Kayleigh’s killer gets 35 years minimum
THE killer of 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood has been sentenced to life imprisonment while the man who groomed the schoolgirl was also jailed.
After an emotional hearing at Nottingham Crown Court, Stephen Beadman, 29, of George Avenue, Ibstock, was given a life sentence after pleading guilty to murder and rape and being found guilty of false imprisonment. He will serve a minimum of 35 years.
Luke Harlow, 28, was sentenced to a total of 12 years after being found guilty of false imprisonment and having pleaded guilty to meeting Kayleigh following sexual grooming, two counts of sexual activity with her, and two counts of attempting to meet two other girls following sexual grooming.
They were also both given a sexual harm prevention order.
Sentencing them, Hon Mrs Justice Cox, said: “Kayleigh Haywood was a caring and responsible schoolgirl of 15, much loved by her family.
“Like many of her friends she was a frequent user of her phone, the internet and social media. This case has shown once again the dangers to which young users of online social media are sadly exposed, to the grief and bewilderment of unsuspecting parents.”
She added: “Kayleigh’s family are understandably devastated and grief stricken by their daughter’s loss and by the horrifying circumstances leading to her death. I pay tribute to the dignified way they have conducted themselves in court during what must have been, for them, a very difficult and distressing hearing.”
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Kayleigh’s mother, Stephanie Haywood, described how her heart had been “shattered” after being robbed of a “last goodbye”.
She said: “Until the day we die, our sentence is never ending. We are living every day without someone who was so precious to us and still is, our beautiful little girl.”
Detective Superintendent Kate Meynell, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, led the investigation. She said: “The convictions for false imprisonment have given us an insight into the horrific circumstances in which Kayleigh died.
“I’d like to take this moment to echo the judge’s comment and also recognise the immense courage, strength and dignity shown by Kayleigh’s family – both during the initial investigation and throughout the subsequent court process.”
During the trial, jurors at Nottingham Crown Court were told that Harlow - a horror film fan who used the online name Fun-Times and billed himself as a “professional serial killer” on Twitter - had pleaded guilty to grooming Kayleigh and engaging in sexual activity with her.
The former warehouse and bar worker also admitted attempting to meet two other teenagers after grooming them online.
It emerged during the sentencing hearing that Harlow, who groomed the teenager before she was killed by Beadman, had been attacked in prison.
He was given a black eye after the assault last week, and the court heard he is “vilified by other prisoners”.
Beadman admitted murder and rape but denied holding Kayleigh prisoner before attacking her in the street after she fled Harlow’s house in Ibstock.
On the night of her death, Kayleigh was seen being pinned to the ground at 3.30am by Beadman near the defendants’ homes in George Avenue, Ibstock, and was then marched barefoot to a forest park.
After killing Kayleigh, Beadman, who told police he used a brick as a weapon, conducted a Google search for “lime pit” and used his computer to access a betting website.
The body of Kayleigh, from Measham, was found three days later, hidden in a hedgerow near a stream after an extensive police search involving more than 300 officers.
Inquiries later established that Harlow had used Facebook, WhatsApp and text messages to befriend Kayleigh, after vowing to “kidnap and keep” other girls during online conversations.
Kayleigh met Harlow for the first time after asking her father - who thought she was staying with her best friend - for a lift to Ibstock on November 13.
The teenager did not know Beadman, who grew up on the same estate as Harlow in Coalville.