Man admits rape and murder of Kayleigh Haywood, 15

A MAN has pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a 15-year-old whose body was discovered five days after she went missing.

Kayleigh Haywood, from Measham in Leicestershire, disappeared on November 13 after being dropped off outside Ibstock Community College.

Police discovered her body near Sence Valley Forest Park on the evening of November 18 after officers were drafted in from across the region to help with the search.

She was found in undergrowth near a lake. 

Appearing via video-link at Leicester Crown Court, Stephen Beadman, of George Avenue, Ibstock, admitted the murder and rape of the teenager.

Beadman, 29, a landscape gardener, has denied one charge of false imprisonment.

ADMISSION: Stephen Beadman admits murdering Kayleigh Haywood

MURDERER: Stephen Beardman admits killing and raping the teenager

A second defendant, 27-year-old Luke Harlow, also of George Avenue, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual grooming and two counts of sexual activity with Kayleigh.

He also denies a charge of false imprisonment.

Both men are to stand trial at Nottingham Crown Court on June 8.

TRAGEDY: Kayleigh Hayood's family have been left devastated

The death of the youngster, from Measham, shocked the small community which had clung on to the hope that she would turn up alive.

In a statement made after her body was found, Kayleigh’s family said: "We are heartbroken, grief stricken and as a family utterly devastated.

"We cannot even begin to thank the local communities and wider public for their messages of support which have helped us through the last week.

"We are also grateful for the publicity the media have given to Kayleigh’s disappearance and the desperate search to find her."

HORRO: Police can be seen removing Kayleigh's body from farmland and lake area near Ibstock

At the time of her disappearance, her family also thanked the public for their support and the media for the attention given to Kayleigh's disappearance.

Many people in the local area helped Kayleigh's family and the police in the search to find her.

Kayleigh’s body was discovered in a field a few hundred yards from where she was last seen.

She disappeared after being dropped off outside Ibstock Community College, Leicestershire, by her parents last November.