When Chloe Craig’s sister was raped by their estranged father, she thought it was the worst thing that could happen to her family.

She never imagined the “domino effect” of tragedies that would ensue. Chloe’s dad, James Elder, left when she was just three. When he attempted to reconnect in 2013, she wanted nothing to do with him.

However, her sister, Jamieleigh, hoped to rebuild a relationship with Elder and went in search of him.

Three years later, aged 19, she finally tracked him down, but the reunion she had long wished for became her worst nightmare.

She was brought home by two police officers on Sept. 1, 2016, and told her sister, Chloe, she had been assaulted – by their own father – and claimed other men watched.

Jamieleigh wouldn’t live to see her father jailed, as the grief of what happened drove her to commit suicide three months later.

Chloe was determined to get justice and saw her dad jailed in April 2018, where he was handed a nine-year sentence for rape at the High Court in Glasgow.

In 2021, Chloe’s mom passed away in her sleep. She is convinced Liz, 45, died of a “broken heart” following the tragic events.

Chloe, 27, a care worker from Glasgow, recalled the night that tore her family apart. The family had reported Jamieleigh missing after she went looking for her dad in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland, in August 2016.

When she was brought back by police, Chloe remembers her sister’s unusual behaviour.

While speaking with the police, Chloe overheard her sister saying: “My dad raped me.”

“My whole world was flipped upside down,” she said. “I was so angry, I wanted to just go and kill him.”

The Jamieleigh Chloe remembers as the “life and soul of the party. She was supportive, she was energetic and kind.”

After Jamieleigh was attacked, Chloe remembers how her sister’s mental health declined.

“She would only sleep in the daytime because she was scared that they were going to come for her. My mom was distraught as well, but she had to hold herself together and be strong for my sister.” There was nothing I could have done that would have made her feel any better.”

On Dec. 22, 2016, Chloe headed to work, and the last thing her sister said to her was: “I’ll see you later. I love you.”

When she arrived home, the ambulance workers confirmed the worst – Jamieleigh had died.

“It felt like my whole world was crumbling and I couldn’t do anything about it,” Chloe said.

Because Jamieleigh died before the trial, the prosecution relied on the crucial statement she had made to police to secure Elder’s conviction from beyond the grave.

Jamieleigh told police one of the other individuals had tried to kiss her, before Elder held her down by her arms and raped her.

“When the verdict came back and my dad was found guilty, it felt amazing because my sister’s voice had been heard,” Chloe said.

Despite this, her mom never recovered from losing her eldest daughter. Liz’s health deteriorated and, in October 2021, Chloe experienced another devastating loss after walking into her mom’s room and finding her dead.

“Losing your mum changes you. I lost my protector; I lost my support. I was alone for the first time in my life,” Chloe said.

She said: “That was it for me. I had nothing. I didn’t want to be here. I did try and commit suicide a few times. I didn’t see a way out of the darkness.”

But when she had a daughter of her own, Chloe began to see light at the end of the tunnel. “She gave me purpose and reason,” she said.

“For me, family has always been everything, so building my own family, that’s what I needed; she came exactly when I needed it. Some of the faces my daughter will make, it’s like, ‘that’s Jamieleigh’ and even my mum as well. I hope they would be proud.”