairn: "I accept that you were 16 at the time, but you had sourced illegal drugs and advertised them for sale.

"You sold them to Cerys Reeve, who was 14.

"This was commercial dealing with tragic consequences."

McCairn, who showed no emotion as he was led away from the dock, was convicted of 'recklessly and unlawfully' supplying the class A drug to Cerys at his home in Greenock.

Much-loved Cerys — a pupils of St Stephens's High School and a promising young dancer — died on the morning of July 13 in 2020 after taking the drug during a sleepover at a pal's house in Greenock.

McCairn was further found guilty of supplying ecstasy to other young people in the town between November 2019 and July 2020.

A number of jurors were seen to be emotional after the verdict.

McCairn was still advertising ecstasy for sale on the day Cerys passed away, and in one Snapchat post wrote: "Mandy [a slang name for MDMA] for sale. Good prices. Get Snap Chattin."

However, he stopped abruptly after learning of her death.

He was in contact with Cerys at 2.52am on July 13 and also sent her a message a minute after she had been pronounced dead at Inverclyde Royal Hospital at 8.08am.

McCairn's phone contained what police described as a 'tick list' of customers, with entries including, 'Mum 50, Donna, 30, James 120'.

The trial heard that Cerys went to McCairn's house in the early hours of the fateful morning to get £10 worth of ecstasy from him, which she was to pay for later.

The friend she was staying with told how Cerys was soon 'acting really weird'.

She added: "She asked me who I was and where she was.

"She was talking over herself and having conversations."

The witness went onto describe Cerys sweating and falling off the bed, which awoke the girl's mum.

Cerys was described in court as being 'rigid all over'.

The cause of her death was MDMA toxicity.

In his speech to the jury, Prosecutor Graeme Jessop said: "McCairn just did not care about Cerys' age or vulnerability.

"All he cared about at the time was selling his drugs for profit regardless of the circumstances."

McCairn did not give evidence during the trial.

Gary Allan QC, defending, argued that jurors were being asked to 'take a punt' that McCairn was the person who sold Cerys the drugs.

After the verdict, Mr Jessop told Judge McCormick of the heartbreak Cerys's family have suffered.

The advocate depute added: "As we have heard, Cerys Reeve was 14 and lived in Port Glasgow with her parents.

"She was the only child to her mother.

"She has an older half sister.

"She was at school in Port Glasgow and was due to start fourth year when she died.

"Her parents elected not to attend court proceedings due to the upset and distress at their daughter's death."

McCairn will be sentenced next month.