Man found guilty of brutal murder of teenage housemate
A 21-year-old man was convicted today of the brutal murder of a
teenager who choked to death on her own blood after she was stabbed
and battered with a large piece of wood.
Louise Evans, 18, was lured to secluded woodland in Burnley,
Lancashire, by housemate Anthony Wood (pictured) who complained she
was "doing his head in".
His friend Matthew Maw, 19, then attacked a defenceless Miss Evans
and used a knife on her with such force that the handle broke off
and the blade was left embedded in her chest.
Maw pleaded guilty to murder at the beginning of the two-week trial
at Preston Crown Court but Wood denied the charge. He was found
guilty by a jury today of the offence by planning and encouraging
the killing.
The trio had lived together for a short time at a hostel for the
homeless in the town before the attack in the grounds of Towneley
Park in the early hours of July 21.
They were part of a group of youngsters who had been on a drinking
session the evening before.
During the night, Wood was said to have been annoyed with the
victim - an Asperger's syndrome sufferer - who was "loud" and
"bouncing around" as they drank on a canal bank, the court
heard.
The group was later refused access to the hostel in Elizabeth
Street because they broke no-alcohol rules and so made their way to
the park where they planned to stay the night.
Wood grabbed a knife from his room and placed it in his bag with
food before they set off for the journey.
He then led the group through the unlit park to an area thick with
undergrowth and vegetation that he knew well, said prosecutor
Louise Blackwell QC in opening the prosecution case..
She said he confided in members of the group that he was going to
kill Miss Evans.
The jury was told none of the group saw the fatal attack but one
girl said she heard a "horrible, piercing scream" followed by Maw
asking if there was a brick available.
The hearing was told that Wood was heard to reply: "No, if there
was I would do it myself."
The girl witness said she shone the light of her mobile phone on
the pair and saw them "grinning" as Miss Evans was laid on the
ground with blood all over her face. Another witness told
detectives that he heard Maw scream angrily for up to a minute
before he heard a "crushing sound" and up to 30 large thuds.
The police were called and paramedics arrived to find Miss Evans
with multiple slash and stab wounds, with her throat lacerated and
front teeth missing. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination showed she suffered 39 injuries to her
neck and head, with additional wounds to her chest and arms.
A Home Office pathologist and consultant neuropathologist concluded
the serious and extensive facial fractures would have led to
asphyxia, Miss Blackwell said.
The likely cause of death was from inhaling her own blood but she
was likely to have been rendered unconscious at some point by the
heavy blows, the hearing was told.
In evidence, Wood denied he had threatened Miss Evans at any stage
and played no part in her death.
Miss Evans was a former pupil of Park High School in Colne before
moving to the Haslingden area.
Following the verdict, Detective Inspector Paul Broxson, of
Lancashire Constabulary's force major investigation team, said: "I
am very pleased with the outcome of this case but my thoughts are
with Louise's family who have lost a daughter in such tragic
circumstances and no outcome will change that loss.
"As for Maw and Wood, this was a particularly brutal and cowardly
assault, planned and carried out together, and they deserve
whatever sentence is imposed."
Maw and Wood will be sentenced on January 22, police said.
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