Murder of Breck Bednar
On 17 February 2014, Breck Bednar, a 14-year-old boy from Caterham, Surrey, England was killed by 18-year-old Lewis Daynes at a flat in Grays, Essex. Bednar knew Daynes only through online gaming and had never met him in person until he visited Daynes's flat on the day of the murder.[1] Daynes pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years.[2]
Victim
Bednar was a student at St Bede's School in Redhill in Surrey, and a member of the Air Training Corps 135 Squadron also in Redhill.[1][3] He attended St John the Evangelist church in Caterham. His mother described him as relaxed and warm-hearted, with many friends with whom he played games online after school, and passionate about computing.[1][4]
Bednar's parents, Barry Bednar and Lorin LaFave, were born in the United States.[5] The family moved to England from the United States three years before Breck's birth.[6] Barry Bednar, 49, is an oil trader and shipping consultant, described by some sources as a millionaire.[5][7] Lorin LaFave, 48, is a teaching assistant.[4][5] In 2014 the Evening Standard reported that the family lived with their three children – Breck's younger siblings – in a family home in the affluent town of Caterham.[5]
Circumstances of death
Bednar's mother, Lorin LaFave, was reported to have "limited his access to electronics, installed parental controls and forbade him from using the same server as a boy she had grown suspicious of."[4] She recalled, "His personality was changing and his ideology was changing and he was starting to refuse to attend church with us. I felt like it was because of the negative influence of this person."[8]
In December 2013, Breck's mother called Surrey Police expressing concerns about online grooming;[further explanation needed][1] she said[when?] she warned police that her son was in danger.[4] Nonetheless, it was reported,[according to whom?] "The teenagers had been playing games online for several months, despite LaFave's efforts to put an end to their relationship."
Bednar travelled by taxi to Daynes' flat. On the day of Bednar's death, his father, with whom he had been expected to spend the weekend, sent a text message to tell LaFave that Breck had not arrived. A few hours later his siblings, 12-year-old triplets, began to receive messages that their brother had been killed, describing photos of Bednar that had been posted to social media, which were soon confirmed by the police.[4][8]
The photos, showing Bednar's body, were posted to other members of the six-person online gaming group. Word spread, leading to a friend's text message to one of the triplets, "Is it true about your brother? If it's true, it's so sad." At the same time, police were telling Bednar's parents the news that their son had been murdered.[6]
Police and paramedics were called to the flat where Bednar was found with stab wounds to his neck, but were unable to prevent him from dying at the scene.[7]
Perpetrator
According to BBC News, "Lewis Daynes, 19, of Rosebery Road, Grays, was due to stand trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on a charge of murder but admitted the offence" before the jury was sworn. Sentencing by Mrs Justice Cox was scheduled for 12 January 2015.
Daynes, an unemployed computer engineer, was believed to have met Bednar while playing online video games.[1][4] The Daily Telegraph described Daynes as a 'baby-faced killer' who looked 'much younger than his 19 years'.[7] Daynes was reported by the Daily Mirror to have grown up as an only child, and after his parents split when he was 16 he lived alone in a flat owned by his grandparents; his neighbours described him as 'reclusive'.[citation needed]
Prosecutor Richard Whittam, QC, told the court, "The prosecution case was that at the time of his murder Breck was aged 14. The law makes specific provision for the murder of a child involving sexual or sadistic motivation. The prosecution has advanced the case on that basis and anticipate doing that again on the date of sentence."[7]
Simon Mayo, QC, mitigating, said Daynes had Asperger syndrome which "affects his ability to make sound judgments." Mayo also argued that there was not enough evidence to prove that the murder had been premeditated.[9]
Daynes was given a life sentence with a minimum 25-year term. Crown Prosecutor Jenny Hopkins said: "Our case was that Lewis Daynes, even though he was only 18 when he committed Breck's murder, was a controlling and manipulative individual who carefully planned this crime. The degree of planning and manipulation by Daynes is shocking and when you consider the young ages of perpetrator and victim, it stands out as one of the most cruel, violent and unusual cases we have dealt with."[10]
Legacy
Bednar's family established The Breck Foundation[11] to raise awareness of online dangers[1] and promote responsible use of the Internet.[8] His mother was quoted by the BBC: "I want Breck's tragedy to open the eyes of everyone to recognise the dangers of online predators. It is a very real danger today. We all need to look after each other." His mother asked his favourite band, Coldplay, to help raise awareness of online dangers.[1] She told ABC News, "People think it only happens to anti-social kids, but it's just not true."[4]
Ms LaFave has called for "more help from the government for online safety", saying that she had expected more feedback from Surrey Police and adding, "I also wasn't recommended to contact CEOPC (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), which I found out – when it was too late – is a really great agency that would help parents."[8]
After Daynes' plea in court, Assistant Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said the handling of Bednar's case by Surrey Police had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC): "Following Breck's death we carried out a review of practices in our call handling centre and implemented changes to improve the way information is handled and shared. Due to the prior contact the case was referred to the IPCC. They have since decided to conduct an independent investigation into the actions taken by Surrey Police following this communication."[1]
According to ABC News, the family was "filing a lawsuit against Essex and Surrey police over the handling of the case."[4] In March 2016, the family accepted a settlement in which Surrey Police apologised for their mishandling of the case, and paid an undisclosed sum in compensation.[12]
On 26 January 2016, BBC Three broadcast a drama-documentary about the murder entitled Murder Games: The Life and Death of Breck Bednar.[13][14] It was alleged, in January 2016, that Daynes had been blogging from prison.[14][15]
In March 2018, in the U.S., the story was depicted on the Investigation Discovery channel in the 'Dangerous Games' episode of the Web of Lies series. In 2015, Bednar's murder was featured in the US series Stalkers Who Kill in the episode titled "Babyface Killer".[16]
In 2019, a new play, written by Mark Wheeller and using the words of his friends and family, tells the story of how the teenager was groomed online.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Breck Bednar stabbing: Lewis Daynes admits boy's murder - BBC News". BBC News. Bbc.co.uk. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ Halliday, Josh (12 January 2015). "Teenager who killed Breck Bednar in 'sadistic' attack jailed for life". Retrieved 13 February 2020 – via The Guardian.
- ^ Josh Halliday (25 November 2014). "Teenage computer engineer pleads guilty to murdering Breck Bednar, 14 | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Mom Hopes Son's Murder by Online Gamer Will 'Open Eyes'". ABC News.
- ^ a b c d Kiran Randhawa (25 November 2014). "Computer engineer admits killing oil trader's 14-year-old son who he met online | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ a b Evans, Martin (30 November 2014). "Baby-faced killer posted pictures of Breck Bednar's body on the Internet". Telegraph. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d Evans, Martin (25 November 2014). "Breck Bednar murder: computer engineer admits killing oil millionaire's son". Telegraph. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Breck Bednar murder: Body photos 'circulated by killer' - BBC News". BBC News. Bbc.com. December 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden (12 January 2015). "Breck Bednar: Murderer Lewis Daynes sentenced to life in prison". The Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ [1].
- ^ "The Breck Foundation Charity - Play Virtual Live Real - Non profit". Breckfoundation.
- ^ Aisha Gani (13 March 2016). "Police pay out to parents of boy murdered after online grooming | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03cgtx5
- ^ a b Jessica Elgot (27 January 2016). "Breck Bednar's mother says killer has blogged from prison | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ Lewis Daynes. "Open Letter from Lewis Daynes". Lewisdaynes-open-letter.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ "Stalkers Who Kill" The Babyface Killer (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb, retrieved 29 January 2020
- ^ "Breck Bednar: Play tells story of boy who met his killer online - BBC News". BBC News. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
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