Rebecca Aylward: Former boyfriend found guilty of south Wales murder

Joshua Davies, 16, battered Aylward to death in Aberkenfig woods with no apparent motive other than breakfast bet A teenager is expected to be detained indefinitely after he was found guilty of luring his former girlfriend into a wood and battering her to death with a rock. Joshua Davies, 16, murdered 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward and left her body lying face down on the sodden forest floor in south Wales. He attempted to cover his tracks by sending Rebecca a text saying he was worried about her and after he was arrested he tried to frame a friend. Before the murder Davies had often spoken about killing Rebecca and talked about using toxins from plants to brew a poison. Not believing he was serious, his friends had promised to buy him a breakfast at their favourite cafe if he did murder her. When the verdict was announced Rebecca’s family let out a brief cheer. Davies’s family, who sat in another part of the court, looked shocked. Outside Swansea crown court, 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.” Davies, wearing a pale open-necked shirt and dark trousers, showed no emotion as the jury returned its majority verdict after almost 20 hours of deliberation. But he began to cry as the judge, Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, lifted an anonymity order and ruled it was in the “public interest” that he should be identified. He said: “This is a crime in a small and closely knit community and it’s right that the public should know there has been a conviction and who has been convicted.” The judge adjourned the case so that psychiatric reports could be prepared. But he told Davies he expected to set an indefinite sentence. Rebecca’s killing was a huge shock in Maesteg, her home town, and the village of Aberkenfig, where the killing took place and where Davies lived. Becca, as she was known to most friends, was a bright girl with a wide circle of friends in the Bridgend area. Davies and Rebecca had known each other for some years and dated for three months a year before she was killed. They gave different reasons for the breakup but whatever the truth of it, Davies began to talk about killing Rebecca. He told 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 say they did not take him seriously and promised to buy him breakfast if he did it. But on Saturday 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 to his friends 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 was so heavy that in court during the trial an official struggled to pick it up with one hand. 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. 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. In the aftermath of the killing some people in Bridgend expressed concern that, following a spate of suicides among teenagers, Rebecca’s death was another sign of deep problems in the area. The feeling now seems to be that this brutal killing was a shocking one-off. The motive still remains a puzzle, however. The prosecution suggested that Davies had spoken about killing Rebecca so often that he “talked himself into” carrying out what started off as an empty childish threat. After the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector John Penhale, of South Wales police, said: “This was a tragic incident which brought shock and sadness to a close-knit community. “I would personally like to thank the community for their support during the investigation and the prosecution witnesses who gave evidence at the trial.” Richard Killick, senior crown prosecutor for CPS Wales, added: “This was a planned and calculated attack on a defenceless 15-year-old girl. Only the defendant truly knows what motivated him to commit such an act – but what we do know is that Rebecca’s family and friends continue to live with the awful consequences. “We can only hope that today’s verdict will, in some way, help them as they try to move forward with their lives.” Wales Crime Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 27, 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.