Jail for teenager who killed girl after dare
By Lisa Dowd, Midlands correspondent | Sky News – 1 hour 18 minutes ago
Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward into woodland near Bridgend in South Wales and tried to strangle her.
When that failed, he smashed her skull with a rock the size of a rugby ball.
Davies, 16, left Rebecca face down in the pouring rain in the new clothes she had bought for their meeting.
He later returned to the wood with a friend to show him the body. At his trial, Davies tried to blame the friend for the killing.
In a statement outside Swansea Crown Court, where Davies was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years, Rebecca's mother called for the death penalty to be restored.
"The evil-doer Joshua Davies robbed us of watching our precious and perfect little girl flourish into a successful young woman," said Sonia Oatley.
"We will never forgive him for tearing our world apart so brutally and I would welcome the return of capital punishment for the likes of Joshua Davies, who forfeited his human rights when he chose to take my daughter's life."
Ms Oatley said her daughter was "a promising student, a wonderful friend but, most importantly, a loved and loving daughter and sister".
"There is no doubt in my mind that Rebecca was destined for great things," she said.
Thanking the public for their support and the prosecution team, Ms Oatley added: "Rebecca believed in the justice system and today justice has been served."
The court heard how Rebecca and Davies had a "love-hate relationship" but that she had "worshipped" him.
When Rebecca met him in the woods, she thought they were getting back together.
Davies, who collected antique knives, swords and guns from the age of nine and was fixated on horror films, had often discussed ways to kill Rebecca with friends.
In one text he wrote: "What would you do if I actually did kill her?". His friend replied: "Oh, I would buy you a breakfast," little thinking he would take the offer seriously.
Davies posted messages on Facebook saying he was watching TV to give himself an alibi. After Rebecca was reported missing, the killer told her worried mother he had not seen her.
He was described as "popular and intelligent" and no-one, including Rebecca, had taken his threats to kill her seriously.
Davies, who was found guilty at the end of July, was called "devious, calculating and controlling" by Mr Justice Lloyd Jones.
In his summary, the judge said Davies had "a deep-seated hatred towards Rebecca" and the pair had separated a year earlier with "bitterness" on both sides.
Davies immediately started talking about "killing Rebecca" to friends, who took what he said to be a joke. "They certainly did not think that you would kill (her)," the judge said.
Davies's barrister Peter Rouch QC said his client still maintained his best friend was the real culprit.
No comments:
Post a Comment