Teenagers found guilty of manslaughter after man lured to beach and killed

Two teenagers have been found guilty of the manslaughter of a man at a seaside resort after he arranged to meet a 16-year-old girl.

A girl and two boys, who are aged 15 and 16, had been on trial for the murder of Alexander Cashford in Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, on 10 August last year.

The girl and the 15-year-old boy had denied manslaughter but were found guilty, while a 16-year-old boy previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

All three, who were acquitted of murder, cannot be named for legal reasons.

Prosecutors said Mr Cashford, 49, was found lying face down in the mud after being hit with rocks and a bottle.

Jurors heard he had given the girl his number on 8 August.

He had met her at an amusement arcade and had handed her a business card, which included a name that was not his, the court heard.

Using the alias Sienna, the three exchanged messages with Mr Cashford and arranged to meet him by the sea wall.

The older male defendant said he attacked Mr Cashford because he felt police “wouldn’t have done anything” if they reported him for trying to meet up with the girl.

Mobile phone footage showed the boy striking Mr Cashford on the head with a bottle.

He accepted he wanted to use it to hurt Mr Cashford but said he did not believe it would cause “serious injury”.

Detective chief inspector Neil Kimber from Kent Police said Mr Cashford was “lured to a secluded location” and there was some “almost predatory behaviour” from the two males who followed the victim.

“What we found almost quite macabre is they were keen to post that [attack] on social media only a few minutes after his death,” he added.

Natalie Smith, senior crown prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service said it was a “carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack” on Mr Cashford “who could not defend himself”.

“He was first hit from behind with a bottle and despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground.”

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