“Premeditated murder, carefully planned and, in my judgment, ruthlessly carried out” – Judge at sentencing

Man who beat teen to death over threats he’d go public with their sexual relationship, jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years

Matthew Mason, now 20, was an 18-year-old college engineering major in the UK when he killed 15-year-old Alex Rodda

Mason bludgeoned the teen to death with a wrench on Dec. 12, 2019 in Cheshire, a county in northwest England

A month before he was murdered, Rodda contacted Mason’s girlfriend, to tell her that her boyfriend was sending him “flirty” messages, as well as an explicit photo and video

Mason denied the allegations to his girlfriend but began making payments to Alex’s bank account shortly afterwards, about $3,020 by the time of the school boy’s death

Mason who struck the victim at least 15 times before going to meet friends at a nearby pub

Admitting tto striking his victim, Mason denied it was murder, claiming he’d lost control in the wake of the blackmail

A U.K. man who brutally killed a 15-year-old boy in an attempt to stop him from making their sexual relationship public has been jailed for life.
Matthew Mason, 20, beat 15-year-old Alex Rodda to death because youngster threatened to reveal their sexual relationship
Mason admitted to striking Rodda with a wrench in 2019 after paying him more than $3,020 [£2,200 pounds] over a three-week period.
According to The Independent, Mason, a 20-year-old college student, bludgeoned the teen to death on Dec. 12, 2019 in Cheshire, a county in northwest England about 30 miles south of Liverpool.
Though he struck the teen at least 15 times before going to meet friends at a nearby pub, Mason denied having murdered Rodda. He claimed that he lost control after he was blackmailed by Rodda, who threatened to reveal their relationship.
At trial earlier this month, a jury rejected his claims and found him guilty of murder.
During his sentencing on Monday, Judge Steven Everett who sentenced the defendant to life sentence in prison with a minimum of 28 years, told Mason: “You were hoping you would kill him and hide his body to make it look as if he simply decided to disappear,” the judge said, while reminding him that he was “much more worldly wise” than the teen, who seemed immature for his age.
Judge Everett described the crime as a “premeditated murder, carefully planned and, in my judgment, ruthlessly carried out.”
The two had known each other for a few months, and had “enjoyed an intimate sexual relationship,” the court heard during the trial.
About a month before he was murdered, Rodda contacted Mason’s girlfriend, Caitlyn Lancashire, in November 2019, to tell her that her boyfriend was sending him “flirty” messages, as well as an explicit photo and video.

Mason, an agricultural engineer student, denied the allegations to his girlfriend but began making payments to Alex’s bank account shortly afterwards.
By the time of the school boy’s death, Mason had transferred more than £2,200 and was asking friends and family to lend him money.
Messages exchanged between the pair showed Alex appearing to threaten to post intimate pictures sent by Mason onto social media.
Mason returned to the crime scene later that December night and attempted to move the body but left it exposed wher ot was found by refuse workers the next day.

The then 18-year-old Mason was arrested shortly afterwards. When police stopped him in his car, he had dried blood on his hands and fingers.
A trash bag with his blood-stained green fleece, the wrench and Alex’s large padded jacket was found in the trunk of his car.
In his testimony, the defendant admitted they had sex but said he thought that it was “wrong”.
“Although I accept Alex Rodda may very well have initiated contact with you in the latter half of 2019, I am sure that you not only responded but actively encouraged a sexual relationship. You groomed him. It was not your first sexual experience but it was his,” the judge said during sentencing.
“While it is clear that Alex Rodda naively, as I see it, demanded money from you, it must be firmly kept in mind that this all came about because of your sexual offending and you chose to behave in that way,” he added.
Everett said that Mason had made a “firm and clear decision to kill” the teen in December 2019.
“This was not something on the spur of the moment,” he added. “You went about it with a ruthlessness which utterly beggars belief for any person, let alone someone in their teens.”