Boy, 16, admits killing man he branded a paedophile

A 16-year-old boy accused of killing a man by hitting him with rocks and a bottle on a beach after branding him a paedophile has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

He and a 16-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are on trial at Woolwich Crown Court, where they have denied murdering Alexander Cashford on the Isle of Sheppey on 10 August.

The 49-year-old, from Kent, was found with multiple injuries in Leysdown-on-Sea on 10 August.

On Thursday, the 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty to a secondary charge of manslaughter, while the girl, 16, and boy, 15, who are related, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

On Wednesday, the court heard that the boy had saved Cashford's number in his phone as "pedo".

Jurors were told how Cashford gave his phone number to the girl after meeting her by chance at a seafront arcade on 8 August.

He went on to exchange messages with the teenagers, who used the fake name Sienna, the court heard.

Cashford arranged to meet the girl on 10 August, and the pair walked along the promenade, while the two boys followed behind, juror were told.

The court has been told how the 16-year-old boy hit Cashford on the back of the head with a bottle.

Police later found a video recording of the attack, which the prosecution said was filmed by the girl, in which she calls Cashford a paedophile and says she is 16.

The footage shows the boy, 16, shouting and holding the bottle before he uses it to hit Cashford on the back of the head, jurors were told.

The court heard that the boys chased the man and he fell on stone ground.

Witnesses described the boy, 16, throwing large rocks at Cashford's "already seemingly lifeless body and head", the court heard.

Prosecutors said the 16-year-old boy also shared footage of the attack after he was arrested, with a caption referring to Cashford as "pedo".

A post-mortem examination showed that Cashford had injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and fractured ribs that punctured his lung.

The trial continues.

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