Two teenagers have been found guilty of killing a man they thought was a paedophile by luring him to a beach before another teenager threw rocks at him.
A girl, 16, and a 15-year-old boy were convicted of the manslaughter of Alexander Cashford, 49, in Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent on August 10 last year.
A 16-year-old boy previously pleaded guilty to a secondary charge of manslaughter.
They had been on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of murdering Mr Cashford, but all three teenagers – who cannot be named for legal reasons – were unanimously acquitted of murder on Monday.
Emergency services at the scene in Leysdown-on-Sea (Stanley Murphy-Johns/PA)
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The jury of six men and six women found the 16-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy guilty of the secondary charge of manslaughter.
Jurors were previously told Mr Cashford had given the girl his number on August 8, after meeting her by chance at an amusement arcade, and that he also handed her a business card with a name on that was not his.
Using the alias Sienna, the three teenagers exchanged messages with Mr Cashford and arranged to meet him by the sea wall.
The 16-year-old boy had saved Mr Cashford’s number in his own phone as “pedo” and around 75 messages were sent between them, the trial heard.
The man, who claimed to be 30, asked the girl if she liked champagne and said he wanted to kiss her, with “Sienna” then suggesting they meet at her parents’ empty home and telling him to bring alcohol.
During his evidence, the older boy was asked if, in the immediate aftermath – before they were arrested or discovered Mr Cashford had died – he had thought he had “done the right thing” by attacking him.
The defendant replied: “Yeah, kind of, yeah.”
Asked why, he said: “Because I feel like the police wouldn’t have done anything.”
Emergency services at the scene in Leysdown-on-Sea (Stanley Murphy-Johns/PA)
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Danny Robinson KC, defending the girl, told the trial that texting Mr Cashford started as a “big laugh”, and may have turned “into a desire to expose him as someone who should be named and shamed”.
However, the attack was not the product of an “organised plan to kill or cause anyone really serious harm, it was a childish escapade that got out of hand very quickly with tragic consequences”, he said.
The girl and the younger male defendant said there was never a plan to hit Mr Cashford, the court heard.
A post-mortem examination showed Mr Cashford had injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and a number of fractured ribs that had punctured his lung.
Mr Cashford met the 16-year-old female defendant at around 7pm on August 10 at the seafront in Leysdown-on-Sea, and just over an hour later he was dead, the court was told.
Emergency services at the scene in Leysdown-on-Sea (Stanley Murphy-Johns/PA)
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Prosecutors say Mr Cashford was chased and hit with rocks and a bottle, and was found lying face down in mud.
The two boys followed Mr Cashford and the girl as they walked along the promenade in the Isle of Sheppey village before the attack began, the trial heard.
The girl shouted “f****** paedophile, I’m f****** 16, get him” as she filmed the boys chasing Mr Cashford.
After he was arrested, the 16-year-old boy shared footage of the attack with three people, with the caption: “f***** pedo (sic) up lol”, the trial heard.
Natalie Smith, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack on someone who was not expecting it and who could not defend himself.
“He was first hit from behind with a bottle and despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground.
“Immediately after the group met Mr Cashford and got his mobile number, they sent him messages, trying to make the arrangements to meet him when it was dark. They lured him to meet the girl, but it wasn’t just her who was waiting to meet him. All three defendants were ready, in the full knowledge that their plan was to attack Mr Cashford. As he walked along, Mr Cashford had no idea that there was a plan to attack him.
“Their joint actions on that fateful evening led to Alexander Cashford’s death. His family now at least have the comfort of knowing that those responsible have been brought to justice.”
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb requested pre-sentence reports and statements from the parents or carers of the three defendants.
She thanked jurors for their service, and added: “There was a man, Alexander Cashford, who died, and we also bear in mind that tragedy.”
“These verdicts will change their lives forever,” the judge said of the defendants.
The three defendants will be sentenced at a later date, expected to be in April.
