Image copyright Staffordshire Police A man who raped and murdered a youth football coach who had given him a place to sleep has been jailed.
Megan Newton, 18, was found dead in her bedsit in Fletcher Road, Stoke-on-Trent, on 20 April.
Joseph Trevor, of Trentham, pleaded guilty to her murder and two additional charges of rape on what was to be the first day of his trial.
The 19-year-old was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years and 65 days.
He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
Judge Michael Chambers QC said Trevor, the son of a retired Staffordshire Police officer, carried out a “brutal and sustained attack, conducted in a most callous way in her own home”.
When Trevor learned Miss Newton’s body had been discovered by a neighbour, he confided to his family that he had “done something bad” and was later arrested, Staffordshire Police said.
Stafford Crown Court heard that Miss Newton, who knew Trevor from school, had, as an “act of kindness”, given him a place to sleep.
Prosecutor Adrian Keeling QC said she had invited him back “because he got so drunk on drink and drugs he could not face going home to his parents”.
“He raped her, strangled her unconscious and then stabbed her in the back eight times,” he said.
Youth football coach and self-described “sports fanatic” Miss Newton was applying to become the first of her family to go to university.
She intended to pursue a career in physiotherapy or sports therapy and had been working towards her level one Football Association coaching badge.
Miss Newton had also spent time volunteering with Norton Wanderers FC in Stoke and been instrumental in fundraising for training and match kits.
In a tribute read in court on behalf of the family, Miss Newton’s grandmother Beryl Smith said: “Megan’s death has wiped out that spark in our lives.
“We’re heartbroken and always will remain so.”
She said Miss Newton’s mother Sarah felt she had a “best friend” in her daughter but had lost the promise of her life and future grandchildren.
Miss 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.”
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