At her father’s wedding, Becky and stepbrother charged with her killing
JUST 19 months ago, Nathan Matthews posed happily with his teenage stepsister Becky Watts as their parents married.
His girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, also smiled as she stood alongside the teenager and the delighted newlyweds.
Yesterday, Matthews and Hoare stood emotionless in the dock to face charges after 16-year- old Becky’s dismembered body was discovered 80 yards from their home earlier this week.
Delivery driver Matthews, 28, is accused of murdering his stepsister. Hoare, 21, is accused of ‘consistently lying to police’ in an attempt to protect her boyfriend.
Their separate court appearances were a stark contrast to the wedding photograph which was taken by a family friend in August 2013, after Becky’s f ather Darren Galsworthy, 51, married Matthews’ mother Anjie, 49, at a church ceremony in St George, Bristol.
Nearly 100 guests attended a reception at the nearby Bendix Club, Kingswood, where Becky and her stepbrother were seen laughing and joking together. Matthews, who held his and Hoare’s young daughter in the picture, was dressed in the same grey suit and cream waistcoat as his stepfather groom.
Hoare and Becky wore matching blue bridesmaid dresses.
At Bristol Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the accused were both dressed in baggy blue t- shirts as they were led into the dock hand- cuffed to a guard. Matthews spoke only to give his name and address during his short appearance, before being remanded to appear via video link in the city’s crown court today.
Minutes l ater, his girlfriend appeared in court, holding her arm across her stomach as she listened to the charge against her.
It read: ‘Between February 18 and March 1 you did a series of acts which had the tendency to pervert the course of public justice, in that you hindered the police investigation to assist Nathan Matthews and intended for him to avoid detection for the murder of Rebecca Watts.’
District Judge Lynne Matthews remanded her to appear in court next month. A small group gathered outside screamed abuse and hit the side of the custody van as the defendants were driven away.
Mr and Mrs Galsworthy, who made televised TV appeals together after Becky went missing, were not at the hearing yesterday.
Becky vanished from her home in Bristol on the morning of February 19. Police launched a huge search operation after she was reported missing the following afternoon.
But on Monday night, detectives discovered her ‘cut up’ body at a house in Barton Hill, Bristol.
A further four men and a woman are still being quizzed by police after being arrested on suspicion of assisting Becky’s killer following the discovery of her body.
Police were yesterday granted a further 24 hours to interview them.