Three teenagers have been convicted of manslaughter following the death of Alexander Cashford, who was lured to a beach in Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey.
A 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy denied manslaughter but were found guilty after trial. A 16-year-old boy had already pleaded guilty to the same charge. All three were cleared of murder.
The defendants, aged 15 and 16, cannot be identified due to their ages. The fatal attack took place in Leysdown-on-Sea, a seaside town on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, on 10 August last year.
How Alexander Cashford Was Lured to Leysdown-on-Sea Beach
Prosecutors told jurors that Mr Cashford, 49, was discovered lying face down in mud after being struck with rocks and a bottle.
The court heard he had met the girl two days earlier at an amusement arcade, where he handed her a business card bearing a false name. On 8 August, he gave her his phone number.
Using the alias “Sienna”, the teenagers exchanged messages with Mr Cashford and arranged to meet him near the sea wall. The prosecution said he was drawn to a secluded spot before the attack unfolded.
Mobile Phone Footage and Evidence Presented in Court
During the trial, jurors were shown mobile phone footage capturing the 16-year-old boy hitting Mr Cashford on the head with a bottle.
The older boy admitted he used the bottle intending to hurt Mr Cashford, but told the court he did not believe it would cause “serious injury”. He said he carried out the attack because he felt police “wouldn’t have done anything” if they had reported Mr Cashford for attempting to meet the girl.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, of Kent Police, said Mr Cashford had been “lured to a secluded location” and described “almost predatory behaviour” by the two boys who followed him.
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“What we found almost quite macabre is they were keen to post that [attack] on social media only a few minutes after his death,” he added.
Natalie Smith, senior crown prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, described the assault as a “carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack” on Mr Cashford “who could not defend himself”.
“He was first hit from behind with a bottle and despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground.”
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