Dr Cook explained that Becky would have had a ‘fight or flight’ reaction as she was being suffocated, a survival mechanism causing her to struggle and fight back. She also described the way that some of her body parts had been packed with cat litter and table salt, which act as a preservative. I supposed that they must have found that out on the Internet. It’s not the kind of thing you get to know otherwise.
On the same day, the court was played a recording of a police interview with Nathan eight days after Becky was killed, which was before his arrest. He labelled her as ‘self-centred’ and ‘demanding’. He said that he ‘didn’t particularly like her’, and added that he didn’t truly believe that Becky had ever suffered from anorexia.
I couldn’t believe his ignorance. Becky’s struggle with anorexia was taken incredibly seriously by the health professionals who treated her. What made him more of an expert than them?
Did he really have the arrogance to believe that because he didn’t really like his stepsister, he had the right to attack her and take her young life? I hated him more with every second that I listened to his pathetic little voice on that recording. He also told police that he hadn’t helped us during the search for Becky because nobody had notified him that it was happening. Another lie. It was all over the news and, of course, we had been talking about nothing else.
The following day, 13 October, we were shown the green jumper belonging to Anjie and the blue onesie Becky had been wearing when she was killed. Both were stained with Becky’s blood and had been cut up the back. We were also shown the suitcases that were used to hide the body, and the court heard how blood-stained goggles, a knife and handcuffs were recovered, among other things. One important piece of evidence was the circular saw used to cut up the body, which was found in the black suitcase. Sarah once again left the room at this point, but I stayed, my eyes glued to the defendants’ dock. I couldn’t wait until it was time for Nathan and Shauna to stand and answer questions. I wanted to see them clearly, and I wanted to watch them squirm.
As we left that day, I had to stop myself telling the TV cameramen waiting outside exactly what I thought about the monster I used to call my son. I knew it wasn’t the right time for that yet, however fiercely the anger burned inside me.
Dealing with the media was a daily issue. While we were trying to get our heads around what we were hearing in court, we also had to contend with the huge press interest in the case. Anjie and I had received countless letters from magazines, newspapers and television programmes, all asking if we would be interested in giving them an interview after the verdict was delivered. It was difficult to comprehend the sheer number of journalists all falling over themselves to speak to us. While we were grateful for the media’s role during the search, and for all they had done to try to find Becky, it was a little overwhelming, to say the least. We knew that we would probably want to have our say after the court case had finished, in order to pay a proper tribute to Becky and let the world know what she had really been like, but legally we had to stay silent until then for the sake of a fair trial.
As the trial progressed, the media interest just seemed to grow and grow. Every day, there would be a scrum of photographers waiting outside the court, trying to get a snap of my family and me to use alongside their reports. In most of the pictures I look completely broken, clinging on to Sarah. I know they were only doing their jobs, but it did feel very invasive at times.
On day eight, the trial delved deeper into Nathan and Shauna’s apparent interest in teenage girls. Shaun Groves, a police criminal intelligence officer, took to the stand and read out a series of texts and Facebook messages that he had retrieved during his investigation. Disturbingly, the pair had texted each other about kidnapping a sixteen-year-old girl from a supermarket. The messages began in November, three months before Becky was killed. The thought of it sent a shiver down my spine.
In a conversation on 5 December, Nathan texted Shauna, telling her to bring him back ‘two pretty schoolgirls’.
She replied: ‘LOL yeh I’ll just kidnap them from school.’
Later that day, Shauna texted Nathan again. She wrote: ‘Just went into Costcutter and saw a pretty petite girl. Almost knocked her out to bring home lol xoxo’
A reply from Nathan twenty seconds later read: ‘Don’t you ‘almost’ me … Now DO IT bitch!! xxxxx’
She replied: ‘Yeah I’ll just go back in time to when I saw her then time travel her to our attic LOL xoxo’
Hearing the messages being read out made me feel sick to my stomach. Just a few months before they attacked Becky, they were texting each other, joking about kidnapping another sixteen-year-old girl. My overriding feeling was profound shock. I had thought these people were my family, but I realised that I didn’t know them at all, and possibly never had.
I went home that night and spent the weekend trying to take in all the things I had heard in court, but it was difficult. I spent most of the time in my own world, detached from reality, as I tried to come to terms with who Nathan and Shauna really were. Anjie shook her head in disbelief when we relayed the information to her.
‘Who the hell are they?’ she muttered when I told her about the messages. ‘Who have we been letting in our house?’
My heart went out to her. Becky was a typical teenager and may not have been perfect, but she rarely hid anything from us and we knew her character well. As far as Anjie was concerned, Nathan, the boy she had brought up, was like a stranger.
The following week, from 19 October, was equally hard, as we listened to a forensic scientist explain how Becky’s blood was discovered on the upstairs doorframes in our home. Claire Morse also told the jury that there was a match for Shauna’s DNA on one of two facemasks found in one of the suitcases, as well as traces of make-up. Nathan’s DNA was found on both masks. Shauna’s DNA was also discovered on a bin bag and on a T-shirt found at the same time.
William then called a friend of Shauna and Nathan’s to the stand, who was not named in court. She said that she thought Nathan was controlling of Shauna and didn’t like her going out without him. She said that he could be a paranoid person, who got jealous of Shauna speaking to other men. She added that he had told her that he ‘hated Becky’, labelling her as spoilt and selfish.
Another difficult moment came when the jury were shown a replica of the saw that was used to cut up my beautiful daughter. My heart was in my throat and Sarah squeezed my arm as the saw was plugged into the wall. Everyone in the entire courtroom jolted in fright as it was switched on. The noise was deafening, and I felt sick to my stomach as my mind filled with terrible images of Nathan using it on Becky. I held my head in my hands, and I heard Sarah sob as she pulled away from me to leave the court in order to compose herself.
The following day, the jury was shown a recording of a police interview with Becky’s best friend, Courtney. She also gave evidence via video link. Obviously emotional, Courtney told the officer that Nathan had repeatedly told Becky he would kill her in the years before her death. My jaw dropped and my blood started to boil at that point. Why had Becky decided not to tell me? Had Nathan really managed to persuade her that I couldn’t protect her from him? I was her dad. I would have done anything – anything at all – to keep her safe if I had known.
During the interview, Courtney said to a police officer: ‘Becky’s told me a few times, like this has happened on a number of occasions, that Nathan would graphically describe – this is her exact words – how he would kill her. He’d describe it in detail, and she mentioned it a few times, like it was troubling her, the fact that he said it. She did seem a bit scared of him.’
I was proud of the way Becky’s friends were willing to play their part in the trial. Giving evidence as part of a police investigation or trial is nerve-racking enough for an adult, let alone a teenager. Adam also gave evidence to the court, and Luke gave a written statement, which stated that Becky had texted him saying ‘I love you so much’ at 3.52 a.m., just hours before she w
as murdered. My heart went out to him. He had obviously been besotted with her and had been suffering badly since her death. He also wrote that when he came around to the house later on the day Becky was killed, Shauna had answered the door and acted as though nothing had happened.
Anjie’s mum, Margaret, came to testify on the same day as the jury heard Courtney’s evidence. She said that she believed Nathan’s mental health had deteriorated noticeably in the two years before Becky’s death. Margaret also said that Nathan’s dislike of Becky had started about a year or eighteen months before and was at its worst during the period before Becky was killed. She claimed it began around the same time that he started getting more paranoid and hoarding junk he found in the street, so that their house was full from floor to ceiling of broken fridges, washing machines and all kinds of stuff. He planned to fix it up then sell it, but never got around to it. She finished by saying that she had never seen Nathan act violently towards Shauna, and that in many ways she was the dominant one in the couple.
‘She very often told him what to do,’ she said, looking across at the jury. ‘She seemed quite dominant in the way she spoke to him.’
I hoped that the jury would believe her. She knew Nathan as well as anyone, since he had lived with her during the week as a child, and she had often seen Nathan and Shauna together.
Before we left, we were told that, the following day, the court was going to hear Nathan’s prepared statement in which he would admit to killing Becky. Although we had heard his account through the prosecution, we had never heard his statement in full. I dreaded hearing what he had to say for himself, but at the same time I couldn’t wait, because I had to know. I only hoped I would be able to keep my anger in check.
Chapter 14
The trial continues
On 20 October, in the third week of the trial, I tried to prepare myself for hearing Nathan and Shauna’s side of the story. I arrived at the court with Sam and Sarah, and we were once again briefed by William Mousely on what we were about to hear.
‘Today, we’ll be reading out Nathan’s prepared statement in full,’ he told us before we went into the courtroom. ‘That’s where he makes his confession.’
My stomach twisted into a tight knot and I swallowed hard. Although I knew the gist of what Nathan had said in his confession, I couldn’t help feeling nervous about what we were about to hear, and how I would react. We decided that Sam would sit near me on the days when Nathan was in the dock, or when we were going to hear any of his statements or recorded interviews. I knew that hearing him try to justify why he killed my daughter would make my head spin, and I needed somebody strong next to me to keep me under control. Sarah sat on my other side as usual, holding my hand.
A detective who interviewed Nathan when he was first arrested told the court that he had described himself as being ‘emotionally unstable’ and ‘psychologically disturbed’. Two days later, after the police had found his bloody fingerprint on Becky’s doorframe, a pre-prepared statement was read out to officers by his solicitor, confessing to the crime in full.
It read:
I, Nathan Charles Matthews, accept that I am responsible for the death of Rebecca Watts. On 19 February 2015 I attended 18 Crown Hill, St George, Bristol, with my girlfriend Shauna Hoare. Eighteen Crown Hill is where my mother lives with Darren Galsworthy; Rebecca Watts also lived there.
Shauna is my mother’s registered carer so we regularly go to the house to help with housework and other help my mother needs. Although we usually went there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we did also go there on other days.
On Thursday, 19 February, part of the reason for going round was to return a tin to my grandmother. My grandmother was due to take my mother to a medical appointment and bring her back.
In my car I had a large bag, a stun device, handcuffs, tape and a mask. I had developed an idea to scare Rebecca by kidnapping her. I wanted to kidnap her to scare her and teach her a lesson. I believe that she was selfish and her behaviour towards my mother was a risk to her health.
When we got to 18 Crown Hill we let ourselves in with a key my mother had left in the recycling box. Upon entering the property we all went to the front room. A few minutes after arriving, Shauna said she wanted a cigarette and went into the garden.
When she was in the garden I went to the boot of my car and took out a bag which contained the other items. I took everything upstairs to the landing. I think I then took the items out of the bag before knocking on Rebecca’s door.
She replied: ‘What?’ or ‘Hello’, and I said, ‘Can I see you a minute?’ or similar words.
Rebecca then opened the door. I am wearing the mask. I cannot be sure in which order things happened immediately after she came to the door, but I used the items I had to subdue Rebecca.
During a short struggle my mask slipped and Rebecca was able to see my face. This caused me to panic, and I strangled her while she was partially in the bag.
I collected the items I had used, put them and Rebecca into the bag and zipped up the bag. I also took her phone, tablet and laptop, together with shoes, some clothes and a duvet cover from the spare room in a separate bag. I took everything downstairs and put it into the boot of my car.
Back in the house, I waited to hear Shauna then slammed the front door shut. Before going into the front room I checked that Shauna was not in that room.
The rest of the day at the house goes as it would normally, if we were there. We leave about 7 p.m., probably a little after 7 p.m. We returned to 14 Cotton Mill Lane. I go and lie on our bed, which is what I would normally do. The rest of the evening passed as usual but I cannot remember exactly what we did. After Shauna went to bed and to sleep, I waited a while and went out to the car and brought the bags into the house.
The following day we went back round to 18 Crown Hill, and I tried to behave as normal as I could. When we returned back to 14 Cotton Mill Lane, I again waited for Shauna to go to sleep, and this time I collected the bag with Rebecca’s body and took it to the bathroom.
I took the body out of the bag and placed it in the bath. In order to stop Shauna using the bathroom the following morning, I poured drain cleaner down the toilet so I could tell Shauna it was blocked again. The toilet would often get blocked, and when that happened I knew Shauna would not go into the bathroom. I also locked the door.
My memory of the days that followed is not perfect so I’m not sure which day I returned to 14 Cotton Mill Lane, having left Shauna at my mother’s, but I think it was the Saturday.
When I got back to 14 Cotton Mill Lane I tried to dispose of the body by cutting it up with a circular saw. Initially, I wrapped up the body parts and took them back downstairs and hid them, I’m not sure how many days later, but on another day I took the body, the saw, and other items to 9 Barton Court, Barton Hill, and placed them in the garden shed.
I took them to this address with two other people. I did not tell them what was in the bags and the box, and said I would collect them in a few days. Both of the people are men, but I do not want to name them.
I have chosen to give my account by means of a written statement because I believe I have mental health and learning difficulties that make it difficult for me to say it out loud. Also, I find it difficult to express the detail in this account in spoken words.
I would like to add that my denials to date have been motivated in part by a wish to avoid the pain and disappointment these admissions would cause to my partner and family.
Shauna did not know anything about my causing the death of Rebecca or my attempt to dispose of and hide the body. Had she known, she would have reported me to the police.
Apart from this statement, I will exercise my right to silence.
In a sick twist, Nathan told officers during the interview that he had hatched the plan in order to make Becky ‘more appreciative of life’. I couldn’t figure out if he was trying to be ironic or whether he was just really stupid.
William then read out ext
racts from Nathan’s interviews with police.
‘I came up with the plan to scare her,’ William read out slowly, his eyes fixed on Nathan, who was sitting in the dock. ‘She would leave things out for my mum to trip over on the floor and talk to her like dirt. I thought if I was able to scare her, and she would not be harmed when she got back, she would have been scared and more appreciative of things.
‘I would have stuck her in a suitcase. I would have put tape around her mouth so she would not make a noise. Then I was thinking of a wooded area or whatever to take her back out – obviously I’d still have the mask on – scare her and say something along the lines of, “You have got to start treating people better, not being a bitch and self-centered,” and make a threat that this could happen again, or worse.’
William paused for a second after reading the extracts, and he looked over at the jury.
‘That’s all the prosecution has prepared for today,’ he finished, and the court was adjourned.
As we got up to leave, I was shaking with anger. Sarah held my hand tightly as we made our way out, and when I looked over at Sam he was staring straight ahead, stony-faced.
‘He’s a complete coward,’ I spat out, the second we spilled onto the pavement outside. ‘He’s a psychopathic monster, and a coward. He knew I’d come for him if he ever kidnapped or did anything to her. He was always going to kill her, it’s absolute bullshit.’
Sarah nodded as she lit a cigarette. I noticed that her hands were shaking too.
We went for a drink in a nearby pub before heading home. Once I got in, I cooked tea and sorted myself out for the following day. As I went through my usual routine, I felt empty inside. My movements were slow and my whole body felt heavy as lead. The court case was starting to take its toll on me, and Anjie noticed.
‘I’ll come with you tomorrow,’ she volunteered.
‘You don’t have to do that, love,’ I replied, squeezing her hand. ‘I know how difficult all this is for you.’
Becky Page 19