The Groomer

Kayleigh Haywood was fifteen and lived in Measham, Leicestershire. In late October 2015, twenty-seven-year-old Luke Harlow contacted her on Facebook. Over roughly two weeks the two exchanged 2,643 messages, and Harlow persuaded her that he cared about her and that she should keep their contact secret.

On November 13, 2015, Kayleigh told her family she was staying with a friend and went instead to Harlow’s flat in nearby Ibstock. Harlow gave her alcohol and abused her. His neighbor, twenty-nine-year-old Stephen Beadman, joined them. When Kayleigh tried to get away, Beadman chased her, raped her, and killed her by striking her with a brick. After a large search, Beadman pointed police to the general area, and her body was found in a field near Ibstock on November 18.

Beadman admitted rape and murder. In July 2016 he received a life sentence with a minimum of 35 years. Harlow admitted grooming and two counts of sexual activity with a child, a jury found both men guilty of false imprisonment, and Harlow received twelve years; he had also been grooming two other girls. Leicestershire Police later made the short film Kayleigh’s Love Story to warn young people about online grooming. Beadman died in hospital on April 8, 2021, while serving his sentence at HMP Wakefield.