NOTE: Our True Crime Tuesday series will highlight the stories of serial killers and other criminals, with potentially triggering and offensive detail discussed. Proceed with caution.
Crime is something that fascinates us all, whether we want to admit it or not. There's a reason that there are whole channels dedicated to showcasing some of the most horrific and shocking criminal activity to man, and that Netflix original series such as Making a Murderer do so well in the ratings. We like being given access to a world that usually only exists in fiction, whether on the pages of the latest true crime novel, or up on the big screen in the latest thriller.
I am, without a doubt, a major crime junkie. Whether I'm listening to podcasts, watching a show, or scouring YouTube for cases I haven't heard of yet, you can likely find me obsessing over the psychology behind some of the world's most infamous criminals. And so, this feature series was born...
Welcome back to True Crime Tuesday.
An introduction to this week's case
This week's case is fairly recent, in that the murder of Breck Bednar took place on February 17, 2014, just one month before the youngster's 15th birthday. He was sexually assaulted and killed by an 18-year-old man he met online whilst gaming, during their first real-life meet-up. The slaying took place in Grays, Essex, England.
What happened?
To the outside world, Breck Bednar was your usual rebellious teenager. He had started to refuse to go to church with his family, and his mother Lorin LaFave put the change in his personality down to his sharing of an online gaming server with a boy called Lewis Daynes.
Speaking with the BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-30273692, she explained: "His personality was changing and his ideology was changing and he was starting to refuse to attend church with us. I felt like it was because of the negative influence of this person [Daynes]."
Daynes was an 18-year-old computer engineer, who befriended a number of people online before choosing to increase contact with Bednar especially. Three years prior to the murder of Bednar, Daynes had been arrested on suspicion of the rape and sexual assault of a 15-year-old, but Essex police didn't go ahead with taking any action against him.
Daynes would fill Bednar's head with lies, telling him that he secretly worked for the US government before promising him "great wealth" in a job at a fictional computer business. Bednar's mother grew increasingly suspicious of Daynes' motivations, and reached out to the authorities over fears he was being groomed and manipulated. The family believes that Surrey police didn't take any action despite those reported concerns.
With murder in mind, Daynes prepared to assault Bednar and take his life by purchasing condoms, syringes and duct tape, before convincing the 14-year-old to tell his parents that he was staying at a friend's house near their home.
Speaking at Chelmsford crown court following Daynes' guilty plea, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox, laid out what she knew had taken place: "Having lured the young victim to your flat, you murdered him. You had befriended Breck and a number of other adolescent friends through an online community. Your contact with Breck increased in a sinister way. The precise details of what happened in your flat are unclear and may never be known. I'm sure that this murder was driven by sadistic or sexual motivation."
Once Bednar had been let inside Daynes' home, the sadistic killer raped him before stabbing him in the neck and slitting his throat. He then took pictures of Bednar's body, sending it around the online community of gaming friends he had brought together, before putting his hard drives in a sink of water, in a bid to destroy any evidence, and taking a shower. The news spread like wildfire, with texts sent to Bednar's sisters telling them the news before the police had even informed their parents.
After showering, Daynes phoned the police to tell them that he and "a friend got into an altercation", and he was the only person to "come out alive". In the conversation, Daynes attempts to lay the blame at Bednar's feet, saying he started a confrontation with a pen knife and that his slaying of Bednar was actually in self defence. You can listen to the chilling 999 call below:
The trial, sentencing, and what came after
Whilst waiting for a jury to be sworn in for Daynes' case, the killer decided to admit his guilt, allowing the family of the victim a quick turnaround when it came to sentencing.
Mrs Justice Cox, the judge for the case, handed down a life sentence for Daynes, with the murderer told he must serve at least 25 years behind bars before being considered for release.
Snapchat were criticised by British MPs earlier this year when it was claimed Daynes was using the social media service whilst in custody, to contact one of Bednar's sisters. He was said to be taunting her, going into explicit detail about the murder, and making further threats against the family.
Police asked for information to help determine whether the messages really were from the killer, or somebody else playing a sick 'joke', but Snapchat refused to provide the details requested. They said that American data protection laws stopped them from handing the info over, but an intervention from Home Secretary Sajid Javid with the US Department of Justice found that this was untrue.
Snapchat were then forced to hand over the details of who was sending the messages just last month (June, 2019), but no updates have yet been revealed.
Breck Bednar's legacy
Following the murder, Bednar's family established The Breck Foundation in a bid to raise awareness of the dangers lurking online. Bednar's mother, Ms LaFave has also called for more help and understanding from both the police and the government in such cases, so that moves can be made to stop such tragic events happening ahead of time.
The family also accepted a settlement from Surrey police, in which the force apologised publicly for their mishandling of the case, before paying an undisclosed sum of money in compensation.
In conclusion
If there's one thing this case can teach us, it's that we never truly know who is on the other side of the screen as far as online relationships go. We must remember to keep looking out for another and to make steps to ensure we are as safe as possible when chatting with strangers on the internet. In the age of social media, this is harder than ever before, but not impossible.
MORE: The Ken and Barbie Killers
MORE: 'Doctor Death' Harold Shipman
Tagged in True Crime