Teenagers Guilty of Manslaughter After Luring Man to Beach

Published: 17 February 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A Woolwich Crown Court jury has found three teenagers guilty of manslaughter in the death of a 49-year-old man who they lured to a beach in Kent in a tragic case that has shocked communities and sparked debate about youth violence.

The victim, Alexander Cashford, was killed on 10 August 2025 in Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey after exchanging messages with a group of teenagers who had used a fake online identity to arrange a meeting. Prosecutors told the court the trio believed he was a paedophile — a claim that was not proven — and planned to confront him.

Using the alias “Sienna,” the teenagers — a 16-year-old girl and two boys aged 15 and 16 — messaged Mr Cashford after he met the girl at an amusement arcade and gave her his phone number. The group arranged to meet him by the sea wall before the fatal attack unfolded.

Once Cashford arrived, the court heard, he was chased and assaulted with rocks and a glass bottle, with the older boy striking him and others joining in. Emergency services found him lying face-down in mud, critically injured; he later died from a combination of head trauma, fractured ribs and a punctured lung, the post-mortem revealed.

The three teenagers denied murder charges, but a jury unanimously found the 16-year-old girl and the 15-year-old boy guilty of manslaughter, while the other boy had earlier pleaded guilty to the same offence. They were acquitted of murder on Monday.

Prosecutors described the incident as a “carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack” on someone who was vulnerable and unsuspecting. A senior prosecutor said that Cashford had been pursued and struck repeatedly, even after he fell to the ground, underlining the brutality of the assault.

During the trial, jurors saw video evidence of the attack and heard how one of the teenagers shared footage on social media shortly after the incident, with comments celebrating the violence. Authorities also noted that the defendants’ belief about Cashford’s age and intentions was not based on fact.

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the verdicts would change the lives of the defendants forever. Sentencing is expected to take place in April 2026, when pre-sentence reports and statements from the parents of the teenagers will be considered.

The case has raised questions about youth behaviour, online interactions, and the dangers of taking the law into one’s own hands, as well as the tragic consequences of misjudgment and violence.

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