Kayleigh Haywood

Kayleigh Haywood was 15 when 27-year-old Luke Harlow contacted her out of the blue online. He bombarded her with messages, saying she was pretty, special, and that he should be her boyfriend. From this intense grooming (over 2,500 messages exchanged in just two weeks), Harlow persuaded Kayleigh to lie to her parents to meet him. On Friday 13th November 2015, Kayleigh told her parents she was staying overnight with a friend, and instead went to meet Harlow for the first time. On the Saturday, Kayleigh messaged her mother to ask if she could stay another night, and believing she was safe, her mother agreed. It was on the Sunday morning, when a local builder found Kayleigh's smashed phone on the side of a road, that her parents realised something was terribly wrong and called the police. Kayleigh's social media activity lead them to Harlow, who denied knowing what had happened to Kayleigh, instead implicating his neighbour Stephen Beadman. Trying to explain away fresh injuries to his face, Beadman told police he'd fallen while doing some contract work at an outdoor site. He inadvertently led police to this location, where they discovered a bonfire with clothing stained with Kayleigh's blood. After three days of questioning, he finally confessed to her murder, and disclosed the location of her body. On 19th November 2015, Beadman was charged with Kayleigh's rape and murder, and Harlow with grooming and sexual activity with a child. They were later sentenced to life in prison and 12 years respectively.