Rebecca Aylward’s former boyfriend sentenced to life for her murder

Joshua Davies, 16, told he will serve at least 14 years after luring his former girlfriend into woods and battering her to death A teenager who lured his former girlfriend into a wood and battered her to death with a rock has been sentenced to life in prison. Joshua Davies, 16, murdered 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward and left her body lying face down on the sodden forest ground in south Wales. She was wearing new clothes bought especially for the meeting. Davies was told he would have to serve 14 years before being considered for parole. He remained impassive as he was sentenced. The killing caused huge shock in Maesteg, her home town, and the village of Aberkenfig, where the killing took place and where Davies lived. During the trial Swansea crown court heard that Davies and Rebecca had known each other for some years and dated for three months a year before she was killed. After they parted Davies began to talk about killing Rebecca, telling friends he would find a way of murdering her and get away with it. He spoke of making a poison out of plants such as deadly nightshade. Davies once asked his friends what they would give him if he carried out the killing. They said they did not take him seriously and promised to buy him breakfast if he did it. But on 23 October last year Davies and Rebecca arranged to meet in woods at Aberkenfig, a popular hangout for teenagers. Rebecca wore an outfit she had bought the day before, possibly believing they were going to get back together. Before he left for the woods Davies smiled at one of his friends and told him: “The time has come.” After the attack, when a friend phoned him in the woods to ask him if he was with Rebecca, Davies coolly asked him to “define” what he meant by “with”. He later boasted that he had attacked Rebecca, who was slightly built, from behind. She was screaming and the worst thing, he said, was seeing her skull give way. The rock he used to batter her was so heavy that a court official struggled to pick it up with one hand during the trial. Following the murder Davies summoned a friend to the woods. The boy described in court how he “glimpsed” Rebecca’s body lying face down, her arms splayed out. Davies was a “bit shaky” but “didn’t seem upset at what he’d done”. The alarm was raised and a search was launched after Rebecca failed to return home. Meanwhile, Davies updated his Facebook page to say he was “chilling” with friends. He had a cup of tea and watched Strictly Come Dancing and the film No Country for Old Men, the court heard. During the search for Rebecca he sent a text asking her to get in touch: “We’re all worried,” he wrote. Rebecca’s body was found in the woods the next day. Davies was arrested but claimed his friend was guilty of the killing. Following the trial Rebecca’s family said she had “loved and trusted” Davies. In a statement they said: “The pain and horror of losing Rebecca in such horrendous circumstances cannot be put into words. “Since that Saturday in October 2010 our lives have stopped. Rebecca was killed in a senseless and barbaric act. She died at the hands of someone she loved and trusted. We will never forget what he did to her or forgive him for destroying our family.” Crime Wales Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 2, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.