The eighth installment of Netflix’s “When Missing Turns To Murder” follows the violent murder and burning to death of 16-year-old Louise Smith in Hampshire, England, in May 2020. Even the most seasoned investigators were appalled by the crime’s heinousness, despite the fact that authorities managed to apprehend the murderer within a few weeks. In the programme, representatives of the victim’s family and law enforcement officers give viewers a succinct account of what happened. Here is everything we know about the perpetrator’s identify and current whereabouts.
How Did Louise Smith Die?
Bradley Smith and Rebecca Cooper welcomed Louise Smith into the world on August 7, 2003 in Hampshire, England. Louise previously resided with her mother because her parents were divorced. She had many friends close by and lived in the Hampshire town of Havant’s Leigh Park neighbourhood, where she attended school. Louise was described by her family as “a ordinary 16-year-old girl who enjoyed hanging out with her pals. She adored being outside and with animals. She will be remembered as a kind, cheerful person who was adored by many and loved her family.
“Louise had lovely blue eyes, a sly smile, and was renowned for her kindness to others,” they continued. She was funny in a sardonic way. At the time of her passing, she was enrolled in a veterinary nursing programme. The adolescent was reportedly described as “vulnerable and impressionable” and as occasionally having mental health issues. She was allegedly taking antidepressants and had self-harmed periodically, according to news sources. Early in 2020, Louise was dating Bradley Kercher.
In April 2020, she apparently had a falling out with her mother over her desire to spend more time with Bradley. Her mother reportedly objected to her cannabis use during the heated argument. The 16-year-old relocated to Ringwood House in Somborne Drive, Leigh Park, where she started living with her aunt Chazlynn Jayne (CJ) Mays and her husband, Shane Mays, on April 26 after breaking up with Rebecca. Asserting her independence was something the adolescent wanted to do, but prosecutor James Newton-Price QC said she was still “vulnerable and impressionable.”
She resided with the Mays during the initial COVID-19 pandemic-related nationwide lockdown imposed in England. CJ Mays reported Louise missing to Hampshire Constabulary on May 8, 2020, at 6:32 p.m. The 16-year-old had not been in touch since before 1:00 pm, she told the authorities, and she had missed her 6:00 pm curfew. Her burned and deformed body was discovered in Havant Thicket between two tree trunks after a 13-day search by the police.
Police records state that the body was extensively burned, filthy, and nearly “unrecognisable.” According to police sources, she suffered facial injuries that caused her jaw to fall apart and the bone to separate from the skull. She had sustained other injuries, including a hole in her stomach and wounds to her face. Along with burning the body, they had also poked a stick into her privates and pushed it towards her liver. The body was burned with an accelerant in a setup like a bonfire.
Who Killed Louise Smith?
In the beginning, it was claimed in court testimony that Louise was content to live with her uncle and aunt and had once expressed a desire to start referring to them as “Mum and Dad.” By May 2020, though, Louise said the pair had treated her like a kid and they had once more broken up. On May 7, she even made contact with a number of people to let them know that she wanted to leave Ringwood House. Even after leaving the house, she came back after CJ made 51 attempts to contact her. She apparently reconciled with her aunt after a text conversation that took place at around 2:34 pm.
Bradley joined Louise after she left, and they talked about how Louise had thought Shane had been flirting with her. She and Shane afterwards made up, and she was last seen alive while strolling along Somborne Drive in the general area of the Greywell shopping centre. Before going home together, they were observed shopping at the Premier store in the Greywell precinct. They were the final times Louise was seen alive, and they were caught on camera by a number of CCTV cameras along the road and within the store.
The police claimed that when she got back from the store, she was heavily engaged with her phone, telling her friends that she had been drinking a lot. The youngster, according to prosecutor Newton-Price QC, appeared “unsettled” and called a mental health hotline that evening, claiming she was struggling and had resumed self-harming. According to court records, she used her phone up until three in the morning on May 8. According to police sources, Louise was once more online in the morning and was texting friends on Snapchat.
Her last communication was made at 12:49 pm, and she had committed to meeting Bradley at that time. She reportedly walked towards Havant Thicket that afternoon with Shane and was not seen again until her body was found 21 days later. Shane stated that after their argument, he punched her repeatedly, but he hadn’t intended to kill her. However, the prosecution claimed that he led the adolescent to the forested location where he raped her and then used force to quell her screaming.
On Swanmore Road and Winterslow Drive, CCTV cameras captured Shane going alone towards his mother’s home. Every time a member of his family or the police approached him after that, he continued to tell the same story with a few minor variations: he had walked Louise to a skate park in Emsworth to meet up with pals and had left her there. The police searched the security footage along that route and never found Shane or Louise, exposing his lies.
On May 14, the police detained Shane and CJ on suspicion of abducting Louise; however, after an investigation, they were freed on bail. But a week later, when the teenager’s burned and mangled body was found in the woods, the police caught him again. Shane asserted during his detention that he was unaware of his niece’s whereabouts prior to being apprehended and that he did not intentionally lie since he thought what he was saying to be truthful. He was, nevertheless, accused of murder.
Where is Shane Mays Now?
Shane entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on July 15 at Winchester Crown Court; but, on the first day of his trial on November 16, he changed his plea to manslaughter. Although he, who was 30 at the time, first admitted killing Louise, the Crown Prosecution Service rejected his plea agreement, and a court trial to establish whether the killing was a murder began. Louise allegedly described being sexually assaulted by “one of her peers” a year before to her passing during the trial.
However, according to court documents, Hampshire Police allegedly did not back her up. Another important discovery made while the court case was still in progress was that Shane had an IQ that was in the “excessively low range” of 63. His DNA was discovered in the sticks that were put inside the adolescent, according to evidence presented by the prosecution. In December 2020, Shane was convicted guilty of murder and given a 25-year sentence to life in prison. He most likely still resides behind bars in HM Prison Winchester as he is now in his mid-30s.
