Three teenagers deliberately set a trap for a 49-year-old man by posing as a 16-year-old girl online before stoning him to death on a Kent beach, a murder trial has heard.
The Fatal Encounter on Sheppey
Alexander Cashford, 49, met his alleged killers by chance at the Playtime Arcade on the promenade in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent, on August 10 last year. The court at Woolwich Crown Court heard that Mr Cashford gave a 16-year-old girl his number on a business card. A 16-year-old boy then saved the contact in his phone under the name 'Pedo'.
Posing as a girl named 'Sienna', the boy exchanged around 75 messages with Mr Cashford over two days. The first message from the boy's phone stated: 'Hi it's the girl from the arcade but to let you know I am 16 if u care about that kind of thing.' Mr Cashford, who claimed to be 30, replied asking for her name, called her 'rely pretty', asked if she liked champagne, and said he wanted to kiss her.
A Planned and Vicious Attack
The online conversation led to plans to meet. Mr Cashford travelled to the seafront around 7pm on August 10 to meet who he believed was 'Sienna'. He was accompanied by the 16-year-old female defendant, while the two boys – aged 15 and 16 – followed them along the promenade in the Isle of Sheppey village.
Prosecutor Kate Blumgart KC told jurors the older boy had armed himself with a bottle, which he used to hit Mr Cashford on the back of the head. The court was shown footage of the boys chasing Mr Cashford. The girl, who was filming, could be heard shouting 'f***ing paedophile, I'm f***ing 16, get him'.
Witnesses described seeing Mr Cashford lying lifeless in the mud while rocks were pelted at his head and body. The post-mortem examination revealed he suffered facial and head injuries, bruises, and multiple fractured ribs which punctured a lung. Ms Blumgart said the older boy was later seen 'throwing large rocks at Mr Cashford's already seemingly lifeless body and head'.
'Evidence of Their Successful Hunt'
The prosecutor argued the attack was a joint venture, meticulously planned and not a chance event. 'They were so outraged by his interest in "Sienna" that they deliberately planned to meet him and to attack him,' Ms Blumgart said.
She stated the trio's 'unwavering enthusiasm' was audible in the video shrieks, which they 'undoubtedly planned to be evidence of their own successful hunt'. Moments before his arrest, the older boy shared footage of the attack with three people, captioning it: 'f***** pedo up lol'.
All three teenagers, who cannot be named due to their ages, deny murder. The trial at Woolwich Crown Court continues.
