Stepbrother Nathan Matthews found guilty of Becky Watts murder

Nathan Matthews has been found guilty of murdering his stepsister Becky Watts following a trial at Bristol Crown Court in England.

His girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, has been acquitted of the charge but found guilty of manslaughter.

Matthews (pictured) and Hoare were also convicted of conspiracy to kidnap Becky, perverting the course of justice and preventing a lawful burial. James Ireland and Donovan Demetrius were acquitted of assisting an offender.

Matthews, 28, killed his 16-year-old stepsister in a sexually motived kidnap plot with his girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, 21, the court was told.

Becky’s body was moved from her home in Crown Hill, Bristol, and dismembered in the couple’s bath in Cotton Mill Lane, Bristol, with a circular saw.

Her remains, packed into suitcases and a plastic storage box, were discovered in a garden shed 80 metres away by police on March 3.

It was a crime that not only shocked the close-knit family of Becky Watts but also left a mark on the whole of Bristol.

When the 16-year-old went missing, her family, friends and the wider community joined together to find her, desperately hoping she would return.

At the time it was thought the teenagr had left her home on February 19 with her phone, laptop and tablet computer but did not inform friends or family where she was going or take extra clothes.

Family and friends posted appeals on social media and joined in with the hunt for Becky in an effort to shed light on her whereabouts, ignorant of the sinister turn of events that had befallen her.

Avon and Somerset Police launched the#becky hashtag, which reached more than two million people just a week after the social media-savvy Becky was last seen alive.

The campaign went around the world, reaching Goa, New Zealand and the US, and was a key part of the police investigation, which was codenamed Operation Bicton.

The hunt for Becky involved 350 officers and the assistance of nearly 200 others from seven neighbouring forces and saw 100 open areas, lakes and ponds, 26 buildings and 300 back gardens and outhouses searched.

Eleven days after the teenager was last seen alive, her body parts were recovered from a garden shed.

Becky’s death sparked an outpouring of public grief with a sea of flowers remaining outside her family’s home for months.

Days after the grim discovery, hundreds of mourners gathered in St George Park to release colourful helium balloons in memory of the teenager.

Becky’s father, Darren Galsworthy, said afterwards: “If she could see this happening now ... On a horrible day like this, hundreds and hundreds of people have turned out.

“This young, shy, reserved child who lost her life so tragically and it has hurt us all, but it’s touched everyone’s hearts around the world.

“I’ve been getting messages from Australia and New Zealand, Africa, China - it’s gone absolutely global.

“People recognise us, they come up to us and hug us. I’ve had 7ft tall men come up to me crying, hugging me and wishing us the best.”

Thousands of pounds was raised online to help pay for Becky’s funeral, the details of which were shared online on a social media page titled “a send off for a princess”.

More than £11,000 was raised on two GoFundMe pages, with local auction sites also contributing.