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Leicester
28-year-old man charged with rape and murder of 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood
Kayleigh had been missing since 13 November. It is believed she had gone to meet a man she had been speaking to online.
Updated 21.57
TWO MEN HAVE been charged in connection with the death of 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood in England.
Leicestershire Police have charged 28-year-old Stephen Beadman, of George Avenue, Ibstock, with the rape and murder of Kayleigh, who was missing since 13 November.
A second man, 27-year-old Luke Harlow has separately been charged with grooming and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
Both will appear in court in Leicester tomorrow.
A body was discovered by officers shortly after 10pm last night in the search for Kayleigh.
Kayleigh had been missing since 13 November. She was dropped off outside Ibstock Community College and had called her family the following morning, but there has been no trace of her since then.
It’s understood that the teen had gone to secretly meet a man she had been in contact with on Facebook.
Her family said in a statement released this afternoon that they are “heartbroken”.
“As a family we are utterly devastated. There are no words to express the way we are feeling,” the statement reads.
We cannot even begin to thank the local communities and wider public for their messages of support which have helped us through the last week.
We are also grateful for the publicity the media have given to Kayleigh’s disappearance and the desperate search to find her.
We would now ask that everyone respects our need for privacy at this harrowing time.
The two men who have been charged were arrested in connection with Kayleigh’s disappearance in the early hours of Monday morning.
Detective Chief Superintendent David Sandall, Head of Crime for Leicestershire Police, previously said that from the evidence available, “we believe that the body found is Kayleigh”.
“Understanding the events leading up to her death, and precisely how she died, is clearly our focus, as is providing whatever support we can to Kayleigh’s parents, brothers and sister at this desperately bleak time for them,” he said.
Additional reporting Cianan Brennan
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