Shea Peter Heeley jailed for 'brutal' murder of Leonne Weeks in Rotherham

A teenager who told staff at a secure mental hospital that he "liked killing" has been jailed for the "brutally violent" murder of 16-year-old Leonne Weeks.

Shea Peter Heeley, 19, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 24-and-a-half years on Monday, for a killing Sheffield Crown Court heard he carried out "for no reason at all".

The then 18-year-old lured Leonne to a secluded spot near Lordens Hill in the Dinnington area of Rotherham in January last year and stabbed her 28 times.

Judge Paul Watson QC said the two had become friends about a year before and had been at a party together two days before her death on 15 January, 2017.

Following his arrest, Heeley, who pleaded guilty to murder last month, said he always knew he would kill someone and later told staff at a secure mental hospital that he had enjoyed it.

He said: "I like that I have done it, I just do. I like killing. Knowing I have killed someone satisfied me.

"I'll go to prison or hospital, but probably prison. If that's what it takes to stop me killing people, that's where I need to go."

A member of the public discovered the body, with a post-mortem examination finding that Leonne had died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

In sentencing, Judge Watson said it was a "pre-planned, brutal and pitiless killing of an innocent young girl who had her whole life ahead of her".

The court heard how he had grabbed Leonne by the throat before stabbing her, and that he "heard voices telling him to kill her and had demons inside him".

Heeley, who said he was "cheered up" by thinking about killing and "hitting people on the head with hammers", had not been diagnosed with a mental illness but may have an emerging personality disorder, the court heard.

Leonne's family have paid tribute to their "beautiful and amazing daughter", with father Darran Weeks describing her as "full of life and loved by everyone around her".

He continued: "She was taken away from me by the evil act of a cold-hearted killer. This destroyed me. As a father I wasn't there to protect my daughter and I felt helpless.

"As a dad, I never expected to bury my daughter and this was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."

Her mother, Paula Appley, added: "My whole family has fallen apart. Both Levi, Leonne's twin, and Millie her little sister are struggling, unable to lead a normal life.

"No amount of time her murderer spends in prison will bring her back. We will all have to live with our loss for the rest of our lives."