The seaside air of Leysdown-on-Sea held a sinister secret last August. A man, Alexander Cashford, would lose his life in a brutal attack fueled by deception and outrage, a tragedy unfolding under the gaze of a darkening sky.
It began with a digital lure. An older boy, posing as a 16-year-old girl named ‘Sienna,’ engaged Mr. Cashford in online conversations, carefully revealing his perceived interest in a minor. The messages, shown to the court, were a calculated trap, designed to provoke a reaction.
The bait worked. Mr. Cashford, believing he was communicating with a young woman, expressed his attraction and suggested a meeting. He claimed to be 30 years old and even discussed bringing alcohol to the rendezvous, unaware he was walking into a carefully orchestrated ambush.
The meeting point was a desolate stretch of seafront. Within an hour of Mr. Cashford’s arrival, a horrifying scene erupted. A chilling video captured the escalating violence, the girl’s voice cutting through the air with a furious accusation: “F*ing paedophile, I’m f*ing 16, get him!”
Witnesses described a relentless assault. Rocks, “around the size of a cereal bowl,” were hurled with terrifying force, one witness noting the first throw possessed “a lot of power.” A sickening thud echoed as a large rock “bounced” off Mr. Cashford’s head, prompting a horrified bystander to shout, “What the f* are you doing?”
The attackers, a girl and two boys, pursued Mr. Cashford for an astonishing 850 meters. One of the boys armed himself with a bottle, later seen throwing rocks at the man’s already failing body. The girl’s chilling enthusiasm was captured in the video, a grim record of their “successful hunt.”
A post-mortem revealed a devastating array of injuries: facial and head trauma, bruised limbs, and fractured ribs that pierced his lung. While Mr. Cashford had pre-existing heart conditions following a previous heart attack, the assault undeniably contributed to his death.
Prosecutors argued this was no chance encounter, but a deliberate and planned attack. Each of the three teenagers played a crucial role, driven by a furious response to Mr. Cashford’s online interactions. The video, they asserted, was intended as proof of their actions, a disturbing testament to their collective rage.
The full extent of the tragedy and the consequences for those involved will be determined in sentencing, leaving a community to grapple with the shocking events that unfolded on that fateful night.
