Pictured, farmer’s son accused of murdering Alex, 15
‘He made friends wherever he went’
THE first picture of a millionaire farmer’s son charged with the murder of a former schoolmate emerged yesterday as he appeared in court.
Matthew Mason, 18, is accused of killing Alex Rodda, 15, whose partially stripped body was found dumped in a field on Friday.
He was photographed as a prison van took him to South Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Crewe. Wearing a long- sleeved white shirt and black trousers, Mason, of Ollerton, Cheshire, stared straight ahead in the dock. He spoke only to confirm his name and address and to say that he understood the charges.
Debbie Byrne, prosecuting, said Alex was killed on Thursday. His body was found the next morning in Ashley, near the upmarket Cheshire village of Hale.
Police later arrested Mason 50 miles away in Forton, Staffordshire. Mason is charged with murder and having a bladed article in a public place in nearby Newport the day after Alex was killed.
Mason’s tearful family and that of his alleged victim were both present in court for the hearing, which lasted under 25 minutes.
There was no application for bail and Mason was remanded in custody to appear at Chester Crown Court tomorrow.
Magistrates initially agreed with a prosecution request to issue an order preventing the media from naming Alex to ‘protect’ his family, but it was later lifted following representations by reporters.
Alex’s body was found on Friday morning in Ashley, six miles from his home in Knutsford. The cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Mason, who lives on a £1million farm near Knutsford, works at an agricultural machinery hire firm. At the weekend the victim’s mother Lisa, 50, said: ‘everybody loved Alex. He was caring and kind. Alex was my beautiful son but he was naive. He just trusted people when, perhaps, he shouldn’t have done. I am heartbroken.’
In a post on Facebook, his father Adam, 58, who is believed to run a pub in Audlem, said Alex would ‘forever be in our hearts’.
He added: ‘I will never get over losing you, son. I love and miss you more than life itself.’
In a statement, his family said: ‘Alex was a very loving, caring, kind, loyal and, most of all, trusting young boy. He loved life and made friends wherever he went. He will be sorely missed.’
Friends say Alex, who had more than 3,700 followers on Instagram, and Mason, who has a sister of a similar age to Alex, had met ‘six or seven times before’.
Denis Oliver, headteacher at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, where Alex was a Year 11 student and where Mason had previously studied, said: ‘Alex will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him within our close-knit school family.
‘ Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with Alex’s family and friends at this very sad time.’
The school’s former pupils include One Direction star Harry Styles and ex-Premier League footballers Dean Ashton and Seth Johnson.