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.