Paige Chivers' Killer Jailed For 33 Years

A "devious" paedophile who groomed and murdered a 15-year-old girl has been jailed for a minimum of 33 years.

Robert Ewing exploited Paige Chivers, from Blackpool, for sex and then killed her when she threatened to go to the police. Her body has still not been found, nearly eight years after she went missing.

The 60-year-old was convicted of her murder earlier this month by a jury which had not been told that Ewing had previous convictions for child sex offences.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker told Ewing he had carried out a "carefully planned and executed murder" to avoid the prospect of returning to jail, and sentenced him to life with a minimum term of 33 years.

The judge said that Paige's life was "in turmoil" in the summer of 2007 after her mother died and her late father's addiction to alcohol became worse and she was effectively abandoned.

The court heard she was "sexually promiscuous" and an "easy target".

Ewing's flat nearby was described as "something of a magnet" for young girls because he allowed them to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs.

The judge said: "There came a point when Paige Chivers realised that she could manipulate the situation to her advantage and threatened to report you to the authorities ... the last thing you wanted to occur was for the public authorities to be acquainted with what you had been doing."

The judge said Ewing had been heard in a covert police recording saying: "You don't mess with me. Quick hammer over the f****** head, then they will be sorry."

Three small spots of Paige's blood were found by police in inner hallway of Ewing's flat after his extensive clean-up operation.

A proof of life inquiry followed her disappearance but found no evidence that Paige was alive.

The court heard that Ewing murdered her between 23 August and 27 August and then enlisted his friend, Gareth Dewhurst, 46, to use his car to dispose of the body.

Dewhurt was jailed for seven years for assisting an offender.

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