Son of police chief freed by officers to rape and murder teen
‘My life has been ripped apart’
A ReTIReD police inspector’s son who raped and murdered a former schoolfriend was jailed for life yesterday.
Joe Trevor had been arrested hours before the attack for possessing ketamine – but police let him go because he was too intoxicated to be interviewed.
Trevor, then 18, bumped into Megan Newton at a taxi rank and told her his parents would ‘go mad’ if he returned home while on drugs.
Miss Newton, also 18, responded by saying he could sleep at her flat.
She was found the next day by a neighbour having been raped, strangled and stabbed at least nine times in the back.
Trevor, now 19, pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of rape at Stafford Crown Court. he was ordered to serve at least 22 years in prison.
his father Paul, 54, a former chief inspector with Staffordshire Police, sat across from Miss Newton’s family with his head in his hands. The court heard Trevor, a semi-professional goalkeeper, had come from a ‘decent, close, good and supportive family’ and had been offered a sports scholarship at an American university.
On the night of the murder he had been drinking at a pub in Newcastleunder-Lyme, Staffordshire, before going to a nightclub and taking ketamine. he was spotted by door staff with a bag of drugs and police were called – but after arriving at the station he was said to be too intoxicated to be interviewed, and released.
CCTV showed how he then walked to a taxi rank where he met Miss Newton, who had gone out after finishing her shift at a fish and chip shop.
Adrian Keeling, prosecuting, said her offer of a place to stay ‘was a typical act of kindness by her – but one that cost her her life’.
She sent her last text message from her flat at 4.15am on April 20 last year. Mr Keeling said: ‘At some point in the next 90 minutes the defendant had sex with her, strangled her unconscious and stabbed her to death. he strangled her with his hands.’ he then grabbed a kitchen knife and attacked her naked body.
Trevor let himself out of the building before throwing away Miss Newton’s key. It was later found covered in blood by a neighbour who went to her flat and discovered her dead body.
After the murder, Trevor walked to a bridge, seemingly with the intention of taking his own life. he was talked down and collected by his father, only to be arrested at the family’s four-bedroom detached home in nearby Trentham. he initially claimed that he and Miss Newton had consensual sex, but he had no memory of what happened afterwards.
The court heard Trevor had previously been accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, but the case never went to trial. he claimed that discussing the allegation with Miss Newton was the ‘trigger’ for his attack.
A keen sportswoman, Miss Newton played for Stoke Town Ladies football team, coached a youth team and was planning to go to university to study sports therapy. In her application, written shortly before she died, she said that becoming the first person in her family to go to university would ‘not only make them proud but give me a reason to be proud of myself’.
her father Michael Baggaley said she had been ‘full of hopes and dreams’, adding: ‘The thought of never seeing her beautiful smile or hearing her voice again breaks my heart. My life has been ripped apart.’