Mum had to be sedated after hearing son, 14, suffered ‘worst’ fate | UK | News
The mother of her murdered son said she “needed to be calmed down” after learning of the crime that claimed her son’s life. In 2014, British-American teenager Breck Bednar, then 15, was brutally murdered by game hunter Lewis Daynes after he lured him to his flat in Essex and fatally stabbed him. In a perverse move, Daynes traumatized Breck’s friends and fellow actors by sending sick photos of his body while trying to pass off Breck’s crime as an accident. Over the years, Daynes, then 19, targeted Bednar in an online gaming group. The internet predator was determined to separate the kind and hard-working Breck from his family and found sneaky ways to reach him.
Michigan-born Lorin became suspicious of Daynes, a British man whose inconsistent past, refusal to show his face and controlling behavior raised concerns. He frequently quizzed his son on US current events, although he frequently gave incorrect answers. While she isolated the boys and bullied them, Lorin feared that her son was possibly being groomed for sexual abuse or even extremist influence. He noticed changes in Breck, who was encouraged to quit going to church and the Air Cadets he once enjoyed.
The day Breck didn’t return home, his mother called his friends.
Panicked, 59-year-old Lorin called Breck’s friends and explained the situation. Mirror: “I knew something was wrong because they sounded weird. And the reason they sounded weird was because they already knew Lewis Daynes had killed my son. And they were trying not to be the ones to tell me.”
Lorin, of Deal, Kent, recalled after learning of his death: “I couldn’t stop screaming and had to be calmed down. It was the worst thing that could happen to any parent.”
Lorin, who now runs the Breck Foundation, met Sir Keir Starmer before the social media ban on young people was announced and warned the new Prime Minister to stick to his predecessor’s promise to protect young people.
He said: “My greatest hope for our future is that the new Prime Minister truly understands the issues children face online and continues to push for safety, including safer laws, choosing children over big tech and putting children’s rights and safety first.
“If online predators can reach a child who loves them, is doing well in school, has friends, is good-looking, and has a family with a big future ahead of them, online predators can reach anyone.
“If online predators can reach a kid who loves them, does well in school, has friends, is good-looking, and has a family with a big future ahead of them, online predators can reach anyone.”
In January 2015, Daynes was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Mrs Justice Cox said: “I am satisfied that this murder was sadistically or sexually motivated.”
