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Tia Sharp idolised man accused of murdering her, court hears Tia Sharp idolised man accused of murdering her, court hears
(about 11 hours later)
Tia Sharp idolised the man accused of murdering her and was "his cling-on", a court has heard. The last images of murdered schoolgirl Tia Sharp alive were shown to a jury on Wednesday as the court heard how she "idolised" her alleged killer.
Jurors at the Old Bailey in London were read a statement by the schoolgirl's grandmother, Christine Bicknell, whose former partner Stuart Hazell is accused of murdering the 12-year-old. Jurors at the trial of Stuart Hazell, accused of sexually assaulting then killing the 12-year-old before hiding her body in a loft, were shown CCTV of the pair meeting at a train station on the afternoon of 2 August last year. They included footage of the pair walking along a platform after getting off a tram at Gravel Hill station, shopping in a branch of the Co-op supermarket and travelling on a T31 bus.
Bicknell said: "When Tia went missing it didn't cross my mind that she could be dead. I always thought she was coming home. It is claimed that that night, Hazell murdered the schoolgirl at the home he shared with her grandmother Christine Bicknell, before hiding her body in the loft.
"It didn't cross my mind that he would hurt her. He loved Tia, she idolised him." Tia's body was found a week later, when the smell of her decomposing corpse started to permeate through the house in New Addington, south London.
Tia would frequently stay at Bicknell's house in New Addington, south London, and would ask Hazell if she could stay before she asked her grandmother, the court heard. As the jury at the Old Bailey was told details about the discovery of Tia's body in the loft by police officers, her mother Natalie Sharp fled the courtroom in tears and did not return.
In the statement, Bicknell continued: "The majority of the time he has her more than what I do. She is his cling-on." Hazell, 37, denies murdering the schoolgirl between 2 and 10 August.
Hazell, 37, of New Addington, is charged with killing Tia between 2-10 August. Her body was found in the loft of Bicknell's house in New Addington a week after she went missing. A statement from his former partner Bicknell, read to the jury, described how Tia "idolised" Hazell and was "his cling-on".
Bicknell said all her grandchildren "loved him to pieces", adding that when she had thought back over her relationship with Hazell she had not noticed any particular changes, nor had any worries about him being around Tia. Hazell was not somebody she "dragged in from the street", but had had a relationship with him for five and a half years. She said: "When Tia went missing it didn't cross my mind that she could be dead. I always thought she was coming home. It didn't cross my mind that he would hurt her. He loved Tia, she idolised him. I loved Stuart with all my heart, he was my world, but my grandchildren always came first."
"Tia was not the sort of girl you could groom," Bicknell said. "She was a mouthy 12-year-old – you couldn't force her to do anything. She is a mini Natalie [Sharp, Tia's mother], which is a mini-me. She said Tia would frequently stay at her house, often asking Hazell before she asked her, and said all her grandchildren "loved him to pieces".
"I knew nothing about her death. If I knew, he could be dead – I would be inside [prison] because I would have killed him. Bicknell said Hazell, who had previously dated Tia's mother, moved in with her a week after their relationship started in 2007. She said she had thought back over her relationship and had not noticed any particular changes, nor had any worries about Hazell being around Tia.
"I found out the same time as everybody else, that Friday. I didn't know anything." "Tia was not the sort of girl you could groom," she said. "She was a mouthy 12-year-old – you couldn't force her to do anything."
Bicknell said Hazell would get argumentative after drinking vodka, but that she had told him not to consume it in the house. He would, however, drink lager and smoke two cannabis joints a day. Bicknell said Hazell – who the court has heard did internet searches for under-age girls – did not have access to the internet, and she had never known him download pornography on his phone.
Hazell, who had previously dated Tia's mother, moved in with Bicknell a week after his relationship with the latter started in 2007, the court heard. She did find some pictures, but he claimed they had downloaded accidentally, the court heard.
Earlier, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward went through phone records detailing text messages sent by Tia and Hazell. Phone records read to the jury showed Tia arranging to meet Hazell at a train station in Croydon on 2 August last year. That evening Bicknell spoke to Hazell on the phone, and heard Tia laughing in the background.
They showed the 12-year-old arranging to meet him at a train station in Croydon on 2 August. That evening, Bicknell spoke to Hazell on the phone, and said she had heard Tia laughing in the background, the court heard. The records showed Tia's last BlackBerry message was sent at 00:42 on 3 August, and revealed that later that day Hazell called the 12-year-old's phone, after he had allegedly killed her.
The records showed Tia's last BlackBerry message was sent at 00:42 on 3 August, and revealed that later that day Hazell called her phone, after he had allegedly killed her. After Tia was reported missing, the house was searched several times, including two searches of the loft, one each on 4 and 5 August, but Tia's body was not found.
Bicknell said that a week after Tia disappeared she noticed a smell coming from somewhere inside the house. On the night of 9 August Bicknell noticed a smell in the house, but thought it was cat mess, the court heard.
"On the Thursday night I noticed a smell in our house. It seemed to be coming from the small bedroom. I had a quick check around and I couldn't find anything. I had that smell before in my house and it was cat's mess. The following day officers recognised the smell as a decomposing body, sparking another search of the loft.
"The following morning I could smell it a bit worse than before." Tia's body was found wrapped in bin bags by officers, the court heard, and was identified by DNA and fingerprints.
She said she had apologised to the police for the odour, telling them: "There's a horrible smell up there, one of the cats has shit somewhere and I can't find it." Other bags were found inside another bin bag. One Sainsbury's bag contained a yellow top and a grey pair of trousers or leggings – matching what Hazell told police Tia was wearing when she disappeared.
Bicknell's statement said they had no internet access at the house, adding: "Stuart didn't have access to the internet, he wouldn't have a clue how to do it, so he says." Another bag held a pair of glasses wrapped in newspaper, and others each contained a trainer wrapped in newspaper, one with a T-shirt which had marks on it.
The court has heard that Hazell looked at indecent websites, searching for material on under-age girls. Detective constable Daniel Chatfield also described how a sex toy was found in the bedroom Hazell and Bicknell shared, and a memory card was found on top of the door frame inside a cupboard that housed the electricity meter.
But Bicknell said: "Stuart doesn't use the internet as far as I know. I have been asked by the police if Stuart watched or downloaded pornography to his phone. I have never seen him do anything like that." Earlier jurors heard how Adrian Van-Aalst, who let a window cleaning round to Hazell and another man, Mark Williams, said Hazell must have been "a fantastic liar" because he told colleagues that his father had died from a heart attack and would break down in tears about it, when in fact he was alive.
She said she had seen some pictures on his phone, but he claimed they had downloaded accidentally when he was looking for something else. Describing the 37-year-old he said: "I would say he is not the smartest tool in the shed, he has an uncanny ability to change his version of events regardless of the importance."
The court heard that Bicknell did not know why Hazell's semen had been found on the floor in Tia's bedroom, or why an Umbro top with bloodstains on it was found in her loft. In a text message to Van-Aalst after Tia had gone missing, Hazell complained about press coverage, saying: "They are getting everything wrong, they are guessing and making me look like Jack the Ripper."
The trial continues. The case continues.
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