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Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare jailed for Becky Watts killing Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare jailed for Becky Watts killing
(about 1 hour later)
Becky Watts' stepbrother and his girlfriend have been jailed for killing the 16-year-old during a sexually-motivated kidnap plot. Becky Watts' stepbrother and his girlfriend have been jailed for killing the teenager in a sexually-motivated kidnap plot and dismembering her body.
Nathan Matthews, 28, was sentenced to 33 years for murder and Shauna Hoare, 21, given 17 years for manslaughter. Nathan Matthews was sentenced to 33 years for murdering Becky in a violent struggle in her bedroom. Shauna Hoare was given 17 years for manslaughter.
At Bristol Crown Court, Judge Mr Justice Dingemans said "the planned kidnap of Becky was for a sexual purpose". Judge Mr Justice Dingemans said the couple's understanding of proper conduct was "corrupted and warped".
Matthews suffocated his stepsister at her home in Bristol on 19 February. Becky's mum Tanya said she had been in a "living nightmare" since her death.
He moved her body to the home he shared with Hoare and in the days that followed he used tools to dismember and package Becky's body. In an impact statement read out at Bristol Crown Court, she said the fact her daughter had been both murdered and mutilated was "like the worst of all horror movies".
Judge Dingemans told Hoare she had been convicted of manslaughter because she had participated in a kidnap where any "sober and reasonable person" would have known some harm would come to Becky.
Jon Kay, BBC West of England CorrespondentJon Kay, BBC West of England Correspondent
This five-week trial has been filled with emotion and drama, but the final five seconds were perhaps the most extraordinary.This five-week trial has been filled with emotion and drama, but the final five seconds were perhaps the most extraordinary.
As Mr Justice Dingemans came to the last few words of his sentencing comments, his voice faltered, his eyes filled with tears and he stopped speaking.As Mr Justice Dingemans came to the last few words of his sentencing comments, his voice faltered, his eyes filled with tears and he stopped speaking.
He then closed his file of papers and left the stunned courtroom.He then closed his file of papers and left the stunned courtroom.
He had just been paying tribute to the dignity that Becky's family had shown throughout this harrowing case.He had just been paying tribute to the dignity that Becky's family had shown throughout this harrowing case.
Many of them told me afterwards that they were deeply moved to see a senior judge appearing to sympathise and empathise with their situation.Many of them told me afterwards that they were deeply moved to see a senior judge appearing to sympathise and empathise with their situation.
He said the case was of a "particularly high" seriousness "because of the planning of the abduction for a sexual purpose, the taking of the implements described and a weapon (albeit non lethal) and the murder of Becky". Describing seeing her in the mortuary, Ms Watts said: "The image of Becky there, with a bandage around her little wrist trying to cover up the cut marks; that image haunts me."
The judge added it was a "further, and serious, aggravating feature" as both defendants had been "feigning concern with the family, as the family desperately searched for Becky". Matthews, 28, suffocated 16-year-old Becky at her home in the St George area of Bristol on 19 February while trying to kidnap her. Hoare, 21, who was pregnant at the time, was at the address.
He said giving Matthews a life jail term with a minimum of 33 years meant the killer "will be 61 before he might be considered for release, and the reality is that he might never be released". Judge Dingemans said he was sure the planned kidnap "was for a sexual purpose" and the way they had deceived Becky's father Darren Galsworthy and his wife, Matthews' mother, Anjie in the days that followed was "particularly cruel and unusual".
The judge appeared emotional as he paid tribute to Becky's family for the "dignified way in which they have conducted themselves throughout these proceedings". 'Obviously dishonest'
"Hearing the evidence during the trial has been difficult for anyone, but it is plain that it has been an immense burden for the family," he concluded. As a missing person's inquiry began, the couple dismembered Becky's body in their bathroom and packaged it in cling film before hiding it in a nearby shed.
Matthews, a former Territorial Army soldier, had admitted killing and dismembering the teenager but claimed her death was an accident and he was only trying to scare her. Matthews watched "borderline legal" pornography regularly, showing petite teenage girls, and the jury heard a video about the rape of a teenage girl was found on a laptop at their home.
Becky was killed at her home in Crown Hill on 19 February and her body was moved to Cotton Mill Lane, less than two miles away, where Matthews and Hoare lived together. The judge said both Matthews and Hoare had given "obviously dishonest" accounts of what happened to the jury - Matthews had claimed he was trying to scare Becky into changing her behaviour while Hoare said she knew nothing about any of it.
While a missing person investigation was being carried out by police, Matthews bought a circular power saw, goggles, masks and cling film, which he used to dismember the body. "The evidence proves, and I am sure, that Nathan Matthews had developed a fixation with having sex with petite teenage girls and Shauna Hoare had been persuaded to participate in this fixation," said the judge.
The trial jury heard the couple had shared texts just weeks before Becky's death, referring to kidnapping schoolgirls. Teen-themed pornography was found bookmarked on a phone which they shared. "It is difficult to understand how Mr Matthews and Ms Hoare thought that the kidnap would end."
Matthews confessed to watching pornography on a near-daily basis and the jury heard a video about the rape of a teenage girl was found on a laptop at their home. Texts between the two about kidnapping girls, uncovered by police, showed "how much their understanding of where proper boundaries of conduct began and ended had become corrupted and warped".
Earlier in court, witness impact statements were read out before the judge handed down the sentences. The judge said Matthews would be 61 before being considered for release "and the reality is, he might never be released".
Tanya Watts, Becky's mother, said the details of her daughter's death were "unbearable" and every day was "a living nightmare". Hoare was convicted of manslaughter because she had participated in a kidnap where any "sober and reasonable person" would have known some harm would come to Becky.
"It's like the worst of all horror movies but this is real, this is my child. She was only 16," her statement said. The judge appeared emotional as he paid tribute to Becky's family for the "dignified way in which they have conducted themselves throughout these proceedings". He said it was clear neither defendant had "truthfully" said what happened that day - and he understood the family's frustration about it.
Becky's father, Darren Galsworthy, described what happened to his daughter as a plot that was "borne out of hatred, jealousy and greed". Becky had lived with her father, Darren and Anjie since she was three. Anjie's son Matthews had grown up nearby with his grandmother but had a close relationship with his mother and the family.
"They [Matthews and Hoare] sat in our home knowing what they had done and watched my very public descent into madness and despair." In other impact statements read out in court before sentencing, Darren Galsworthy said: "We will never understand why this happened but we now believe we were just disposable pawns in a plot borne out of hatred, jealousy and greed. The heartless, cold and calculating perpetrators of this despicable act of evil can never be forgotten or forgiven."
Read more on the Becky Watts murder case: "These family members sat in our home, knowing what they had done and watched my very public descent into madness and despair. They said nothing and carried on with the pretence of helping us and showed no emotion at all."