.Stuart Hazell, 37, made dramatic plea change yesterday because 'Tia's family have suffered enough'
- .Judge tells killer: 'Tia was a sparky girl full of life. You took that life from her'
- .Members of the public gallery shout 'beast' as Hazell was taken from dock
- .Judge: There is ‘no doubt you developed a sexual interest in Tia’ but he could not be sure the murder was sexually motivated
- .Hazell has convictions for racially aggravated assault, dealing cocaine and possessing a machete in 2010, for which he was jailed for 12 months
The murderer of schoolgirl Tia Sharp has been jailed for life today and will not be released for at least 38 years.
Convicted drug dealer Stuart Hazell, 37, was told by Mr Justice Nicol there was ‘no doubt’ he had developed a ‘sexual interest’ in the 12-year-old schoolgirl, who was the granddaughter of his former partner Christine.
The court heard Tia was a ‘sparky girl’ but Hazell ‘took that life from her’ when he sexually assaulted and murdered her at home in New Addingon, south London, last August.
There were shouts of 'beast' from the public galley as a quivering Hazell was taken down from the dock, while Tia's sobbing family shouted 'yes'.
Outside court her mother Natalie Sharp, 31, hugged loved ones while the schoolgirl's father Steven Carter clenched his fist to waiting photographers. Other relatives shouted 'Nowhere near long enough' and 'RIP Tia' as they left the Old Bailey.
Jailed: A court sketch captures the moment Stuart Hazell was taken down after being sentenced to 38 years today, as Tia Sharp's grandfather Stephen Carter shouted 'beast'
Sentenced: Stuart Hazell has been jailed for life today and told he will not be released for at least 38 years, which prompted Tia's father Steven Carter to punch the air after he left court today
Bereft: The mother of Tia Sharp, Natalie Sharp (right), hugs a loved one outside the Old Bailey after her child's killer was jailed
Yesterday, Hazell dramatically changed his plea to guilty midway through his murder trial. His defence QC Lord Carlile said it was 'an act of remorse' because 'Tia's family had suffered enough'.
Motive: The judge said Hazell had developed a sexual attraction to Tia Sharpbut was unsure if that was the motive for the murder
But Justice Nicol said this morning that this had 'come too late', and increased his sentence by eight years because of Tia's young age, the way he had hidden the body in her grandmother’s loft and his ‘gross breach of trust’.
He added: 'All that lay ahead of her - a career, loves and family of her own - will now never be. And the loss of her has been devastating for her mother, her father and all her relatives and friends.
'The tragedy of their loss and her death is because of your act in murdering Tia Sharp. You are responsible. It was a gross abuse of trust.'
Hazell will be taken to the high security Belmarsh Prison in south-east London to start his sentence, whose walls have contained Abu Hamza, Ronnie Biggs, Jonathan Aitken, and Asil Nadir in the past.
He will then be taken to another high security jail, where he is likely to spend the decades in isolation to protect him from other prisoners.
Hazell will be 75 before he is eligible for parole.
There are only 30 people in Britain who have been told they will never be released, the majority whom are mass murderers, including Rose West and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.
The judge today said it was most likely that Tia Sharp was smothered by Hazell.
'There is no doubt that you had developed a sexual interest in Tia. The records of your internet searching on your mobile phone make abundantly clear that you were looking out for pornographic pictures of pre-teen girls, which Tia was; pornographic pictures of girls who wore glasses, which Tia did; even pictures involving incest.
'Tia was not your blood relation, but there was the bond between you because of your relationship with Christine, and from time to time you referred to yourself as Tia's grandfather.
'You took pictures of Tia while she was asleep. In other contexts they would have been of no interest, but your internet activity included searches for pornographic pictures of young girls sleeping.'
Distraught: Tia's mother Natalie arrives at court today with her brother David (right) and partner David Niles behind her this morning
However, the judge said he could not be sure that Tia's murder was sexually motivated, which would have meant a whole life jail term, and that it could not be proved to the criminal standard that the photograph was taken of Tia after she died.
Mr Justice Nicol said the aggravating features in the case were 'notable and serious'.
'It is an aggravating feature that your victim was so young. So too is your abuse of trust. Tia's mother allowed her to come and stay with you because she trusted you to look after her. Christine was at work that night, she trusted you to look after her.
'By first sexually assaulting and then killing Tia you betrayed that trust in the most grievous way possible. And that breach of trust reverberates still.
'Tia's mother has spoken of how she now finds it hard to trust other people in many other ways.
'I have said that I cannot be sure that the photograph of Tia was taken after her death but, whenever the picture was taken, it shows that, beyond the sexual assault itself, you further degraded that young girl by photographing her in such a dreadful position.'
Guilty plea: Hazell bowed his head in court as he changed his plea to admit murdering Tia yesterday
The judge said Hazell would only be given 'the most modest of credit' for changing his plea to guilty.
He told him: 'Your counsel says that you wished to avoid causing further distress to Tia's family. That is very commendable, but they have had to endure four days of a very public trial.
'It was necessary for the prosecution to lay out for the jury your sexual interest in Tia and for the jury to see the photograph of Tia naked. Your plea of guilty has spared the family none of that.
'It may be the first act of remorse, as your counsel says, but because it comes so late I am afraid it will earn you only the most modest of credit.'
'It may be the first act of remorse, as your counsel says, but because it comes so late I am afraid it will earn you only the most modest of credit.'
It came as Tia's family demanded he suffered 'emotionally and physically' for the rest of his life for what he did.
The schoolgirl's 's father Steve Carter broke down in tears as Hazell admitted his guilt yesterday and later said he should hang for murdering her.
‘The four days of trial here were very hard to deal with, hearing the vile things Hazell did to Tia,' he said.
'He should serve his time and then be hung.'
Hazell suffocated the 12-year-old during a sex attack after months of trawling vile internet pornography sites and filming her as she slept.
The cannabis-smoking boyfriend of Tia’s grandmother Christine Bicknell, had insisted for nine months that Tia’s death was a ‘tragic accident’.
The father of one claimed she slipped and broke her neck while he was babysitting her at the home he shared with Miss Bicknell in Croydon, South London.
He said he panicked, wrapped the body in sheets and hid it in the loft where it was discovered by police during their fourth search.
Ms Bicknell said today she thought Hazell was her 'soulmate', but now wanted him to suffer every day for the rest of his life for killing an innocent girl who 'idolised him'.
‘I let my baby down and I will never be able to get over that. I spent five nights in that house being cuddled and comforted by the man I loved, praying for Tia to come home safely,' she said.
Anger: Tia's father Steven Carter (pictured right with his father Stephen) says Stuart Hazell should be 'hung' for what he did to his daughter
Today children’s charities demanded tighter internet controls and detectives said his obsession with online child porn ‘shaped his behaviour’.
Tia’s mother Natalie, 31, described the murder as the ultimate betrayal of trust.
The court heard shocking evidence in which it was alleged Hazell took pictures of Tia’s naked body after he murdered her. Police also found internet searches including the terms ‘naked little girlies’, ‘illegal under-age incest pics’ and ‘schoolgirl abuse’ on his computer.
There were Google searches for ‘violent forced rape’, ‘little girls in glasses’, ‘daddy daughter pictures’ and ‘under age incest galleries’.
He sought out images of young girls who looked like Tia, with glasses and ponytails.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola said Hazell’s web activity was significant: ‘Clearly they were paedophile searches. That must have shaped his behaviour in some way.’
Detectives believe that in the months before the murder Hazell deliberately removed the bathroom door at the house he shared with Tia’s grandmother so he could watch the schoolgirl.
He is also thought to have modified the light socket in her room to create a spyhole.
Brother: Stuart Hazell, aged five, left, with his sister and brother at a children's home in Twickenham, south-west London
Boy racer: Hazell, pictured as a young child, is the son of a prostitute and a criminal and grew up in care
Games: The killer pictured on a holiday on the Isle of Wight aged 18 - two years after his first conviction
He repeatedly photographed and filmed Tia as she slept – and on one occasion videoed her as she rubbed cream on her legs in underwear.
Police found 11 hidden photographs and three video clips showing Tia sleeping. To cover his tracks, he took pictures on his mobile phone, then used a camera to photograph those images.
Hazell, who gained access to Tia after going out first with her mother and then her grandmother, murdered her in the early hours of August 3 last year.
He was alone with the child because Miss Bicknell worked overnight at a care home.
When she returned home at 2pm the next day Hazell told her he had given Tia £10 to buy some flip flops at a shopping centre in Croydon and she had left without her phone.
Murder scene: The house belonging to Tia's grandmother where her body was found in the loft will now be bulldozed
He prepared dinner and continued to lie about having any involvement in Tia’s disappearance until her body was found a week later.
He even made a TV appeal for her to come home, declaring ‘I loved her so much’. Tia’s mother, Natalie, told the Daily Mail: ‘The verdict has come as a huge surprise. We expected him to drag it out until the bitter end.
‘We are hoping he gets life in prison and that he is never let out.’
Hazell, the son of a prostitute and criminal, was placed in foster care at the age of four and spent his childhood being passed between social services, a foster mother and his father.
He fell into a life of crime, receiving his first conviction in May 1991, when he was only 16.
By the time he was reunited with his mother at the age of 18 she was too concerned about his interest in young girls to leave him alone with her other children.
He ended up fleeing the house after stealing thousands of pounds.
Bereaved: Tia's mother Natalie Sharp (front) and her grandmother, Hazell's ex Christine Bicknell, arrive at the Old Bailey today
Memories: Other pictures today showed the tragic schoolgirl (left) as a baby and a toddler (right)
Family: New pictures show Tia Sharp getting a cake from her mother Natalie Sharp on her birthday
Hazell’s first contact with the Sharp family came through Miss Bicknell who worked in a South London pub.
Tia’s mother also visited the pub, and Hazell initially went out with her for a fortnight in 2002, something Miss Bicknell insisted she never had an issue with.
The subsequent relationship with her began in 2007, and Hazell moved into her home in New Addington, Croydon, a week later.
Hazell’s life of crime continued despite settling down at Miss Bicknell’s house.
But he also played the role of step grandfather with aplomb, allowing him to spend the night alone with the 12-year-old as a ‘babysitter’.
Deception: Stuart Hazell made a TV appearance where he begged for the safe return of Tia, despite having murdered her days earlier
Tragic: Tia Sharp with Stuart Hazell, outside a fish and chip shop on the day she is believed to have died
New: Scotland Yard footage of Stuart Hazell's interview in police custody was released during the trial
Together: Tia Sharp can be seen on a shopping trip on August 2 with Hazell, her grandmother's former boyfriend and the man who today admitted her murder
Grim: Hazell sexually assaulted and murdered Tia later in the night following this shopping trip
Trial: Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Hazell meeting Tia in Croydon, shopping in a co-op store and taking a tram home to New Addington. The pair are pictured together
Miss Bicknell admitted Hazell smoked two cannabis joints per day and that he would get ‘argumentative’ after drinking vodka. Even when the youngster went missing and Hazell was the only suspect, she continued to voice support for him in angry outbursts to reporters outside her house, where, unbeknown to all but Hazell, Tia’s body was hidden.
The family’s faith was shattered when police finally made the grim discovery. Hazell was arrested, a few hours later, drunk on a common in Colliers Wood.
In mitigation, Hazell made the most of his harsh upbringing, with the court hearing how he had been raped while in a care home as a teenager.
But the court had already heard from his former boss about how he was a ‘fantastic liar’.
Hazell also repeatedly insisted there was ‘nothing sexual’ in what happened.
And he criticised the Press for making him appear like Jack the Ripper and Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
Hidden evidence: A memory card containing images and video of Tia as well as child porn was hidden in a cupboard door by Hazell
Discovery: Pornographic images were found on two memory cards in Ms Bicknell's house, pictured
HOW THE SEARCH FOR TIA UNFOLDED: HAZELL'S LIES AND THE AGONY OF HER FAMILY
Investigation: A forensics officer outside the house of Tia's grandmother after her body was found there
Friday August 3 2012
Tia Sharp is seen leaving her grandmother Christine Bicknell's home in New Addington, South-East London, at around midday. The 12-year-old told relatives she was going to the Whitgift Centre in Croydon. It later emerged that she was killed that night and her body stashed in the attic of the house
Tia Sharp is seen leaving her grandmother Christine Bicknell's home in New Addington, South-East London, at around midday. The 12-year-old told relatives she was going to the Whitgift Centre in Croydon. It later emerged that she was killed that night and her body stashed in the attic of the house
Monday August 6
Tia's family makes an emotional plea for her to return home as police find no trace of her on CCTV footage.
Tia's family makes an emotional plea for her to return home as police find no trace of her on CCTV footage.
Tuesday August 7
A CCTV image of Tia outside the local Co-op is released as her grandmother says she hopes it will jog someone's memory. The last person who saw Tia is reported to be Ms Bicknell's partner, Stuart Hazell.
A CCTV image of Tia outside the local Co-op is released as her grandmother says she hopes it will jog someone's memory. The last person who saw Tia is reported to be Ms Bicknell's partner, Stuart Hazell.
Wednesday August 8
Police take a German shepherd dog into Tia's grandmother's house. Volunteers and members of the local community continue to hand out posters, wear 'Find Tia' T-shirts and conduct their own searches. Hazell, 37, is voluntarily questioned by police.
Police take a German shepherd dog into Tia's grandmother's house. Volunteers and members of the local community continue to hand out posters, wear 'Find Tia' T-shirts and conduct their own searches. Hazell, 37, is voluntarily questioned by police.
Thursday August 9
Police search bins outside Tia's grandmother's home and around the estate where she lives, using sticks to scour through rubbish. Hazell says he was not the last person to see her and makes an emotional plea for her to return home.
Police search bins outside Tia's grandmother's home and around the estate where she lives, using sticks to scour through rubbish. Hazell says he was not the last person to see her and makes an emotional plea for her to return home.
Friday August 10
Two detectives arrive at Tia's grandmother's house in the morning, leaving 30 minutes later with brown evidence bags. A police sniffer dog is brought to the property. Police seal off the area around the house at 1pm for a 'pre-arranged search'. At 4.45pm police say they have found a body at the house. Hazell is arrested and held on suspicion of murder.
Two detectives arrive at Tia's grandmother's house in the morning, leaving 30 minutes later with brown evidence bags. A police sniffer dog is brought to the property. Police seal off the area around the house at 1pm for a 'pre-arranged search'. At 4.45pm police say they have found a body at the house. Hazell is arrested and held on suspicion of murder.
Saturday August 11
Ms Bicknell is questioned and Paul Meehan, a 39-year-old neighbour, is taken into custody on suspicion of assisting an offender. The pair are released on bail.
Ms Bicknell is questioned and Paul Meehan, a 39-year-old neighbour, is taken into custody on suspicion of assisting an offender. The pair are released on bail.
Sunday August 12
Hazell is charged with the murder of Tia Sharp and held in custody ahead of his first court appearance.
Hazell is charged with the murder of Tia Sharp and held in custody ahead of his first court appearance.
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