She Only Asked Him What Menstruation Is
At 11:03, she sends her last message. She says she’s just listening to music. A few minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. It’s someone she’s known since she was a kid. He walks into her room carrying a bag. Inside, handcuffs, tape, a stun gun, a mask. He says, “It’s just a conversation.” And then it turns into a struggle.
The mask slips. She sees his face. And in that moment, everything changes. Within minutes, 16-year-old Rebecca Watts stops replying to messages. Her body is carried out of the house in broad daylight. They place her in the trunk of a car. At 12:45, her stepmother comes home. The same people are inside the house.
They act like nothing happened. At 5:00 p.m., Becky’s boyfriend shows up looking for her. They open the door, tell him she just left. Meanwhile, her body is still in the car parked right outside. That same evening, they come back home. They bring her inside and they keep going. The next day, when the family is already raising the alarm and calling the police, they go out and buy a saw, gloves, and masks.
And later that evening, they sit down and watch a video, “Do you want to hide a body?” And then um investigators step into her room. Guys, hey, I’m going to steal just a minute of your time. I’m really curious where you’re all watching from, so I want to ask you something real quick. Drop your city in the comments and tell me what time it is for you right now.
Thanks so much for your attention. Go ahead and write it down below and I’ll keep going. At 4:00 p.m., a call is made to 999. All right, you just tell me what I can help. Um there’s my daughter’s gone missing. And no one has seen her, no? No. We’ve phoned round the family. All her friends have contacted us and asked where she is and none of them know.
What’s her name? Uh Rebecca Watts. >> 16-year-old Rebecca Watts, known to most as Becky, was last seen by her family the morning before. She left her home in Crown Hill, Bristol, taking her tablet, her phone, and her laptop with her. And that was it. No clothes, no extra stuff, nothing else. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going and she stopped replying to messages and calls.
That kind of behavior was completely out of character for Becky. She had never acted like that before, never stayed out late. The day before, she had been talking to her friend who said Becky seemed totally normal, like nothing strange, nothing unusual at all. There were no signs she was planning to run away.
Becky was born on June 3rd, 1998 to her parents, Darren and Tanya. Even before she was born, her parents had split up and she spent her early childhood living with her mom, Tanya. Later on, she was taken into care because of concerns about neglect, but not long after that, she and her brother, Dan, went to live with their dad.
People described her as strong-willed, kind of fiery, with a really sharp sense of humor. Around people she knew, she was confident and open, but at school, she was more quiet, a little shy. One of her teachers said she was incredibly caring, kind, and had a huge heart. She had a small circle of friends, but they were really close.
She loved them deeply and they loved her right back. Later, Darren started a relationship with a woman named Angie who had a son, Nathan. When Darren and Angie got married in 2013, Nathan was one of the groomsmen and Becky was a bridesmaid along with Nathan’s girlfriend, Shauna. Less than 2 years after the wedding, their whole world was turned upside down. Becky disappeared.
After the call to 999, Becky’s father made a desperate plea on Facebook. Please, if anyone has seen or heard anything about my daughter, just let me know she’s safe. She went missing on Thursday, the 19th. At 11:15 in the morning, she left to meet her boyfriend and never made it. Then, he came here looking for her. None of her friends have seen her since.
The police have already started searching. I’m really scared. I just want her to come home. Senior Detective Richard Acone said the biggest concern for police was the fact that her social media had gone completely silent. She was usually always in touch with her friends, constantly messaging, but now there was nothing. No contact at all.
The story quickly picked up national attention. Rebecca Watts, last seen at her home in Bristol, that’s the last confirmed place where she was seen for sure. And now, investigators are trying to figure out what happened after she walked out of that house. Five days had already passed since Becky left her home in the St.
George area of Bristol with only her laptop and her phone. Police say that since that moment, no one has heard anything from her. Her friends, her family, the people closest to her, the ones she would normally be in constant contact with, we haven’t received a single message from her. And honestly, we’re really worried about her safety.
Uh police searched open areas near Becky’s home, but they said there were no significant findings, no real breakthroughs. After 5 days, detectives and Becky’s family were still left confused trying to understand how she could just suddenly disappear like that. Becky Watts, who is 16, was last seen at her Bristol home.
It’s the last point of reference that we can actually place her at. And clearly, we’re trying to look at what happened after she left. It’s 5 days since Becky left her home in the St. George area of Bristol with just her laptop and a phone. Police say nobody has heard from her since then.
Friends, family, and the people that are really dearest to her that I would expect to have regular contact with, at least one of those people, we’ve had no contact with her, so we really are very concerned about her well-being. Police have searched open ground close to Becky’s home, but say there have been no significant finds or breakthroughs.
Five days on, detectives and the schoolgirl’s family are mystified by her sudden disappearance. Becky Watts, It’s really hot anyway cuz of the microwave. at home in Bristol before she disappeared. The 16-year-old is described by her family as quiet and shy. She’s your um typical teenage girl.
Loves her cell phones, music, fashion. Becky’s father and stepmother told me today that her disappearance is completely out of character and they are desperate for news. Becky, if you can see this, get in contact. And if anyone out there knows something, just tell us. Bring her home safe. If you’ve got her, then put her somewhere we can find her.
We want her home. Please. She’s not in trouble. She’s She just wanted hair. We just want her back. That’s all we want. The next day, on Wednesday, February 25th, the family was asked to leave the house so a full search could be carried out. But no trace of Becky was found. Search efforts were expanded with six teams working across different locations, including wooded areas and three separate houses.
The investigation brought in the College of Policing and the National Crime Agency and even a helicopter was used to search from the air. They checked the nature reserve at Troopers Hill and a nearby lake, but she was nowhere to be found. The hashtag find Becky started spreading fast across social media and police were using Twitter to push out information about her they needed to talk to the people closest to Becky to figure out her last known movements and uncover any details that might matter.
They were trying to build a full picture of who Becky was, hoping that somehow it would lead them to answers. And one of the first people they spoke to was Becky’s stepmother, Angie. Shauna heard the door go. So, I she was assuming it was Becky going out. Yeah. So, I was assuming it was Becky going out. >> Okay.
No one saw her go, but just heard the door go. And they saw the assumption that Becky had left. As the investigation moved forward, it became clear that the last people to see Becky were her stepbrother, Nathan Matthews, and his girlfriend, Shauna. At first, it was actually kind of difficult to arrange an interview with them, but eventually, police managed to get in touch and asked them to come down to the station.
Um Shauna then shared her version of what happened on the day Becky was last seen. We got there about 11:00-ish, heard music upstairs, which me and Becky had been in then. Um I went into the kitchen to get a cigarette. Went to go outside to have a cigarette. My daughter started winging cuz she wanted to come out with me, so I took her down to the garden to help feed the rabbit while I had a cigarette.
Um probably it was about 15-20 minutes. Um then we came back up. I went into the kitchen to get a drink. I think I was washing my hands. Then I heard the front door slam. And then I think it wasn’t until a lot later on that Angie asked me if Becky had gone out. And I said yeah, I heard the door go. She must have gone out earlier.
Washing my hands, I think, I heard the door slam. Front door. Um again, I didn’t look at the time or think anything of it, so I didn’t really kind of like, “Oh, what was that?” It just It was just a door, so Becky must have gone out. I’ve accidentally got this in the wrong order here. I’ll just cut out one of these two.
Well, let me just go back slightly then, if I could. The door slamming then, you’ve got to get from the kitchen through to the living room. So, how far away from that front door would you have been? Um but You’ve got the front door, living room, and about halfway up the hallway Mhm. is the kitchen.
So, I would have been at the sink. So, a distance, a reasonable amount, you know what I’m saying? Okay. Immediately before this sound of the door slamming, what could you hear then? Um I think it was just CBBC again, to be honest. I was kind of more, you know, kind of make sure that I’m in the room and back and get my drink. Yeah.
Um No, I heard stomping downstairs. That’s what made me think that Becky left in a mood. So, I said to Angie, cuz I said door slam, but I wasn’t sure if that was the wind. Mhm. I took it because there was like quite stomp, stomp, stomp downstairs. I assumed that she was in a bit of one of her tantrums.
Yeah. Nathan gave the same version. He also said he heard the door slam. Are you thinking that’s the front door that’s slammed? Yeah, okay. Um And who did you think that was then? Well, Becky. I mean, I think what we’ll do is we’ll probably wrap the interview up now. We’ve been talking for 2 hours, it’s quite a long time. My back’s killing me.
Um a few things immediately caught the investigators’ attention. Shauna seemed a little too cheerful, almost excited, which just didn’t sit right. And Nathan came across like he didn’t really care at all. But what was even more suspicious was how closely their stories matched. Senior Detective Richard Acone pointed out that when people go through the same event, they usually give slightly different accounts with small inconsistencies, details that don’t quite line up, like nothing perfectly identical.
But in this case, their stories were almost too similar, which suggested they might have talked it all through beforehand and agreed on exactly what to say. The search for Becky Watts continued today, family and friends scouring the parkland and woods near her Bristol home, hopeful they will find the 16-year-old safe and well.
Volunteers came out in droves to assist in the searches. Posters were put up, and people were determined they were not going to stop looking until she was found. It had already been 9 days since Becky was last seen. Police brought in the major crimes unit and once again focused their attention on Becky’s house. They went inside with forensic teams trying to figure out if the house was hiding any clues about her disappearance.
And that’s when they made a disturbing discovery. On the doorframe in Becky’s room, they found faint traces of blood. And within that blood, there were fingerprints. While the forensic tests were still ongoing, Nathan and his girlfriend Shauna were brought in for questioning again, this time for a second interview.
Has he Nathan had any sort of concerns about speaking to us? Not that he’s told me now. No. If he does, I wouldn’t know that. Yes. How how is he finding it? Um he’s found it quite hard, actually. Again, he’s kind of more thinking, like, God, if it was or again, knowing how hard it’d be for his mom at the moment.
You know, because Becky was almost like a daughter a daughter to her. Yeah. And then over the weekend, have you Have either you and Nathan been involved in searching for Becky or doing anything like that? >> aware they were doing a search. I didn’t realize until um I think it was yesterday I went on my Facebook, and obviously there was news articles and pictures popped up about that they did the search. Mhm.
Shauna’s claim that that Nathan was taking the situation really hard didn’t quite match what he was saying himself. And particularly talked to her about obviously, I didn’t particularly like her. And obviously, what annoys me is the way she speaks to like my mom sometimes. She’d be kind of like rude or whatever.
I’m trying to give you an actual specific time. Despite the growing suspicions, police still didn’t have enough to arrest him. But soon, everything changed. The fingerprint analysis came back. The prints found in the blood on Becky’s bedroom doorframe belonged to her stepbrother, Nathan Matthews. It took a few more hours to confirm whose blood it actually was.
Investigators made a decision if it turned out to be Becky’s, they would move immediately and make an arrest on suspicion of kidnapping. And not long after, their worst fears were confirmed. The blood belonged to Becky. On Saturday, February 28th, 2015, Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hall were arrested at a house in Bristol.
Nathan Matthews, you don’t have to say anything. The reason I’ve come here is to make an arrest of yourself, okay? And what I’m going to do is explain everything here and now, okay? Just place your hands out like that for me, all right? Nathan was 10 years older than Becky, and he’d known her since she was about two, back when his mom first started dating Darren.
His relationship with Darren was pretty tense. Nathan didn’t like anyone getting involved in his life or his mother’s life. Becky’s brother, Dan, actually got along well with Nathan. They’d play video games together, um hang out a lot. But with Becky, it was different. Nathan barely spoke to her. And he didn’t even live in the family home, he stayed nearby with his grandmother, though he would often come by to visit his mom and the rest of the family.
When Nathan was 19, he showed up at the house with four girls in his car, and none of them looked older than 12. Darren didn’t let them inside and told him to take them all straight back home. As a teenager, Becky struggled with an eating disorder. Her family was really worried about her, but Nathan just brushed it off, saying she was doing it for attention.
She was getting weaker, even passing out at times, and still, he kept insisting it was all just for attention. About a year later, Becky managed to recover and got better. Back in 2008, Nathan Matthews was 21 when he brought home his new girlfriend, Shauna Hall. He told the family she was 19, but that wasn’t true.
She was actually only 15. Darren realized he was lying and told him to take Shauna back home. He’d worked really hard to get his kids back from social services, and he wasn’t about to risk their stability. Even so, Nathan and Shauna stayed together, and later they had a daughter. Darren never trusted Shauna from the very beginning.
He said there was just something about her he couldn’t explain. After their arrest, they were taken to the police station for further questioning. At first, investigators let Nathan talk freely, kind of building his confidence, letting him speak, hoping to get more out of him. But then, they switched tactics and started asking more direct questions.
You were at the address at the time that Rebecca or Becky, I think most people know. That’s yeah. Or Bex. Yeah, okay. Do you know her as Becky or Bex? Uh usually call her Bex. What we’re most interested in is finding Becky. Yeah, that that’s what the police want to do. Yeah. At the same time, investigators were also questioning Shauna about her version of what happened.
Everything seemed normal. Nothing seemed wrong, and I think, you know, it all seemed the same as it would any other day. Have you got any concerns or suspicions that Nathan or any other member of your family or extended family might be responsible for her disappearance? No. No. Anything that happened that could be significant in the disappearance of Rebecca? No.
You’re absolutely sure? Yes. I know you’ve got something to tell us. I can see it in your face. I’m just making sure there was nothing like a weird significant thing that I hadn’t thought of. Um I don’t know. After that, a forensic team was sent to Nathan and Shauna’s house. The place was a complete mess.
Every room was cluttered with stuff, trash, just total chaos. But during the search, one detail immediately stood out. In the bathroom, the left side looked just like the rest of the house, neglected, dirty, kind of abandoned. But the bathtub itself, it was it was spotless, like perfectly clean.
It was actually shining. And that contrast with the rest of the room, it just felt wrong, suspicious. Police have been given more time to question two people in connection with the disappearance of 16-year-old Becky Watts. During the interrogations, investigators made a deliberate choice not to reveal what evidence they already had or what they actually knew.
Over the next 2 days, forensic teams continued searching Nathan and Shauna’s house. And honestly, it was extremely difficult because of the condition the place was in. But eventually, two small receipts gave investigators the breakthrough they had been waiting for. They found two receipts from the hardware store B&Q showing that on Friday, the very same day Becky was reported missing, someone had purchased an electric circular saw, safety goggles, gloves, and a mask.
And surveillance footage confirmed it was Nathan who made those purchases. Um after that, Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare were arrested again, this time on suspicion of Becky Watts’ murder. Police had to deliver the devastating news to the family. This was now a murder investigation and Nathan and Shauna were the main suspects.
Becky’s father, Darren, later said that was the moment his world started falling apart. Not long after, flowers began appearing outside the house. People were bringing them in Becky’s memory. Nearby, at St. Ambrose Church, a book of condolences was opened and the church stayed open late into the night so people could come in and light candles.
And what made it even more heartbreaking, she was killed on her brother Dan’s 20th birthday. During the interrogations, investigators still didn’t reveal that they had found the receipts. Instead, they kept applying pressure telling them the house had been thoroughly examined by forensic teams, um kind of making them wonder what exactly had been discovered.
On Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015, at 10:26 p.m., police received a statement from Nathan through his lawyer. And here’s the thing, Nathan refused to even listen to it. He literally covered his ears so he wouldn’t hear his own words being read out loud. The statement said, “I, Nathan Charles Matthews, admit that I am responsible for the death of Rebecca Watts on February 19th, 2015.
I arrived at Crown Hill, St. George, Bristol with my girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, in a car. I had a large bag with me, a stun gun, handcuffs, tape, and a mask. I came up with a plan to scare Rebecca by kidnapping her. I wanted to frighten her, like teach her a lesson. I believed she was selfish and that her behavior toward my mother was affecting her health.
A few minutes after we arrived, Shauna said she wanted to smoke and went out into the garden. I went to the trunk of my car, took the bag with those items, went upstairs, and knocked on Rebecca’s door. She answered something like, ‘What?’ or ‘Hi.’ And I said, ‘Can I talk to you for a minute?’ I’m not exactly sure about the precise order of events, but I used those items to restrain Rebecca.
During a brief struggle, my mask slipped and Rebecca saw my face. And that’s when I panicked. And I strangled her while she was partially inside the bag.” And that wasn’t even the end of the horror. After killing Becky, he used the saw he had bought from B&Q to dismember her body. This was done in the bathtub, the same one that was later chatted on and cleaned, which is exactly why it looked so unnaturally spotless.
The information suggested that Becky’s body had been cut up and a search at the new location resulted in the discovery of body parts. Although formal identification procedures have not yet been completed, we have made Becky’s family aware of this discovery. As a result of this latest development, a further three men and two women have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
They remain in police custody at this time, as do the man and woman arrested on suspicion of Becky’s murder. This is devastating news for Becky’s family and friends and our thoughts are with them. We will continue to offer every support we can to them during this terrible ordeal. After 12 days of hunting for Becky Watts, a private ambulance leaves the scene of a grim discovery.
The find in a garden and terraced home on a small estate in Bristol was made by detectives last night. It was the outcome the teenager’s family had prepared themselves for and feared most. The people living in the house where the body was found were arrested for assisting an offender.
They insisted they had no idea what was inside the bags. Later, they admitted guilt on that charge while two others facing the same accusation were acquitted. The search was carried out by Detective Sergeant John Dowding. He discovered several suitcases and bags. Inside, the body parts had been wrapped in plastic bags and cling film. Cat litter had been used to absorb the blood and salt crystals were added to try and mask the smell.
According to the forensic report, Becky fought for her life with everything she had. She suffered more than 40 injuries and most likely died from asphyxiation. Her nose and mouth were covered by a hand. After her death, she was stabbed another 15 times. Her identity had to be confirmed through DNA testing. The search for Becky Watts became one of the largest investigations ever carried out by Avon and Somerset Police.
For the officers who worked tirelessly hoping to find her and bring her home, this was a devastating ending. Even though Nathan Matthews had already given a statement, investigators wanted to dig deeper to understand if that was really the full truth. And they also needed to figure out whether his girlfriend, Shauna, had played a bigger role than it first seemed.
During questioning, Shauna insisted she had only found out about Nathan’s involvement the day before when he made his written statement. What’s your knowledge of him killing Becky? Found out yesterday morning. You found out yesterday morning? Um prior to that, I had no idea that he had any involvement in anything at all.
And how do we know you weren’t involved in this the killing of Becky? Proof? There would be no proof. I haven’t touched anything or been anywhere near her alive or dead. The full horrifying picture of what happened was eventually pieced together Thursday, February 19th, 2015. At 10:50 in the morning, Becky comes back home after staying overnight at a friend’s place.
Shauna and Nathan arrive at her house stopping by Tesco on the way to buy batteries. They know she’ll be home alone because Angie has a hospital appointment. Um normally, Nathan parks on the street, but this time he backs the car into the driveway positioning it so the trunk is facing the front door.
At 11:03, Becky sends her last message to her boyfriend saying she’s listening to music. After that, she never replies again. Becky is attacked, she’s strangled, and her body is placed in the trunk of the car. At 12:45, Angie returns home. Nathan and Shauna act like nothing happened. At 5:00 p.m.
, Becky’s boyfriend comes to the house worried because she’s not answering her messages. Shauna opens the door and pretends to check Becky’s room. The boyfriend speaks with Darren and Angie and Angie agrees, “Yeah, it’s strange she’s not responding.” At 7:00 p.m., after spending the day with the family while Becky’s body has been in the car outside the entire time, Shauna and Nathan leave and go home.
Um once they arrive, they bring the body inside and dismember it in the bathtub. After that, they order pizza and Chinese food. And then Nathan stages a phone call pretending a friend needs his help. He leaves the house and drives to B&Q. At 12:20 p.m., Nathan Matthews walks into a store and buys two bottles of drain cleaner.
Then he drives to B&Q and picks up gloves, masks, safety goggles, and a saw. At 3:10 p.m., Shauna sends him a message, “What time do you finish work? Lol.” 50 minutes later, at 4:00 p.m., a call is made to 999. Becky is officially reported missing. Shauna even shares Darren’s Facebook post asking for his daughter to come back home.
At 6:35 p.m., police arrive at Becky’s house and speak with Darren, Angie, Nathan, and Shauna. Nathan and Shauna say they heard her leave the house the previous morning. By 9:00 p.m. the couple is back home and they’re watching a video on YouTube called Do you want to hide a body? On February 21st, they go to an Asda store and buy trash bags, gloves, heavy-duty construction bags, cling film, and bleach.
The next day, they visit a 99 p store and Wilkos where they pick up a sponge, more bags, and tape and then head over to Sainsbury’s for more cling film. On February 23rd, police come to their house to speak with them, but no one answers the door. At 4:38 p.m., a Google search is made from a phone linked to the couple, find Becky Watts.
And just 2 minutes later, Shauna calls her estranged mother, someone she hadn’t spoken to in 4 years to arrange a meeting that same evening. Then, on February 24th at 2:19 in the morning, CCTV captures a white van traveling from Cotton Mill Lane to the location where Becky’s body would later be found. It’s believed parts of her body were in the back of that van.
All right, what was the question again? About the the only day that you got when you said it might have been something on TV or you had a dream. I don’t know what I came up with that day to scare cuz like to try and basically make her more appreciative of life so she’d be more appreciative for other people or she’d be like grateful that, you know, she wasn’t harmed or anything like that or, you know, cuz obviously um she’d leave things out on the floor for my mom to trip over.
And obviously we’d talk to her um like this is the thing, uh nasty comments and talk to her like dirt on the floor. And I thought if I thought I was you know, able to scare her. And obviously her not be harmed, obviously be released. Obviously when she got back she obviously would have been scared and more appreciative of things.
So, tell me what you thought you were going to do. Obviously stick her in the suitcase. Obviously put tape around her mouth so she wouldn’t make any noise. What um the plan was obviously I was going to get her in the car to make up some up to say to say to Shauna um obviously I had to leave like to help someone or do something cuz some up I was thinking of like a wooded area or whatever to obviously take her back out.
Obviously still had the mask on. And obviously like scare her and obviously some along the lines of, you know, you’ve got to start treating people um start treating people better and not being a [ __ ] or self-centered. And then like make a threat of um you know, or you know, or this could happen again or worse or something like that.
I hadn’t figured out exactly how to obviously walk like obviously walk away after without obviously but then if she tried to follow, I’m assuming she wouldn’t have followed because of out of fear you wouldn’t want to follow who just obviously has done that. And obviously would have come back. But I would have obviously um chucked away obviously everything first and then come back.
And obviously would have acted as normal. Then come back to my mom’s. Obviously acted as normal. >> During this testimony, you could see it starting to hit him, the full weight of what he had done. Meanwhile, Shauna continued to be questioned. I don’t know where. What else? Hit her so to speak.
So, there’s no new reason that you should or shouldn’t believe me. Um I can just obviously tell you that I genuinely had no idea. And yeah, I didn’t always like Becky, but she was a nice enough girl. She was so young. And the fact that we’ve got a little girl also. I’m carrying his unborn children. >> [snorts] >> I can’t understand why we could have done it to us.
After 96 hours of questioning, Nathan Matthews was officially charged with the murder of his step-sister. At that point, there still wasn’t enough evidence to charge Shauna with murder, so instead she was charged with perverting the course of justice. Police kept building their case against her.
Over the next 8 weeks, investigators went deep, like really digging into every part of their lives, including phone records and computer data. And it was on one of Shauna’s phones that they found the key to the whole case. They uncovered a series of deleted messages that were later recovered. In those messages, Nathan Matthews and Shauna had been discussing the kidnapping of a young girl and keeping her in an attic.
There were also internet searches linked to explicit material involving individuals around the same age as Becky. So, the first message is uh 9th of 12th, 2014, uh time to 12:48 and it says to Shauna and um it says, “Fuck you, bring me back two pretty school girls then.” D1, I think that says.
Tell me about that text message. No comment. Next message is 9th December 2014 at 18:14. It says from Shauna, “Just went to Costcutters and saw a very and big cat’s pretty petite girl. Almost knocked her out to bring her home. LOL.” And there’s crosses and zeros. Shauna, will you tell me about that? No comment.
Am I right in thinking that this girl was similar to Becky’s age? No comment. But once again, forensics told the truth. It was the cold, emotionless evidence that ultimately put everything into place, no matter what stories were told or denied. Where words could raise doubts, the lab results spoke clearly, directly, and without any room for interpretation.
DNA belonging to Shauna was found on the bag that contained parts of Becky’s dismembered body and that detail, it was critical. A physical piece of evidence that couldn’t just be explained away as coincidence. Her DNA was also found on one of the masks. Each of these findings added another piece to the puzzle, another link placing her at the scene, something that couldn’t just be ignored or denied without serious explanation.
On June 22nd, Shauna Hall was officially charged with the murder of Becky Watts. That was a turning point in the case. She went from being under suspicion to being formally accused. The charge itself was clear and severe, reflecting the brutality of what had happened. Becky’s funeral took place at Street Ambrose Church on April 17th.
That day, the atmosphere was heavy, like you could feel the grief in every movement, every glance. The service was open to the public and people came to pay their respects, to show support for the family in any way they could. But the burial itself was private, held in a quieter, more intimate setting with only close family present.
The streets were filled with people standing along the road to say goodbye. As the coffin carried on a horse-drawn carriage slowly passed by, there was silence. Just the sound of hooves against the ground. It was a moment that stayed with people, simple but incredibly powerful. And when the coffin was carried out, uh a white dove was released into the sky.
It rose higher and higher, slowly disappearing from view like a symbol of goodbye, a symbol of something that could never be brought back. For many, that moment was unforgettable, quiet but emotionally overwhelming. On October 6th, 2015, the trial of Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hall began at Bristol Crown Court.
The atmosphere in the courtroom was heavy. Becky’s family sat there, stunned as details were revealed that shocked even against everything already known. It came out that 2 years before her death, Becky had told a friend something disturbing Nathan had described in detail how he planned to kill her. That wasn’t just a strange or unsettling comment, it sounded like a direct warning, one that at the time wasn’t taken seriously enough.
And the most painful part, she never told her family. That detail left behind this heavy feeling like maybe there was a chance to change something, but it slipped away. It was also revealed that after serving in cadets, Nathan had joined the Territorial Army. Another detail about his background that came up during the trial.
People who knew him back then also testified, describing his behavior, his personality, how he seemed on the outside, which only made the contrast even more disturbing compared to what was later revealed. During his trial, members of the Territorial Army gave evidence in court and gave a glimpse into a man with few acquaintances and even fewer friends.
He had a cheeky confidence, said his former cadet instructor, but by the time he joined the Territorial Army, his temper was beginning to show. One witness said he would sometimes snap, sometimes throw things in frustration. The courtroom went completely still, like the air itself got heavy with dread when the horrifying details started coming to the surface.
Prosecutor William Mosley QC laid out before the jury what was almost too disturbing to even say out loud. Nathan and Shauna shared a sexual interest in teenage girls. This wasn’t just some crime driven by jealousy or hatred. Mosley stated it plainly and without hesitation. Beyond the obvious animosity toward Rebecca Watts, there were strong grounds to believe that a sexual motive was also behind this crime, a shared deeply disturbed, perverted attraction to young teenage girls.
His words fell over the courtroom like stones, heavy, irreversible. Shauna looked straight at the judge and declared that she was completely innocent. On top of that, she claimed she was actually afraid of her own boyfriend. Her voice was steady, her face unreadable. But the prosecution wasn’t backing down.
They acted as a team. Two people, one crime, one plan. Then someone took the witness stand that almost nobody expected to see in that courtroom, Shauna’s estranged mother. A woman her daughter had barely kept in touch with. But right after Becky disappeared, Shauna suddenly wanted to reconnect.
She started showing up, calling, coming around. Her mother recalled one particular moment, almost ordinary, if it weren’t for what it turned out to mean. She made a joke, the kind you make with people you’re close to. “I know why you keep coming over, you’re hiding from the police because you kidnapped Becky.” Just a joke, said casually.
But Shauna didn’t laugh. And then came the moment everyone had been waiting for. The jury went to deliberate. In cases like this, the wait can drag on for days, endless, exhausting hours of doubt and silence. But this time, it happened fast, really fast. The jury came back into the courtroom and delivered their verdict unanimous.
Good afternoon to you and welcome to BBC News. The stepbrother of the schoolgirl Becky Watts has been found guilty of her murder. 28-year-old Nathan Matthews suffocated 16-year-old Becky while trying to kidnap her from her home in Bristol in February. Her dismembered body was found in a garden shed.
His girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, was acquitted of murder today, but found guilty of manslaughter. After just 3 hours of deliberation, the jury reached a decision. For a case this complex, that’s actually a really short time. And it made one thing clear in their minds, the picture of what happened was solid. No doubts, no confusion. The courtroom fell into this tense silence, the kind that comes right before words that can change lives forever.
When the jury walked back in, every movement, every glance felt important. The air was heavy with a dread, like everyone was holding their breath. Families sitting there, knowing this was the moment they’d been waiting for for months. Shauna Hoare guilty of kidnapping and manslaughter of Becky Watts. The words were clear, no hesitation, locking her role into place in what had happened.
Nathan Matthews guilty of kidnapping and the murder of Becky Watts. And that sounded even heavier. It was direct, final. There was no uncertainty left in that room anymore, just the cold, hard reality confirmed by the jury’s verdict. The jury did not believe them. It took them just 3 hours to decide the pair had conspired to kidnap 16-year-old Becky Watts and that they killed her in a sexually motivated attack.
Finally, justice has been done for beautiful Becky. After hearing weeks of harrowing evidence about how the schoolgirl was killed, her family gave their reactions to today’s verdicts. Now the formalities have been concluded, we can begin the process of grieving properly and rebuilding our lives. Lives that could never, ever be the same.
Listening, Becky’s dad, Darren, and his wife, Angie. They now know that his daughter was murdered by her son. Shauna Hoare was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The decision was delivered in court clearly, almost without emotion. But behind it was a story that had shaken the entire country. That sentence defined her future for years to come, leaving everything that came before it in the past.
In the silence of the courtroom, those words felt final, like the closing chapter of her role in something that could never be undone. Nathan Matthews was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years, which means even the possibility of parole wouldn’t come up for decades. The court recognized the severity of what he had done as so extreme that any other outcome just wasn’t an option.
His name is now permanently tied to this crime, one that left a deep mark on everyone who heard about it. And when he was led out of the courtroom, that moment was almost unbearable to watch. All eyes were on him, but he didn’t look up. He couldn’t face his family, the people sitting there watching the end of it all.
Instead, he just stared at the floor, like he was trying to hide from the reality that had finally caught up with him in that exact moment. I think today has brought to conclusion 6 weeks of sometimes harrowing um evidence. And obviously in terms of my team, it’s been 7 or 8 months now of investigation.
This has taken an awfully long time. It’s been extremely complex. And I think certainly in respect to the evidence, it’s been very disturbing at times, yes. >> Disturbing too for the judge who had tears in his eyes as he paid tribute to Becky’s family. Well, the the judge is a is a human being. And as we’ve already described, the the evidence is extremely difficult to listen to in places.
In a statement, her mother, Tanya Watts, said, “My beautiful, kind, funny, loving, loyal, feisty, creative daughter has been murdered. Every day has been a living nightmare. It’s like the worst of all horror movies, but this is real. This is my child. She was only 16. How am I meant to cope with that? Now, as her family try to rebuild their lives, Nathan Matthews will be in his 60s before he’ll be considered for release, but the reality is, the judge said, that may never happen.
” In June 2016, both Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare lost their appeals. That decision basically marked the final point in the legal battle that continued after the verdict. The court upheld the original rulings and no grounds were found to reconsider them. For the family, it meant the case would never return to the courtroom, but at the same time, it didn’t bring any real sense of relief.
If anything, it just made the reality of what happened feel even more final. After Becky’s death, a special child protection review was carried out in Bristol. The goal was to understand whether the tragedy could have been predicted or maybe prevented earlier. The investigation looked into a lot of details, contact with social services, behavioral signs, the family environment.
But in the end, the conclusion was clear. This crime couldn’t have been predicted or prevented. There were no direct warning signs that something like this would happen. At the same time, the report noted that not enough attention had been paid to Becky’s wider family environment. Not just her immediate family, but also the people around her day-to-day, including her stepbrother and his girlfriend.
And that part raised concerns later on because some of the interactions in that environment hadn’t been properly looked at. It was also pointed out that Becky’s anxiety and some of her more difficult behavior didn’t come out of nowhere. Part of it was linked to bullying from Matthews. It wasn’t something obvious to everyone at the time, but it still played a role in shaping her emotional state.
Details that might have once seemed minor suddenly carried a completely different weight after everything that happened. Later on, Darren wrote a book about his daughter titled Becky, The Heartbreaking Story of Becky Watts. It was his way of not only telling her story, but preserving her memory the way the people closest to her truly knew her.
In one of his interviews, he said, “If he were going to be hanged, I’d pull the lever myself, so no one else would have to carry that burden.” The stress and the unbearable pain of losing his daughter slowly, but relentlessly, started destroying Darren from the inside. This wasn’t just emotional, it was something that took over everything, every cell in his body, every thought, every single moment of his life.
In a short period of time, uh he lost four stone. That’s about 25 kg. His appearance changed so much that people who knew him could barely recognize him. He couldn’t sleep. Nights turned into these long exhausting stretches of just waiting for morning. And when he closed his eyes, the silence felt louder than anything.
His thoughts wouldn’t stop. They just kept coming over and over again. Sleep didn’t bring rest anymore because it almost never came. Food stopped meaning anything to him. He didn’t feel hunger, didn’t taste anything, didn’t feel the need to take care of himself physically. Even something as simple as taking a sip of water took effort.
Sometimes he had to force himself just to drink. Like even that was too much in the state he was in. And yet, um despite everything they went through, despite the kind of pressure a tragedy like this can put on a relationship, Darren and Angie stayed together. They didn’t drift apart, didn’t fall into separate worlds like people often do after something like this.
Instead, they stayed in the in the silence, in the pain, in a grief that couldn’t really be divided or shared evenly, but somehow they carried it side by side. It really is that. And some wavering. And I will I’ve lost a couple of members of family because I won’t turn on her. I will never desert her. Never.
If this doesn’t break us up, then nothing’s going to. Community came together to support the family. People helped in any way they could. Hey! What? A balloon launch was organized to remember Becky, to show her family she would never be forgotten. A march followed which brought the center of Bristol to a virtual standstill.
Minutes silence were held at football matches. For her family, the attention was hard, but made them feel less alone. Just a few weeks ago, a baby apple tree was planted for Becky in this local park, a symbol of growth and hope. What I saw you saw right from the beginning was a coming together of this uh community with a genuine concern and wanting to support the family in any way they could.
Becky Watts’s story is both horrifying and deeply heartbreaking. And honestly, the words that describe it best come from her own family. She was like a tornado, like a hurricane, and like a ray of sunshine all at the same time. She would come into your life and make you feel like you were really living.
