Two boys and a girl have been convicted of the ‘sinister’ killing of Alexander Cashford, 49, after luring him to a beach while posing as a girl and then posting film of the attack on the internet
Three schoolchildren have been found guilty of filming themselves killing a man they accused of being a paedophile and then putting footage of the attack on social media.
The two boys and a girl began messaging Alexander Cashford, 49, after he had given the girl his phone number. They convinced Mr Cashford, whose number they saved in their phone contacts as “pedo”, to meet them at a beach where they assaulted him with rocks and glass bottles.
The girl, aged 16, and the boys, 15 and 16, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of the manslaughter in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent, on Aug 10 last year.
Mr Cashford, an electrician, met the girl at an amusement arcade and he gave her his business card. She then passed his number to the 16-year-old boy and the group began messaging Mr Cashford claiming to be a girl named “Sienna”.
Mr Cashford later met the girl on the sea front. The two teenage boys followed behind with one seen holding an empty glass bottle in his hand. They tailed him for around 900 meters before running up behind their victim and launching the attack.
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Terrified Mr Cashford then ran another 200 meters as he was chased down by the older boy. A video filmed by the girl was discovered by police in which she is heard encouraging the boys to attack their victim as she shouts “f—ing paedophile”.
The 16-year-old boy is seen hitting Mr Cashford on the back of the head. Witnesses described seeing the teenagers throwing large rocks at Cashford before pushing him to the ground and kicking him.
When one witness shouted at the defendants to stop, the 16-year-old boy shouted “he’s a f****** paedophile” and the 16-year-old girl also said “he’s a f****** paedo”, jurors were told.
Natalie Smith, a Senior Crown Prosecutor for the CPS, said outside of court that all three defendants were charged with joint enterprise murder. Ms Smith said: “As far as we’re concerned there’s sufficient evidence all three of them acted in a way that contributed towards the death of Alex Cashford.
“It’s different what they all did but [the girl] was screaming and shouting ‘get him, get him’ so the mobile phone footage is key evidence in relation to [the girl’s] involvement because she’s encouraging after the violence has already started, after the bottle had already been used and there had been violence and aggression [the girl] was encouraging that to happen.
“Perhaps it’s a symptom of today’s society that these are teenagers that recorded an attack on a mobile phone and immediately uploaded it to social media. So the mobile phone footage is key evidence in the case.
“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.
Det Chief Insp Neil Kimber: “I think it’s a naivety of age, there is a little bit of a sinister element to it but it just goes to show how fragile the line is between their activity and what the outcomes can be on this and as harsh as it may be it is a real signal for young people to be really mindful of their actions.”
Mr Cashford, who was an only child who lived with his parents, is understood to have been on licence for stalking a young woman at the time of his death. He had told his parents he was “going to feed the ducks” when he left home to meet “Sienna”.
Kate Blumgart KC, prosecuting, told the trial that at the time all three teenagers, who are from London and cannot be named, were on holiday on the Isle of Sheppey. One of them wrote to Mr Cashford: “Hi it’s the girl from the arcade but to let you know I am 16 if u care about that kind of thing.”
He replied asking what her name was, saying: “You’re really pretty.” Over the next two days, Mr Cashford exchanged around 75 messages with the youngsters. “He said that he was 30 and asked ‘Sienna’ if she liked champagne.
On the day of the killing, “Sienna” messaged him to say they could meet at her house as her parents would be out. He agreed to do so, telling her: “I’d really like to kiss you.”
When the girl was detained, she told officers: “We have screenshots of the messages, he was trying to meet me. I’m 16 and he’s 30 years old.” A post-mortem examination found Mr Cashford had “abrasions all over his head and neck” including one to the back of the skull “with associated significant swelling”. He had a history of heart problems and had a stent fitted.
Mr Cashford died just over an hour after meeting the teenagers. Jurors heard that after the incident the 16-year-old boy took screenshots of their texts. Giving evidence during the trial, he said this was to show how “he was trying to meet up with, well, a 16-year-old”.
Ms Blumgart KC asked him if, when the screenshots were taken, he had thought he had “done the right thing” by attacking him. He replied: “Yeah, kind of, yeah.”
Asked why he believed it was the right decision, the defendant said: “Because I feel like the police wouldn’t have done anything.” He accepted that he had thought of telling officers Mr Cashford wanted to meet up with the girl. Ms Blumgart asked why he chose not to and he said: “Cause I feel like they wouldn’t have done anything.”
Asked what he wanted officers to do, he said: “Lock him up.”
The three defendants will be sentenced at a later date, expected to be in April.
