Stephen Beadman is one of Leicestershire’s most notorious criminals, having been jailed for the rape and murder in 2015 of Measham teenager Kayleigh Haywood. His name has recently made headlines again when he was mentioned during a murder trial that is currently taking place in Leicester.
Beadman was named in court as one of the abusers of Ross McCullum, who is on trial for the murder of Megan Newborough in August last year. McCullum, from Coalville, claimed he still carried the trauma of being abused and raped by a number of older children during his childhood.
Beadman was allegedly among those abusers and is said to have whipped McCullum with a metal ruler on one occasion, telling him that he “better not tell anyone” about the escalating abuse. The claim, which forms part of McCullum’s defence, brought Beadman’s name back into the spotlight seven years after his crimes stunned Leicestershire.
READ MORE:Megan Newborough's killer claims he was abused as a boy by older children including murderer Stephen Beadman
Beadman, who was a landscape gardener by trade, was from Ibstock, near Coalville, and was not known to authorities until his role in 15-year-old Kayleigh’s disappearance came to light. Kayleigh, who attended Ashby School, was dropped off in Ibstock by her family on the night of Friday, November 13, telling them she was staying at a friend's home in the village.
However, she was in fact spending the night at the flat belonging to Beadman’s next door neighbour, Luke Harlow. Then aged 23, Harlow had contacted the youngster via Facebook and groomed her over a number of days, exchanging 2,643 text messages with her prior to inviting her round to his place.
The teenager spent the evening at Harlow's house and rang her family the next morning - a call that was to be the last time they spoke to her. Later on the Saturday, Harlow contacted his neighbour, Beadman, then aged 28, and invited him over to meet 'the bird' he was with.
Some aspects of Kayleigh's time in the company of the two men are unknown. However, in the early hours of Sunday, November 15, having been held against her will, she made an attempt to escape.
A neighbour saw Beadman chase and capture her as she fled Harlow's home. Tragically, the witness thought Beadman was a police officer and did not intervene.
Beadman then took Kayleigh a short distance away and raped her before taking her deeper into the countryside and beating her to death. He later told police he had used a brick as his murder weapon before dumping Kayleigh's body in a farmer's field.
She would not be found for another five days - a time in which a major missing persons hunt had been launched by Leicestershire Police and Beadman and Harlow arrested. When she was located, the extent of her injuries meant she had to be identified by dental records.
Injuries on Beadman's face and hand - which were clearly visible in the custody images later released by Leicestershire Police - were thought to be evidence of Kayleigh fighting back.
Beadman and Harlow's trial took place at Nottingham Crown Court in the summer of 2016. Kayleigh's family members sat through days of heart-breaking evidence - earning praise from the trial judge for their dignity.
Harlow pleaded guilty to grooming and sexually assaulting Kayleigh. He also admitted to attempting to groom two other teenage girls. Both he and Beadman were also convicted of the false imprisonment of Kayleigh - a charge they had both denied.
After being found guilty of Kayleigh’s rape and murder, Beadman was handed a minimum 35-year-old jail term and was sent to HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire where he would be ineligible for parole until the year 2050. Harlow received a 12-year prison sentence.
The trial judge, Mrs Justice Cox told Beadman: "The pain, terror and anguish that would have been suffered by this young girl is truly horrifying to contemplate. I am entirely satisfied on the evidence that she would have been acutely distressed and frightened. She must have been absolutely terrified."
Prison sentence and death
However, Beadman never saw out the entirety of the jail term as he was just five years into his sentence when he died in hospital at the age of 34 last year. An inquest later determined that he had died from oxygen starvation to the brain, while a heart attack was also listed as a cause of death.
His death was not treated as suspicious by prison authorities, while the news was widely welcomed by Kayleigh's family and friends. Her father, Martin Whitby, was among those celebrating it.
In a short Facebook post at the time, he said: “Best news ever...the ******* that killed my daughter is dead. Hope the ******* rots in hell.”
Kayleigh's story came to typify the darkest side of social media and the phenomenon of 'online grooming' and the sexual exploitation of children and young people. The trial judge referred to this in her sentencing remarks, saying Kayleigh's parent's should feel no guilt for failing to realise she had been groomed online.
She said: "It seems to me this is every parent's worst nightmare. It is absolutely clear to me absolutely no blame can be attached to them for what happened."
Later and with the support of Kayleigh’s family, Leicestershire Police made a short film - called Kayleigh's Love Story - about the final two weeks of her life.
The film, which went on to win a series of awards, was designed to serve as a warning to young people, both girls and boys, about online grooming and the dangers of speaking to strangers or ‘friends’ they meet online.
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