Fatherly Uncle Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter Of Teenage Niece Whose Body Was Found In Woods

A 30-year-old man has accepted a manslaughter charge for the death of his 16-year-old niece in Hampshire, southeast of England.

Shane Mays has been accused of killing his niece, Louise Smith, who was staying with him and his wife. Although he denied murdering the teen, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared at Winchester Crown Court, U.K.

The prosecutor said that the plea was not acceptable and Mays was scheduled for trial on Tuesday, reported BBC.

Smith went missing from Leigh Park, Hampshire on May 8. CJ Mays, her aunt whom she was living with, reported her disappearance later that afternoon. Smith’s burned body was found 13 days later in the nearby woods after an extensive search by experts.

Smith had been living with her uncle and aunt at their home since April. The court was told that she had mentioned in a message that she wanted to call them her parents, reported Derbyshire Live.

She moved in with them after fighting with her mother Rebecca Cooper. The two reportedly quarreled because Smith wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend. The court was told that she was a vulnerable teenager with anxiety issues and that she had been taking anti-depressants.

When arrested on suspicion, Mays initially told the police that he had no involvement with her murder. He also told the police that he had taken Smith to a skatepark in Emsworth, Hampshire.

Andrew Langdon QC, who was defending Mays, said that by his plea of manslaughter, Mays was accepting that he had attacked the victim on May 8 after having walked her to Havant Thicket, where her body had been recovered by police. Mays was also accepting that he had lost control of his temper during an argument with Smith and attacked her, reported The News.

"He repeatedly punched her and he accepts that his attack on her would have caused or contributed to her subsequent death," Langdon added. However, he said that Mays had no intention of killing or causing Smith serious injury.

Meanwhile, Smith's boyfriend told the police that the victim had accused Mays of flirting with her. The court was also shown a Snapchat video showing Smith being tickled by Mays.

The court heard that Mays killed her "in a cruel and brutal manner with sexual motive." A forensic scientist's report found that the bloodstains on Mays' trainer matched that of Smith's and that her body had been subjected to extreme violence including rape. Indications of repeated and heavy blows on her head were also found.

"The bones and the structure of her face had been shattered. Her jaw bone was completely detached from the skull." James Newton-Price, the prosecutor, told the court.