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Family Realizes Daughter Was Murdered By Her "Fantasy" Predator — Transcript

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0:00The date was July the 25th, 2018. It was
0:03the middle of Britain's summer, and at
0:05around 9:00 that morning, a 13-year-old
0:08girl named Lucy McHugh left her family
0:10home on Mantel Road East. Now, at first,
0:13there was nothing necessarily sinister
0:15about that because Lucy was just simply
0:18heading out for the day. After all, it
0:20was the middle of the school holidays, a
0:22hot summer's day, and Lucy was a kid, so
0:25she just wanted to go out and play.
0:27However, the problem here is that Lucy
0:29would never actually come back home. As
0:32the hours passed by, nobody actually
0:34knew where Lucy was, and truthfully, she
0:37hadn't told anybody either. So, by the
0:39time the evening came around, they
0:41decided to contact the authorities. They
0:43would, of course, do everything they
0:45needed to report Lucy as missing. And
0:47thankfully, Southampton is a city that
0:49is littered with thousands of
0:51surveillance cameras. Just half an hour
0:53after leaving home. And at around 9:21
0:56that morning, a camera had captured her
0:57near Southampton Sports Center outside a
1:00Tesco Express and also on the corner of
1:02Coxford and Lordswood Road. And so there
1:05she was, both alive and well, walking
1:07through the city on what at the time
1:09would have looked like any other typical
1:11Wednesday morning. She was seen again
1:14walking down this rural country road.
1:16[music] And there is a lot more to this
1:18case that we will eventually get to, but
1:20the key thing here is that after this
1:23footage, Lucy disappeared.
1:26Now, nobody could say for certainty
1:28where she had gone, who she had met, or
1:30why she was specifically walking towards
1:33that sports center, but what we do know
1:35is that after this clip, she was never
1:38seen alive again. And what happened next
1:40would be sure to leave more questions
1:43than answers. This case is a shocking
1:45story of a young girl who nobody chose
1:47to believe and a monster hiding in plain
1:50sight. And unfortunately, what happens
1:52when those two things mix together. Hi
1:56there folks, my name is Adrian and
1:58welcome back to Coffee House [music]
1:59Crime today. And this one will be sure
2:01to leave you outraged beyond measure.
2:03Before we begin, let me know where
2:04you're watching this video from because
2:06I love to receive comments from you. And
2:08now with that said, please folks, grab
2:10yourself a coffee and let's caffeinate
2:12while we investigate. This is the case
2:15of Lucy McHugh.
2:18[bell]
2:26When Lucy disappeared that Wednesday,
2:28you could say that there were many
2:29people who still had hope that
2:31eventually she would turn up. At the
2:33time, the possibilities really were
2:35endless. Maybe she'd just gone to see a
2:37friend and forgotten to tell her mom. Or
2:39maybe she was angry at her family.
2:42Because trust me, at the time there were
2:44plenty of good reasons for that. You
2:46see, there was a lot of tension, you
2:47could say, between Lucy and the rest of
2:49her family on the morning that she
2:50disappeared. And I'm not talking about
2:52the usual squables that you see between
2:54teenagers and their parents, but some
2:57very serious things. And I mean very
3:00serious. But first, you're going to need
3:02some context. So let's go back a year to
3:042017 when Lucy was living as part of a
3:07blended family. The family comprised of
3:09two halves. The Mchu's who were Lucy's
3:12side of the family including her mother
3:14Stacy and the [music] Elms who were
3:16connected to her mother's partner
3:17Richard. Together and alongside her
3:20brother Dylan and their two half
3:21siblings, the family of six lived in
3:23Manel Road East in the Milbrook area of
3:26Southampton. It's an average street with
3:28normal homes and normal families where 9
3:30to5 is the usual way of life and not
3:33much drama tends to happen. Family is
3:36important because no matter who you are
3:38or they are, you all share an origin, a
3:41heritage, and unless you go specifically
3:43looking for that, you're never going to
3:45know the full story. Because despite
3:47being born in America, growing up in
3:49England, and then moving to Australia,
3:51my German mother and mostly Scottish
3:53father like to remind me where I'm from.
3:55But I do have to say I've gone to
3:57slightly extreme lengths to find out the
3:59answer to that because today I'm going
4:01to be revealing my DNA results which I
4:03haven't actually seen yet. I took a test
4:06with My Heritage who are very kindly
4:08sponsoring this video. So before we get
4:10to what they're up to, let's have a look
4:12at what they found out. Okay, let's take
4:15a look, shall we?
4:22Nice visuals.
4:2426% Scottish and Welsh. Scottish makes
4:27sense. Welsh, I don't think so.
4:3225.5%
4:33Germanic. That makes sense. So, they're
4:35the two halves for my mom and dad.
4:38There's more.
4:40Okay. 23.8% English.
4:45Nothing new yet.
4:4810% Dutch. I I didn't expect that. I
4:52guess that comes from my mother's side.
4:54I'll have to have a look. And 14.3%
4:58five more ethnicities.
5:00Okay, so 6.4% Irish, 2.9% Breton. What's
5:04Breton? That's like the the northeastern
5:07region of France.
5:10This is so interesting. I wonder where
5:12they got How do you find out all this
5:13information?
5:15Okay, so apparently I've got over 12,000
5:19DNA matches. And what I'll say is this
5:22actually looks accurate because
5:24obviously I have to blur the names and
5:26faces for privacy. But that top result
5:28right there, it's correct. I I vaguely
5:30know her already. Indeed, she actually
5:33is my father's cousin. One of the other
5:35things I find really interesting here is
5:36the DNA trait report. Because according
5:39to this report, I've got a low
5:41sensitivity to caffeine, which yeah,
5:43okay, checks [music] out. But here's the
5:45other really interesting thing. It says
5:47that I've got a very high sensitivity to
5:49chili peppers, which is actually so true
5:51because, well, look, I know this is a
5:54little bit weird to say, but whenever I
5:55swallow chili peppers, I tend to hiccup.
5:57Does anybody else get that? And I've
6:00always wondered why. If you use my code
6:02or scan the QR code on screen, you'll
6:04get the My Heritage DNA kit for only
6:06$19. In fact, at that price, it really
6:10is better than any other competitors.
6:12And by the way, if you're worried about
6:13privacy, My Heritage's privacy policy is
6:16to never sell or license any of your
6:18genetic data. So, don't worry about
6:20that. They take this really seriously.
6:22Thank you to My Heritage for sponsoring
6:24this video. And genuinely, [music]
6:25folks, thank you so much, too, for
6:27listening. You have no idea how much
6:29this helps support the channel. And now,
6:31with that said, let's get straight back
6:33to our case today.
6:36Going back to England, Milbrook is an
6:38industrial part of the city of
6:40Southampton, which of course can be
6:42found on the southern coast of the
6:43country. It's an all right place to
6:45live. You've got beaches, wildlife
6:47parks, and the docks right on your front
6:49door. But of course, the main quality of
6:51life here is who you have in your life.
6:54And unfortunately, this family had a
6:56couple issues that they couldn't seem to
6:58shake. Right from the very beginning,
7:01there seems to be controversy in the
7:03family. while Lucy herself was 13 and
7:05her mother was 28. Her mother's partner
7:08Richard was right in the middle of them
7:10at 20, [music]
7:11which of course is a little unorthodox
7:14but not necessarily unheard of. Either
7:16way, Lucy was mature for her age. She
7:19understood that Richard seemed to make a
7:21mother happy. So eventually she even
7:24grew to call him her stepfather. Born in
7:26October of 2004, Lucy was only 10 years
7:30old when her mother and biological
7:32father divorced. The breakup would have
7:34been sure to leave an emotional scar,
7:36but it also had other complications,
7:38too. With Stacy gaining full custody of
7:41Lucy, it essentially made her father
7:43Andy a remote person in [music] her
7:45life. But as for Lucy herself, she was
7:47described as energetic, colorful, and a
7:50fiercely individual girl. And like most
7:52people her age, she enjoyed sports,
7:55baking, spending time with her friends
7:57at school, and walking her grandparents'
7:59dog. She was quite the ambitious person,
8:01too. And after previously wanting to
8:03become a mechanic and then a fashion
8:05designer, Lucy's most recent goal was to
8:08study law, move to the US, and then
8:10become a pro bono lawyer. So,
8:12personality check, hobbies check, and
8:16ambition check. But at the age of 13, a
8:19new problem was just about to enter
8:21Lucy's life. A problem that she would
8:23have never seen coming. It was around
8:25this time that Lucy's mother's partner's
8:27friend, a friend named Steven Nicholson,
8:30was rather down on his luck. Now, Steven
8:33was 24 years old at the time and needed
8:35a place to stay. And with Richard
8:37believing that he could trust his friend
8:39from school, well, he reluctantly let
8:42him move in with the family. And I say
8:44reluctantly because Steven wasn't
8:46necessarily the kind of person you would
8:48gravitate towards. In fact, he had the
8:50kind of aura that would make you feel
8:52dirty just simply by shaking his hand.
8:54And trust me, folks, once you realize
8:56what kind of man he actually is, you'll
8:59be reaching for that industrial-sized
9:00tub of hand sanitizer. Not even Nero
9:03likes this part of the story. Born in
9:05May of 1994, Steven was also from the
9:08Southampton area. Now, patience and
9:10understanding where it's due, Steven
9:12didn't exactly have the easiest start in
9:14life. At the age of 13, his parents gave
9:17up on caring for him. And so,
9:19unfortunately, he was placed in a child
9:21home. However, that is where the
9:23sympathy stops here, because Steven may
9:25have had the odds naturally stacked
9:27against him. But that doesn't mean he
9:29had to choose the path that he
9:30eventually decided to take. It all began
9:33around 1 year later when Steven was 14
9:36years old. That was the moment that
9:38Steven decided to start taking drugs.
9:41And I mean a lot of them. Whatever he
9:43could find or whatever quantity they
9:45came in, it didn't matter. Steven was
9:47basically indulging himself like a fat
9:49kid in Willy Wonker's factory. And
9:51regardless of whether he was high or
9:53not, Steven became extraordinarily
9:55violent. He would often threaten to stab
9:58other children inside that foster home.
10:00And it would even escalate so badly that
10:03one time he would take one of the care
10:05workers as his hostage. Steven held a
10:08knife to their throat while demanding
10:09both money and a car. Of course,
10:12officers would eventually catch him. And
10:14when they did, Steven was sentenced to 2
10:17years in a youth detention center. But
10:19it seems like even that wasn't enough
10:21for him because much like last week's
10:23video, Steven continued to misbehave
10:26even while behind bars. Do me a favor
10:29and check out last week's video on Simon
10:31Levy if you haven't yet, by the way,
10:33because that guy was insane. So, while
10:36still behind bars and along with two
10:38other inmates, Steven and the other two
10:41would barricade themselves in the
10:42canteen while armed with knives. Now,
10:45you might be wondering, why precisely
10:47would you do that? Maybe that chocolate
10:49mudcake was simply too good to share,
10:51right? Well, actually, no. There was no
10:54motive at all. They quite simply hadn't
10:56thought that far ahead yet, and all they
10:59knew is that they wanted to cause as
11:00much of a scene as possible. I find this
11:03part quite baffling, but somehow Steven
11:05actually managed to stab one of the
11:07officers in the process, though
11:09thankfully the officer was wearing a
11:11stab proof vest at the time. All of
11:14these misbehavings would give Steven
11:16another 2 years behind bars. And after
11:18being released in 2012 and now at the
11:21age of 18, Steven was desperate for a
11:24job. Becoming a door-to-door salesman,
11:26he would also take part in youth
11:28projects to help try and prevent young
11:30people from committing the same crimes
11:32as he did. However, by doing this, he
11:34would also commit another crime, and
11:36that was making this song.
11:38>> Back then, I never thought the day
11:40[music] would come that I get caught for
11:42something that I done. I run around
11:44quick time to get the always off my
11:47head. should have been headless. [music]
11:48So I found myself stuck putting in the
11:51work and to get mine I didn't care who
11:53were hurt.
11:55>> And unfortunately that is when Steven
11:57took another kind of illegal interest.
12:00It was while doing doorto-d dooror sales
12:02that Steven would meet a 14-year-old
12:04girl. And after bragging about his
12:06rather [ __ ] tattoo skills, she asked him
12:09if he could do one for her. Fast forward
12:11a few days and Steven found himself
12:13inside his apartment with two underage
12:16girls. And after tattooing both of them,
12:18he would add one of the girls on
12:20Instagram. That eventually led to both
12:22of them talking daily until one night
12:24they met each other in an isolated
12:26wooded area where tragically Steven
12:29would sexually assault her. Not long
12:31after Steven would get another girl
12:33pregnant, but this time of actual legal
12:36age, and together they would have a son.
12:38However, despite these apparently
12:41newfound responsibilities, Steven would
12:43continue to tattoo children, sell drugs,
12:46and disgrace Southampton with his face.
12:48However, despite these businesses, money
12:50was still extremely tight for Steven
12:53until eventually he went broke. Steven
12:56abandoned his girlfriend that night and
12:58fled the house, never to be seen by her
13:01again. From here on out, Steven stayed
13:03with his friends where one by one they
13:06would eventually sus him out, kick him
13:07[music] out, and then ask him to never
13:09contact them again. And after doing this
13:12a few times, he would eventually find
13:14the home of Stacy White and of course
13:16his childhood friend, Richard Elms.
13:19Which brings us to the year 2017 when
13:22Steven moved in with 12 pythons. And I
13:24know that kind of sounds like a
13:26metaphor, but it isn't. He genuinely
13:29brought in dozens of snakes with him,
13:31including a 9- FFT boa constrictor,
13:33several corn snakes, a handful of
13:35chameleons, and a box full of geckos. In
13:38fact, he brought in so much with him
13:40that he eventually converted the
13:42family's shed into a dedicated reptile
13:44home. Now, the family were aware of
13:46Steven's history, and of course, Lucy's
13:49mom was slightly uncomfortable with the
13:51idea. However, she saw this as an
13:54opportunity not only to help him reform,
13:56but also for him to be a better person.
13:59In fact, she would even manage to secure
14:01a job for him as a care worker for the
14:03elderly. But in the background, Steven
14:05would continue to sell weed and tattoo
14:08children. Shortly after moving into the
14:10family home, Lucy developed a childhood
14:13crush on Steven, which is quite
14:15surprising really because has anyone
14:17seen his face? Anyway, that's not
14:20necessarily unheard of because teenage
14:22crushes do happen all the time. After
14:25all, the man does have the voice of an
14:27angel.
14:28I don't want to do more
14:31if I'm stuck up in this [music] cuz I'm
14:33looking out for number one.
14:35>> But the key difference here is that any
14:37normal and responsible man would do
14:39everything in his power to shut that
14:41down extremely hard. Quite simply,
14:45that's what every good man does.
14:47responsible, level-headed, and
14:49protective towards the safety of others.
14:51However, as we know by now, Steven isn't
14:53a man. In fact, he barely counts as a
14:56human, and when he saw Lucy crushing on
14:58him, he took advantage of that. Even
15:01worse, his bedroom was opposite Lucy's.
15:04And within just a month of moving in, it
15:06turns out that he became physical with
15:09her. Let me remind you here that not
15:11only was Lucy 12, but Steven was 24. We
15:15know that this happened because Lucy
15:17began to write about their interactions
15:19in her diary, explaining the night that
15:21she first became physical with him and
15:23would even go on into more graphic
15:25details. She would even tell her friends
15:28at school that he was actually her
15:30boyfriend, though for a while and at the
15:32time none of them believed her. This
15:34sort of situation dragged on for several
15:37long horrific months. And as time passed
15:39by, Lucy became more withdrawn and
15:42anxious. Now, you can probably
15:44appreciate that YouTube won't let me
15:46share all of the details found in her
15:48diary, but what I can confirm is that
15:50she would often talk about how he was
15:52violent towards her, too. This situation
15:55was already beyond terrific because,
15:57quite bluntly, Lucy was stuck living at
15:59home with this monster who had no
16:01business even being at that address.
16:03Because not only was Steven violent and
16:05often doing illegal trades and a drifter
16:07who took advantage of his friends, but
16:09he was also a sick freak of a predator.
16:11And if you thought that maybe this
16:13situation would be rectified in the
16:15first moment that her mother actually
16:16found out about it, well, unfortunately,
16:19you'd be wrong. It was on a random
16:21school day that one of Lucy's teachers
16:23overheard her say something quite
16:25concerning that apparently she had an
16:28older boyfriend. So, feeling worried
16:30about the situation and wanting to do
16:32the responsible thing, Lucy's teacher
16:35then called her mother, Stacy, to come
16:37on in and have a chat. But when Stacy
16:39came into school and had that
16:40conversation with the teacher rather
16:42than pay attention and also grow
16:44concerned, she instead became quite
16:46defensive and angry. Apparently, the
16:48teacher had overstepped her boundaries.
16:50Kind of like paying attention to her
16:52students was the wrong thing to do.
16:53Stacy said that everything was under
16:55control, that there was nothing to worry
16:57about and everything was fine. And then,
17:00because that teacher had apparently
17:01stepped over the line, that is when she
17:03pulled her daughter out of that school
17:05indefinitely.
17:09I wish I was lying, folks, but the sad
17:11truth is I'm not. Lucy was taken out of
17:14school, which of course did nothing but
17:16worry her teachers even more. They were
17:18so concerned about her welfare, in fact,
17:20that they even got in touch with the UK
17:22safeguarding hub, who then contacted
17:24Southampton Council. However, before the
17:26investigation could even go any further,
17:29Stacy shut the entire thing down. She
17:31insisted that her daughter was fine and
17:34that also she was merely living in her
17:36own little fantasy and that nothing was
17:38going on between her and Steven. This
17:40would also tragically cause a huge rift
17:43between Lucy and everyone else in that
17:45household. As tensions grew, Lucy told
17:48her mother that Steven had been dealing
17:50drugs out of the family home. But of
17:52course, this would do nothing but cause
17:54more arguments within the family. They
17:57refused to believe her, instead opting
17:59to support their psychopath lodger. And
18:02with everything going on, it is no
18:04surprise to learn that Lucy began to act
18:06out. She must have felt so frustrated,
18:09hurt, and confused with the reality that
18:11she was living in because she was being
18:13abused repeatedly, and none of her loved
18:16ones would actually believe her. And
18:18Stacy's response was a little bit
18:20strange, too. Rather than believe these
18:23so-called fantasies, she decided that
18:25her daughter must have ADHD instead. And
18:28there was another problem growing, too.
18:30With Lucy now fighting back against her
18:32abuser, Steven was feeling increasingly
18:35threatened. You could tell that he felt
18:37the need to, let's say, assert his
18:39authority. He told Lucy that if she
18:41wouldn't shut up about it, then he would
18:43order a bunch of girls to beat the
18:45living daylight out of her. But when
18:47Lucy told her mother about this, well,
18:49Stacy didn't believe a single word of
18:52it. Lucy truly was alone in all of this.
18:55Her mother, her stepfather, and her
18:57lodger all seemed to be against her. She
19:00was the one true victim in this
19:02household. But even still, nobody
19:04stopped to intervene or save her. On the
19:07outside, and for those who did actually
19:09seem to care, moving schools didn't seem
19:11to fix the problem either. There were
19:13several teachers at her new school,
19:15Redbridgeidge Community, that were
19:17concerned for her well-being, both with
19:19what she said and how she presented
19:21herself, but yet again, Stacy refused
19:24that there were any problems. Social
19:26services tried to get involved, too.
19:28However, that would only seem to annoy
19:31Stacy and Richard further, and while all
19:33of this was going on, Steven continued
19:35to get away with his crimes. With both
19:38time and exposure, he became more
19:40confident in his actions. However,
19:43little did he know that eventually that
19:45evil confidence and his long list of
19:47lies would finally break through. And
19:50for reasons that not even he
19:52anticipated.
19:58July the 25th, 2018. It was a Wednesday,
20:02warm, sunny, and beautiful. Lucy was
20:05seen leaving her home around 9:00 that
20:07morning. though where she was going or
20:10who she was seeing wasn't known. A few
20:13minutes later and at 9:02 that morning,
20:15a surveillance camera caught her walking
20:17past a convenience store right here. She
20:19was seen a few more times after this,
20:22most notably at 9:21 when she walked
20:24along Coxford Road, which is close to
20:26Southampton Sports Center. After that, a
20:29local Tesco Express recorded her walking
20:31by. A few moments later and at 9:45 that
20:35morning, she was seen yet again while
20:37walking down this rural road and towards
20:39that same sports center. However, this
20:42would be the last time that she was ever
20:44seen alive again because after this
20:47footage, she vanished.
20:51We of course know that in the hours
20:53after her disappearance, her family grew
20:55increasingly worried for Lucy's safety
20:58and by the evening they decided to
21:00contact the authorities. A missing
21:02person's report was made and the
21:04community did begin to do their own part
21:06in trying to find her. However, the hope
21:08around this case would be short-lived
21:11because the following morning, something
21:13terrible was found. At around 7:45 on
21:16Thursday morning, a man who was walking
21:18his dog in the wooded area next to that
21:20sports center would find something just
21:22off the beaten path. Around 15 m away
21:25from where he was walking, he saw
21:27something just through the trees.
21:37At first, Russell thought that maybe
21:40whoever [music] this girl was, she was
21:42asleep. He called out for her but
21:44received no answer. So he moved closer
21:48and very quickly he realized that
21:50something was horrendously wrong. She
21:52wasn't moving and blood could be seen
21:55from a distance. He called the police
21:58who rushed out immediately to help her.
22:00But when they got there, they realized
22:02that sadly it was already too late. Lucy
22:07was dead. Nobody had believed the danger
22:10that she had been in for several months,
22:12and now she was gone.
22:20Lucy's death was both tragic and morbid,
22:23and it left her friends, family, school,
22:25and community entirely devastated. It
22:28was quite obvious that Lucy had been
22:30murdered, and within hours of her death,
22:33people started to believe that maybe
22:34Steven had something to do with it. But
22:37what the police didn't know yet was the
22:39full story behind the two. In fact, not
22:42even her mother knew all of it. And I
22:44say that because only 2 days prior,
22:46something big happened. It was earlier
22:48that Monday that Lucy and Steven were
22:50arguing yet again. But this one was
22:53different [music] because Stacy would
22:55actually kick Steven out of the house.
22:57Steven stormed out and the following
22:59day, that being Tuesday, Lucy wrote him
23:02a letter and the words found on that
23:04page were deeply concerning.
23:09It turns out that Lucy had missed her
23:11period for not one but two months,
23:14revealing that theoretically or
23:16potentially, Steven may have actually
23:18got her pregnant. But with Steven no
23:21longer in the family home, she decided
23:23to message him on Facebook instead,
23:25telling him the concerning news and
23:27demanding that he pay her money. And if
23:29she didn't, she would tell Stacy, who
23:32surely by now would believe her. Steven
23:34was terrified. It was in that moment
23:36that he decided to arrange a meeting
23:38with her the next day at Southampton
23:41Sports Center, which of course takes us
23:43to Wednesday, where Lucy was seen in
23:45this surveillance camera walking in that
23:47very direction. There was more evidence
23:49and information though. After realizing
23:52the situation that he was in, Steven
23:54decided to call in sick to work that
23:56day. Earlier that morning, he decided to
23:58visit an old friend on Dunkirk Road. The
24:01friend that he was visiting was an old
24:03man with dementia, meaning that Steven
24:05assumed he had the perfect alibi. While
24:08there, he then ordered some new trainers
24:10online, which was set to be delivered
24:12the following day. He then put on some
24:14old clothes, hopped on his bike, and
24:16headed out towards Lucy. At roughly 9:00
24:19a.m., Steven walked into the local Tesco
24:21Express to buy a bottle of Dr. Pepper,
24:23cider, and a packet of cigarettes. This,
24:26of course, being another perfect alibi,
24:28knowing that a surveillance camera would
24:30capture him in a certain pair of
24:31clothes. As we know, at around the same
24:34time, Lucy was seen on multiple cameras
24:37walking towards that sports center, even
24:39walking past the very same Tesco Express
24:41only a few moments later. When they
24:43eventually met, he was wearing a
24:45different set of clothes. We know this
24:47because later on, he would be caught on
24:50another surveillance camera. After
24:52meeting Lucy by the sports center, they
24:54then began to walk down a country path
24:56before then heading deeper into the
24:58woods. With Steven's criminal history
25:00and now believing that Lucy might be
25:02pregnant, he knew that this could
25:04potentially be the end of him. Lucy was
25:07threatening to expose everything about
25:09him. And so, he believed that all he
25:12could do was to remove her from the
25:14equation. The cold fact of the matter is
25:16that Steven was not meeting Lucy to talk
25:19things through. Instead, he was leading
25:21her directly into his trap. And as soon
25:24as the two of them were alone, that is
25:26when he lunged at her with a knife. In
25:28the end, Lucy was stabbed 27 times,
25:32including five times in her right
25:34carroted artery. It is well known that
25:36with so many injuries, Steven must have
25:39harbored an intense hatred towards her.
25:42This wasn't only about silencing Lucy,
25:44he simply hated her, too. After
25:47murdering Lucy, he then returned to his
25:49old friend's home found on Dunkirk Road
25:51in an effort to establish his presence
25:53there. He was then seen by another
25:55surveillance camera cycling away while
25:58carrying a Tesco bag. It is believed
26:00that in this footage, that bag contains
26:02his bloodstained clothing. And then
26:05while at Tannersbrook, he then burned
26:07the clothes and dumped them into the
26:09stream before then moving on to his
26:11mother's home. All while in this footage
26:13would they visibly empty her bag. Later
26:16that evening and when Lucy failed to
26:18return home, her mother became
26:20increasingly worried. With no idea where
26:22her daughter had gone, her family
26:24[music] decided to launch a desperate
26:26search. And after contacting the
26:28authorities, they then posted on her
26:30Facebook page. Steven would even reply
26:32to that Facebook post saying, "I hope
26:34they find her safe. Police are good at
26:36their job and they will find her soon.
26:39Keep your chin up and stay positive."
26:41And while Lucy's family were out there
26:43desperately searching for her, Steven
26:45continued as if nothing bad had
26:47happened. He returned to Lucy's home,
26:49worked in the garden shed, and ate
26:51dinner as if it was a typical Wednesday
26:54evening. And then, of course, the next
26:56morning, she was found. The interesting
26:59thing here, folks, is that despite the
27:01automatic suspicion, it was actually
27:03Steven who would prove that he knew what
27:05happened. At 11:04 that Thursday
27:08morning, he actually called Richard to
27:10try and console him. However, only a few
27:12hours later, both his tone and wording
27:15were completely different. And what I
27:17mean by that is later that evening when
27:19he spoke to Richard again, Steven would
27:21mention a few details that had not yet
27:24been released to the public. It was in
27:26that moment that everything changed for
27:28Richard because this man who he thought
27:30was his best friend since secondary
27:32school and also the man that his
27:34stepdaughter claimed to be preying on
27:36her was now seemingly her killer too.
27:39And when the police realized what was
27:41actually happening between the two of
27:43them, well, this nightmare would get a
27:46lot worse for everyone.
27:50Investigators soon recovered multiple
27:52diary books that were written by Lucy,
27:54which included both letters and notes
27:56where she described his abuse. The
27:58entries stretched as far back as May of
28:002017 when she was only 12 years old. And
28:04at [music] the end of this long pile,
28:06they would also find her letter to him
28:08claiming that she was worried that she
28:10might be pregnant with his baby. So, a
28:13post-mortem examination would actually
28:15confirm that Lucy was in fact not
28:18pregnant at the time that she died. But
28:20it is worth remembering here that that
28:22was an unknown fact at the time to both
28:25her and Steven, meaning that
28:27theoretically Steven did have a motive.
28:30And all of this evidence was soon joined
28:32by a few interesting pieces on Facebook.
28:35The police soon realized that not only
28:37had Lucy and Steven been talking the
28:39night before she died, but the following
28:42morning, too. And combined with the
28:44surveillance footage that they found of
28:46both of them, it looked like they
28:47finally had enough to wrangle him in. On
28:50Friday, the 27th of July, Steven was
28:53officially arrested on suspicion of
28:55murder and sexual assault. While being
28:57questioned, he claimed that after she
28:59demanded to meet him, he instead
29:01rejected her statement and then blocked
29:04her. But of course, that was [ __ ]
29:06When detectives tried to gain access to
29:08his Facebook account, Steven would
29:10refuse to provide his password. He
29:13claimed that surrendering it would
29:14expose his drug dealings, which clearly
29:17is the lesser of two evils. And so,
29:19legally speaking, in response, they
29:21served Steven with a formal notice under
29:23section 49 of the Regulation of
29:26Investigatory Powers Act, which
29:28therefore required him to give over his
29:30password. and failure to do so would be
29:32a criminal offense under section 53.
29:35Interestingly enough, Steven would still
29:37refuse. And on August the 31st, 2018, he
29:40pleaded guilty to this offense, which
29:43effectively served him 14 months in
29:45prison for obstruction. Now, obviously,
29:48this wasn't quite a murder conviction,
29:50but at least it would keep him in
29:51custody while detectives built a
29:53stronger case against him. Detectives
29:56would eventually scour through more than
29:5711,000 [music] hours of surveillance
29:59footage and the largest fingertip search
30:02in British policing history. And in
30:04August of that same year, they finally
30:06found what they were looking for. Search
30:08teams in the area found partly burned
30:11clothing from the water at Tanner's
30:13Brook. Both the hoodie and the tracksuit
30:15trousers that they found tested positive
30:17for Lucy's blood. And furthermore,
30:20fibers from the clothes held traces of
30:22DNA that belonged to both her and
30:24Steven, which means finally they had
30:26[music] forensic evidence attaching both
30:28of them to her murder. On June the 18th,
30:322019, Steven's trial finally began. We
30:35already know that he pleaded not guilty.
30:38However, when the prosecution read out
30:40their case, their argument was actually
30:42quite understandable. They determined
30:44that Steven had been secretly abusing
30:46Lucy for months. But towards the end of
30:49that, she was becoming older, smarter,
30:51and harder to control. With her
30:54maturity, she became angry, frightened,
30:56and had written everything down in an
30:58effort to try to eventually expose him.
31:01According to the prosecution, that was
31:03why Steven arranged to meet Lucy [music]
31:05near Southampton's Sports Center on the
31:07morning of July the 25th. It wasn't to
31:09talk through things or to give her
31:11money, but instead to silence her for
31:13good. Now, not only had nobody actually
31:16witnessed the murder, but the police
31:18never recovered [music] the knife
31:20either. So, no witnesses and no murder
31:23weapon. Instead, the prosecution had to
31:25rely on dozens of smaller articles,
31:28which when all put together was quite
31:30undeniably a very damning picture for
31:32him. Police had gone through thousands
31:34of hours of surveillance footage,
31:36tracked their movements, and recovered
31:38burned clothing that contained both of
31:40their DNA. There was also Steven who got
31:42rid of his footwear. comments that he'd
31:44made to friends [music] and even his own
31:46slipped knowledge of where Lucy's body
31:48had been found before that information
31:50had been made public. Don't forget the
31:53diaries and letters. And then on top of
31:55all of that, the prosecution was able to
31:57give evidence that he had abused yet
31:59another underage girl back in the year
32:022012. And Emma Wright, who was the
32:04safeguarding lead at Lucy's old school,
32:06would tell the court about her concerns
32:08that she had already raised about Lucy's
32:10contact with an adult called Steven and
32:13how the school had contacted social
32:14services because of it. It turns out
32:17that Steven's own friends were not too
32:19helpful either. Not one, but two of them
32:21would testify about conversations they
32:24had with Steven after Lucy's death. Now,
32:26eventually, Steven himself would take
32:29the stand. Steven had an excuse for
32:31absolutely everything. And like all
32:34other cowards, he denied all of it. But
32:36the good thing here is that we don't
32:38live in Steven's world. And on the 18th
32:41of July 2019, and after a month-long
32:44trial, the jury found him guilty of her
32:46murder. As a result, Steven was
32:48sentenced to life in prison with a
32:50minimum of 33 years. He would also
32:53receive three concurrent 17-year
32:55sentences for each of his three essay
32:58convictions along with another
33:00concurrent 9-month sentence for essay of
33:02another victim in 2012. Meaning that
33:05essentially Steven is as good as dead
33:08behind bars.
33:11>> Lucy is the most unique child I know.
33:14She is a bit like an an elastic band.
33:18She could never sit still. She was
33:19always full of smiles, whirling around
33:22like a hurricane. Always coming in
33:23through the door and joke about how she
33:25was late. And it was because she was
33:26talking to somebody or she had to help
33:28somebody do something. There was never a
33:30time where she would say, "I [music]
33:31can't or I won't or I'm too busy. No
33:35matter what she was doing, she would
33:37make time." She used to care about
33:39everyone. Even if they didn't get along
33:40with her, she would still like cheer
33:43them up if they're sad or anything. Even
33:45if you talk to her, she just make you
33:47happy. I don't know why. just makes you
33:48happy. Either way,
33:50>> the first thing, it's okay to cry. I've
33:54cried a lot.
33:58It's okay to feel sad. It's okay to feel
34:01down.
34:02But it's also okay to feel guilty. I
34:05knew Lucy very well. She used to come up
34:07and see me [music] most days. And I know
34:10with some of you, she had her arguments.
34:12And if the last conversation you had
34:13with her was on an argument, I just want
34:16to reassure you and say that's okay,
34:17too. Because I know
34:21that if we all knew what was going to
34:22happen, that argument wouldn't have
34:24happened. And and sometimes in life,
34:25you've got to have no regrets.
34:31I think I'll end this one by talking
34:32about Lucy and her dynamic because it
34:35actually baffles me how close yet so far
34:37she was at finding support. It boggles
34:40my mind how this was able to carry on
34:42for months before Lucy was eventually
34:44murdered by her predator because
34:46teachers knew that something was up and
34:49her being removed from school was a huge
34:51red flag. And at the center of this was
34:53her mother and stepfather who apparently
34:56had no idea that any of this was going
34:58on. And fine, in fairness to them,
35:00ignorance does not quite equal guilt.
35:03But my question here is why didn't they
35:05choose to investigate? Why did they
35:07choose to ignore her teacher's concerns?
35:10And why didn't they believe Lucy over
35:12this horrible ass thug? And for all of
35:14her distress to be dumbed down and put
35:16into this random diagnosis for ADHD is
35:19just I have no words. Honestly, that is
35:23just stupid. Southampton City Council
35:26apologized for their shortcomings in
35:28this case, which is great, I suppose,
35:30and it is a [music] step in the right
35:32direction. But quite frankly, it's too
35:34little too late because Lucy, she's not
35:37here anymore. She's dead. And when it
35:40comes to the adults who were supposed to
35:41be responsible for her, I'll let you
35:44decide on your own opinions for that
35:46one. Good luck in prison, Steven. I
35:48think you're going to need it. And with
35:50that said, folks, I'm going to end this
35:51video here today. [music] Thank you so
35:53much for watching. I really do
35:54appreciate you being here. Before you go
35:57though, I'd love to know what you think
35:58about this case. So, as always, please
36:00share your thoughts down below.
36:02Genuinely, it means a lot when all of
36:03you leave comments. I read each and
36:05every single one of them. Thank you so
36:07much to My Heritage for sponsoring this
36:08video. Either click the link down below
36:10or scan the QR code on screen to get my
36:13special offer. By the way, there'll be
36:15two videos next week with one being the
36:17usual and let's say the other being
36:19fictional and not the usual. I'm super
36:22excited for both of them. So, you better
36:23be ready. Here's an error update. Still
36:26here, still fluffy, still fat, still
36:29commanding everything, still happy. And
36:33uh that's about it. He's good. Anyway,
36:36folks, thank you so much for watching.
36:37See you again next week. And as always,
36:39take care of each other and yourselves.
36:42Thank you and goodbye.

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