Stephen Nicholson, a 25-year-old lodger living in the family home of 13-year-old Lucy McHugh, exploited her vulnerability to satisfy his depraved desires, leading to a series of sexual offences that culminated in her brutal murder. The case, which unfolded in Southampton, Hampshire, came to light following Lucy's discovery stabbed to death in woodland at the Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre on 25 July 2018. Nicholson was arrested and tried at Winchester Crown Court, where he was found guilty of murder and three counts of rape against Lucy, as well as sexual activity with another underage girl.
The prosecution detailed how Nicholson first raped Lucy in May 2017 when she was just 12 years old, while he resided at her mother's home after being invited by the family's long-time friend, Richard Elmes, who was the partner of Lucy's mother, Stacey White. Over the following week, he raped her on two additional occasions. Jurors heard that Nicholson cynically exploited Lucy's schoolgirl crush on him, grooming her into a false relationship where she referred to him as her 'boyfriend' to friends. Mrs Justice May, presiding over the trial, described Lucy as 'vulnerable, easy prey to someone satisfying his own appetites' and labelled Nicholson 'utterly selfish and depraved'.
As Lucy grew aware of the abuse, she posed a threat to Nicholson's comfortable life. Fearing exposure as a paedophile, especially after teachers raised concerns with social services—investigations that shockingly found no issues—Nicholson decided to silence her. The night before the murder, Lucy messaged him claiming she was pregnant, a claim later proven false. He lured her to the woodland, where he executed her in a pitiless attack, stabbing her 27 times, including 11 wounds to the neck. Prosecutor William Mousley QC described it as an 'execution-style' murder, a characterisation endorsed by the judge, who noted Nicholson's 'cold narcissism and hot anger' drove the killing.
Evidence linking Nicholson to the crime included DNA from discarded clothing found a mile from the scene, as well as deleted Facebook messages recovered after he initially refused to provide his password to Hampshire Constabulary. The trial also revealed Nicholson's prior criminal history: at age 14 in 2009, he took staff and residents of a Southampton children's home hostage under the influence of amphetamines, threatening them with a knife, locking them in a room, stealing £1,000, and fleeing in a staff car. He was later convicted of affray and damaging property at a young offenders' centre. In 2012, he was convicted of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, whom he took to the same woodland where Lucy was later murdered. Despite this, Nicholson was released from prison that year and participated in a music rehabilitation project, rapping about turning his life around in a video.
During sentencing on 19 July 2019, Mrs Justice May imposed a life sentence on Nicholson for the murder, ordering him to serve a minimum of 33 years. She highlighted the 'months of sexual exploitation' preceding the 'cruelly obliterated' promise of Lucy's young life, calling the attack an execution. Victim impact statements from Lucy's parents were read in court, underscoring the family's devastation. Southampton City Council faced criticism for its social services' failure to act on reports, with an ongoing serious case review expected to conclude by year's end. Defence barrister James Newton-Price QC cited Nicholson's difficult upbringing, having been placed in care from age 13, but the court remained unmoved by these mitigations.
This case, reported extensively by BBC News, underscores systemic failures in child protection and the predatory nature of Nicholson's crimes, as evidenced by court records from Winchester Crown Court and statements from Hampshire Constabulary.