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What the Killer Did Next: Megan Newton murder to be explored in Sky Crime documentary

Aspiring sports coach was described an ‘amazing, caring, loving’ young woman

Roisin O'Connor
Wednesday 23 November 2022 09:21 EST
Teenager raped and murdered school friend after she invited him back to her flat

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The “brutal” murder of student Megan Newton will be the subject of Sky’s true crime documentary What the Killer Did Next.

Newton, 18, was raped, strangled, and stabbed nine times by semi-pro footballer Joseph Trevor, her former schoolmate, in 2019.

She had met Trevor by chance at a taxi rank at around 3.30am on 20 April 2019 while on a night out after working a shift at one of her three part-time jobs.

Trevor was intoxicated after consuming drink and drugs and was worried about going home to his parents, Stafford Crown Court heard during the trial.

Newton, a self-described “sports fanatic” who was working towards her level one FA coaching badge and hoped to win a scholarship in the US, agreed to let him crash at her bedsit on Fletcher Road in Stoke-on-Trent.

Prosecutor Adrian Keeling QC said it was a “typical act of kindness” by Newton and there was “no sense of offering him anything sexual at all”.

After arriving via cab at the bedsit around 4am, Trevor texted his father then raped Newton, strangled her, and stabbed her nine times in the neck and back.

He was spotted by police sitting at a bridge over the A500 in Stoke after leaving the flat. Newton’s body was discovered by staff members at the housing complex later that day.

Trevor pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of rape on the first day of the trial, with Judge Michael Chambers QC calling it a “brutal sustained attack” carried out in “the most callous way”.

Megan Newton (left) and Joseph Trevor, who has admitted rape and murder
Megan Newton (left) and Joseph Trevor, who has admitted rape and murder (Staffordshire Police/PA)

He was sentenced for life and told he would serve at least 21 years and 65 days in prison before being considered for parole.

A statement from Newton’s father Michael Baggaley said: “The thought of never seeing her beautiful smile or hearing her voice again breaks my heart.

“How could this happen to such an amazing, caring, kind, loving, funny young lady? This is something I will never understand and get over.”

The synopsis for tonight’s episode, titled “Megan Newton: The Opportunist Murder”, reads: “After a teenager is murdered in her flat, police try to find her killer, starting with a set of bloodstained keys.”

What the Killer Did Next airs tonight (Wednesday 23 November) on Sky Crime at 9pm.

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.

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