GUILTY UK - Louise Smith, 16, Havant, Hampshire, 8 May 2020 *Arrest*

I think he will have no problems fitting in with prison life. He will be given a new Xbox to play his games on .
He will probably managed to get his hands on some drugs and illicit alcohol. Be like a long holiday for him.

I agree, not enough punishment!

First time I heard about his visit to her mum on the day, absolutely disgusting.
Smirking!!! It will be like a long holiday for him while Louise won't grow up, have kids of her own. Heartbreaking.
 
The aggravating factors were;
Louise being particularly vulnerable due to her age, anxiety and depression;
Louise would have experienced "intense mental and physical suffering" in the attack;
that Mays "grossly" abused his position of trust and
the "awful damage" inflicted on Louise's body.




did they miss out the other aggravating factors ?

Perverting the course of justice by lying consistently to the police, which delayed the finding of Louise's body

Preventing a lawful burial
 
There's nothing on the judiciary website so far but I found this. **warning: graphic**

Every word the Judge said as she jailed murderer Shane Mays

I can’t see how, for the life of me, reading her description of the stick and how it was used that she states she can’t be sure that there was a sadistic or sexual element.

Can anyone offer any insights into how this can be? Is it because she can’t be sure these injuries were inflicted whilst she was alive?
 
Sentence was about the maximum I expected given most cases I've followed, I'm just relieved it wasn't lower... without forensic proof of sexual assault, nor any particular evidence of him being interested in her (unlike the texts in the Watts case making clear that both wanted a "young girl"), while we can make assumptions from the injuries, I'm not so sure the judge can do the same without risk of an appeal to the sentence being successful. Just glad it was as high as it was really.

As to the "smirking", I'd take that with a pinch of salt: the word was obviously intended by the reporter to stir up outrage, and appears to have worked.
 
I can’t see how, for the life of me, reading her description of the stick and how it was used that she states she can’t be sure that there was a sadistic or sexual element.

Can anyone offer any insights into how this can be? Is it because she can’t be sure these injuries were inflicted whilst she was alive?

I don't understand either why the judge decided that. I think maybe it wasn't clear she was raped, or there was no conclusive evidence. The stick is sexual and sadistic IMO but she must have decided there was no way of knowing for sure...

They would have been able to tell if the injuries were inflicted before she died. Had she been alive, she would have bled profusely, and if she was dead, she wouldn't because her heart had stopped.

The cause of death was unascertained but I think the blows to the head were enough to kill her.

MOO
 
I'm not sure he will 'enjoy' prison as suggested. Other prisoners don't take too well to rapists and child murderers! I suspect he will be mostly kept solitary for his own safety from other prisoners and himself. I imagine he will be considered a high suicide risk too.

I'm pleased to see he will be on licence for life once (if) released
 
I don't understand either why the judge decided that. I think maybe it wasn't clear she was raped, or there was no conclusive evidence. The stick is sexual and sadistic IMO but she must have decided there was no way of knowing for sure...

They would have been able to tell if the injuries were inflicted before she died. Had she been alive, she would have bled profusely, and if she was dead, she wouldn't because her heart had stopped.

The cause of death was unascertained but I think the blows to the head were enough to kill her.

MOO

I agree. I suspect that had more detailed and conclusive forensics been available regarding the evidence of SA, the stick, and attempted burning, then we might have seen a longer sentence and even a whole life one.

There is a remote possibility that someone other than SM returned to the scene and carried out these postmortem attacks -- but how likely would an appeal on that basis be to succeed? In a way, the sentence rewards the efforts of SM to obscure evidence and mislead searchers initially, and I'm a bit surprised that he didn't receive more time for perverting the course of justice, unlawful burial and so on.

This strikes me as a careful, considered sentence that errs on the side of safety in terms of proof against appeal. There is still no guarantee of SM succeeding in a parole application. Hopefully he doesn't get out early, or ever.
 
25 years is not enough to outweigh the loss of Louise, that's a given. As no-one but SM knows the truth of what happened and he won't tell the truth, the judge's hands were tied. I think she did a good job, 25 years without parole, for a first offender with limited scope for appeal seems iron tight. I dont think he will leave prison. SM was never going to become Britain's next serial killer, this was a horrific opportunistic crime by a person living under the radar of society's norms. Cjay is getting a hammering on social media, but I don't think she should be blamed for SMs actions, I genuinely believe she cared for Louise's welfare and possibly didn't/couldn't bring herself to believe her husband was involved. Perhaps the Rum and Peach snapps he bought the night before were to knock her out as as well as Louise. SM despite his limitations, I'm pretty convinced knew right from wrong, the bare faced lying to his mum/wife/Rebecca/police are testament to calculated deceit. This is a horrific case, Louise should be here, but in her absence he's facing a term almost as long as the life he's lived and if he gets out, well I dont even want to speculate. There are no winners here.

Rest in peace beautiful girl
 
Mays was alleged to have warned Louise that if she did not start helping around the house, he would start to 'get stricter' with her, the jury were told.
During his trial, Mays admitted to having a 'short fuse' and said he took his aggression out by 'fighting' and 'punching objects.'

Mays denied ever having punched Louise when she lived with him, but told jurors: 'not me, my wife did.'

Jurors had heard that two weeks before her disappearance Louise Smith had been self-harming by biting herself until it caused bruising.

CJ Mays had anxiety and did not like to go outside, so Shane would do the shopping for her. She controlled his social media accounts and he had no phone.



Social workers are investigated after allowing Louise Smith, 16, to move in with uncle | Daily Mail Online
 
Mays was alleged to have warned Louise that if she did not start helping around the house, he would start to 'get stricter' with her, the jury were told.
During his trial, Mays admitted to having a 'short fuse' and said he took his aggression out by 'fighting' and 'punching objects.'

Mays denied ever having punched Louise when she lived with him, but told jurors: 'not me, my wife did.'

Jurors had heard that two weeks before her disappearance Louise Smith had been self-harming by biting herself until it caused bruising.

CJ Mays had anxiety and did not like to go outside, so Shane would do the shopping for her. She controlled his social media accounts and he had no phone.



Social workers are investigated after allowing Louise Smith, 16, to move in with uncle | Daily Mail Online
I often wish there was a care/cry icon on here, abuse breeds abusers. My heart breaks for Louise :(
 
Cjay is getting a hammering on social media, but I don't think she should be blamed for SMs actions,
I agree with this. It’s absolutely ridiculous to blame anyone except SM for what he did to Louise. He could have walked away at any point and chose not to. It’s entirely on him.

I’m satisfied rather than happy with the sentence I think. At least there is zero chance of any time off for good behaviour :rolleyes:. I’m staggered that the judge was not convinced by the sexual element to it though; I’m guessing she just saw something we couldn’t.

As for the shiny new personality disorder, pathetic. Talk about reverse engineering.
 

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