Teenagers found guilty of manslaughter after man lured to beach and killed

Two teenagers have been found guilty of killing a man at a seaside resort after he arranged to meet a 16-year-old girl.

A girl and two boys, who are aged 15 and 16, and cannot be named for legal reasons, had been on trial for the murder of Alexander Cashford in Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, on 10 August last year.

The girl and the 15-year-old boy had denied manslaughter but were found guilty by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court, while a 16-year-old boy previously pleaded guilty to the same offence.

All three were acquitted of murder.

The court heard how the teenagers thought Mr Cashford, 49, was a paedophile and lured him to a beach before hitting him with rocks and a bottle. He was found lying face down in the mud.

Jurors were told the victim had given the girl his number on 8 August after meeting her at an amusement arcade and had handed her a business card, which included a name that was not his.

The three exchanged messages with Mr Cashford, who claimed to be 30. He asked the girl, who used the alias Sienna, if she liked champagne and added that he wanted to kiss her, the court heard.

After arranging to meet by the sea wall, the older male defendant said he attacked the victim because he felt police "wouldn't have done anything" if they reported him for trying to meet up with the girl.

The girl shouted "f****** paedophile, I'm f****** 16, get him" as she filmed the boys chasing Mr Cashford.

Mobile phone footage showed the boy striking him on the head with a bottle.

He accepted he wanted to use it to hurt the victim, but said he did not believe it would cause "serious injury".

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber from Kent Police said Mr Cashford was "lured to a secluded location" and there was some "almost predatory behaviour" from the two males who followed the victim.

"What we found almost quite macabre is they were keen to post that [attack] on social media only a few minutes after his death," he added.

Natalie Smith, senior crown prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it was a "carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack" on Mr Cashford "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."

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A post-mortem 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.

The three defendants will be sentenced at a later date, expected to be in April.

"These verdicts will change their lives forever," the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said of the defendants.

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