London - The grieving mother of a boy lured to his death by an “online predator” on Tuesday warned parents to open their eyes to the dangers of allowing children to roam the internet.
Lorin LaFave said she hoped the murder of her 14-year-old son Breck Bednar would alert the world to the risks youngsters face by engaging with total strangers.
Breck, who was killed on his mother’s birthday, was groomed by Lewis Daynes through an internet forum where they talked about their shared obsession for video games. When the churchgoing youngster secretly took a train to go to the loner’s flat in Grays, Essex, he was fatally stabbed in the neck in a “sexually or sadistically motivated” attack.
Computer engineer Daynes, 19, had denied murder but changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday as his trial was about to start. Breck’s parents, who are both from the US, were among a large group of family members in court who gasped when Daynes admitted the charge. Breck’s father Barry Bednar, 50, a wealthy oil futures trader, works for investment firm Tandem Partners.
LaFave, 47, said after the hearing: “I want Breck’s tragedy to help open the eyes of everyone to recognise the dangers of online predators. It is a very real danger today. We all need to look after each other.”
Essex Police are already in the dock over the death after failing to act when Breck’s family raised concerns that he was being contacted over the internet two months before his death. The case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
On Tuesday night, Essex Police said that Breck’s family had launched a compensation claim against them.
Breck was described by family and friends as smart and funny, but found it difficult to make friends and would spend hours chatting to strangers online.
He left the family home in Caterham, Surrey, on February 16, saying he was going to a sleepover at a friend’s house.
Instead, the comprehensive school pupil took the train to Daynes’s home about 45km away. His body was found hours later.
His killer showed no emotion as he entered his guilty plea. Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC told Chelmsford Crown Court: “The law makes specific provision for the murder of a child involving sexual or sadistic motivation. The prosecution have advanced the case on that basis and anticipate doing that again on the date of sentence.”
The schoolboy’s family have set up the Breck Bednar Memorial Foundation since his death to raise awareness about the risks posed by the internet.
LaFave added outside court: “I am heartbroken and lost without my Breck and I will never be the same. He was murdered on my birthday this year and so much of me died as well. My poor triplets lost not only their adored big brother but also their mother.
“Breck was my amazing, clever, beautiful boy - a beautiful son who we will miss forever. He had so much potential he will never now reach.”
Daynes, who lived alone, will be sentenced in January.
Daynes was described as a “weird computer boy” by those who knew him.
Others labelled him a “goon” who ludicrously threatened other boys with lawsuits when he fell out with them.
His parents had divorced and his mother Allison married Ahmed Farrag, an Egyptian computer programmer 22 years her junior in 2005. She moved to Egypt with her new husband when Daynes was just 11, leaving him in Britain.
It is not clear where Daynes lived at first after his mother moved abroad. But he eventually moved into the flat in Grays, with his grandparents helping to pay his rent and bills.
What Daynes lacked in social skills he made up for on the internet. His controlling personality and attempts to domineer his young friends were revealed by Jonny Castree, an online acquaintance.
Shortly after Breck’s death, he wrote that Daynes “became a control freak, trying to turn people’s opinions”.
“It got to the point where most of us left, but Breck was still friends with him at the time so he stayed.
“We tried everything to get Breck back with us, but he had blocked all communications with us. Breck, I’m so sorry for what Lewis has done to you.”
Daily Mail