A teenager has been found guilty of the vicious murder of a man he met on the gay dating app, Grindr.
Ben Bamford, 18, has been found guilty of the murder of a 52-year-old man he met via the gay dating app, Grindr. Mr Bamford who was 17-years-old at the time of the murder unleashed a vicious attack on Paul Jefferies, reportedly a tax advisor to George Osbourne, who lived in East Sussex.
The attack happened on the 23 February 2016.
A sustained and bloody attack left Mr Jefferies with over 40 stab wounds. The court heard that Bamford also slashed the tax advisor’s throat, leaving him to die in a pool of his own blood. His body was discovered two days later when concerned work colleagues noted that he had not been into work.
Mr Bamford left the body with a tea towel covering his head.
Mr Bamford denied murder and claimed that he was acting out in self-defense after alleging that his victim had tried to rape him. The court heard Bamford describing that Mr Jefferies had “got on top” of him and continued to have sex after Bamford had told him to stop.
Mr Bamford had sought out Mr Jefferies after accruing £400 in debt. A statement from Sussex Police remarked that they believed that he “went to see Mr Jefferies with the intention of exploiting him for money to pay off his drugs debt.”
Detective Chief Inspector Tanya Jones, who led the investigation for Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said,
“This was a horrific attack by a teenage boy who preyed on his victim with the aim of exploiting him for money.
“The level of violence he inflicted on Paul Jefferies was extreme and then he fled the scene in his victim’s car. He showed no remorse smirking for a selfie photo just hours later.
“However the jury did not believe his story. Although this can never undo what he has done, I hope it will bring some justice for Paul’s family, friends and colleagues.”
Mr Bamford will be sentenced on Wednesday.
