11 Nov 2015

Becky Watts stepbrother guilty of her murder

The stepbrother of schoolgirl Becky Watts has been found guilty of murdering her during a sexually motivated kidnap.

Nathan Matthews, 28, suffocated his 16-year-old stepsister while trying to kidnap her from her semi-detached home in Crown Hill, Bristol, on 19 February.

His girlfriend Shauna Hoare was cleared of her murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

Matthews had claimed he killed her after panicking during an attempt to kidnap her but insisted Hoare had no part in it, Bristol Crown Court heard.

The pair were also convicted of conspiracy to kidnap Becky, perverting the course of justice and preventing a lawful burial.

Matthews dragged her body into the boot of his Vauxhall Zafira and drove it to the home he shared with girlfriend Hoare, 21, less than two miles away in Cotton Mill Lane.

Saw

Over the next three days, Matthews bought a circular saw, goggles, masks, bags, cling film and tape to cut up and package Becky’s body.

Packages containing Becky’s eight body parts were stored in suitcases and a box, then moved into a shed in Barton Court – just 80 metres away – in the early hours of February 24.

By that time, Avon and Somerset Police had launched the force’s largest missing person’s investigation. Becky’s remains were then discovered on March 3.

A jury of 10 women and one man at Bristol Crown Court returned verdicts after just three hours and 27 minutes of deliberations on six charges against Matthews, Hoare, and two men accused of helping to move and hide Becky’s body parts.

Friends and family of the teenager, including best friend Courtney Bicker and brother Daniel Watts sat in the public gallery wearing blue ribbons.