All language subtitles for Murder.Games.The.Life.and.Death.of.Breck.Bednar.2016.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-Kitsune

A teenager who
stabbed to death

a 14-year-old boy he met while
playing online video games--

Lewis Dane stabbed Breck
Bednar after grooming him

via internet--

Befriended Breck
Bednar online--

NEWS REPORTER 1:
Then groomed him--

NEWS REPORTER 2:
Grooming him online.

FEMALE NEWS REPORTER:
--of other adolescents

before luring him to his death.

NARRATOR: On the 17
of February, 2014,

Surrey schoolboy Breck Bednar
was lured to his death.

I am thankful for
this Thanksgiving meal,

because it is definitely
the best that I've ever had.

NARRATOR: 14-year-old
Breck was a talented gamer.

He'd been groomed online
for nearly a year by someone

he thought was his best friend.

NEWS REPORTER:
Lewis Dane stabbed

Breck Bednar at his flat in
Grays, after grooming him

via internet--

Breck would have never
thought he was being groomed.

He just thought that they
hit it off as friends.

Why Breck?

There was a group of six.

Why was Breck the
one who fell for it?

You know, I sometimes
think, it's like,

Breck, why did you do this?

You know, come on.

For the first time, five
of Breck's closest friends

have agreed to speak
about what went so wrong

within their gaming group.

Anything you [inaudible]
feel comfortable

with just has to stop.

These campaigns in school
we see, like over time,

like stranger danger.

But it wasn't
really like anything

you see at school before.

We all sort of fell
into it, into the trap.

NARRATOR: Told through real
life testimony and drama,

this is the story of how an
innocent gamer became victim

of cold blooded
murder, and what led

a teenager from Essex to kill
someone he had never met.

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE PHONE):
And who am I speaking to?

My name is Lewis Daynes.

I'm 18 years old.

Hi, Brecky.

We put up our Christmas
tree at home, sweetie.

We needed you to do lights.

It was a bit of a disaster.

NARRATOR: This will be
Lauren's first Christmas

without her eldest son, Breck.

I miss you so
much, sweetheart.

It's hard for Mommy to have
fun in the holidays or any time

without you.

Breck was killed on
our mum's birthday.

Just one day, out of the blue,
he just went on a sleep over

and never came back.

That's Breck.

There's me, Carly, and Chloe.

NARRATOR: The story of what
happened to their older brother

would send shock waves
through the gaming community.

One morning in February 2014,
without telling anybody,

14-year-old Breck
got into a taxi

to travel 30 miles to Essex.

He was never seen alive again.

In this photo it captures
what he loves in one photo.

You know, he's on the
computer and he's smiling.

I remember him being joyous
and always laughing and happy.

Me and Breck all had
the same interests.

We sat next to
each other in form.

As well.

We had the same sense
of humor, I guess.

I wouldn't say immaturity, but
I'd say pretty close to it.

It's just sort of making
jokes out of everything

and laughing all the time.

I'm doing maths,
physics, history,

and I haven't decided
on what else I'll take.

Breck was a star student.

He was doing triple
science, further maths,

he was top set for everything.

Really nice person, Breck.

Yeah, he got on with everyone.

NARRATOR: Every day after
school, like thousands

of other teenagers across the
country, Breck and his friends

would go home to meet up in
their virtual world on the best

gaming server they'd
ever come across.

I first met Breck
because I invited

some other boys onto the server
who were friends with Breck.

And they, in turn,
invited Breck on.

I think at first we
met through Minecraft.

Liam [inaudible] me
they were on this server

and it would be cool
if I joined them.

Breck introduced me to server.

Yeah, we were all good friends.

Good fun for everyone.

Get on when we got home,
just sort of start talking.

GAMER: Hello.

All right, I'm joining now.

What are you guys playing?

Probably have your mates over.

I guess?

What are you guys up to?

GAMER: I'm already
playing [inaudible]..

Oh, isn't that just brilliant.

Can I join?

GAMER: Yeah, sure.

Who's on the
channel at the moment?

I first saw
TeamSpeak, I thought

it was the coolest
thing I'd ever seen.

Breck was so proud to show
me this is how it works,

this is what it does.

And having all those friends of
him speaking to him real time,

and they were sharing video
clips and playing games,

and it was like they were in a
clubhouse, a virtual clubhouse.

I just want to hang
on the [inaudible] rock.

Come on.

Yeah, I'm going to hit you.

Why?

[inaudible]

I think at the time, we
majorly played Battlefield 3.

I know it was a
favorite with Breck.

I guess it's boys and
guns, something like that.

Breck was probably
the best shooter.

It's just a way to--

it was just a way
to escape, really.

It was quite exciting.

[inaudible]

And you could sort
of like, smuggle drugs,

or like, be a police officer.

If we felt like it,
just become a crook

or cop and just abuse the law.

Set you on a
flaming torch, whoa!

This sort of exciting
criminal world, and then like,

log off and have fish
fingers and chips for tea.

NARRATOR: The owner of
their favorite server

was someone none of
the boys had ever met,

17-year-old computer
whiz, Lewis Daynes.

Made it quite clear
that he owned the server

and ran things, but there was
no like, formal introduction

or anything.

It was just, hi, I'm Lewis.

Lewis was very inviting.

He allowed everyone on.
There wasn't a password.

Breck?

So whereabouts are you?

I'm at the Tara, sniping.
OK, watch out.

[interposing voices]

[gun shots]

They're on the left,
left, look up left.

OK, come on.
I'll cover you.

I'll cover you.

LEWIS: So I'm getting shot at.

[inaudible] quicker then.

LEWIS: Cover me.

I am, I am.

Get down.

Get down.

Someone behind you.

He was a few
years older than us,

so he was like, the mature one
that everyone looked up to.

We were only 13, 14.

[scream]

[laughter]

Too easy, too easy.

He seemed to have
quite a lot more

experience in life and computers
and stuff than any of us.

We were sort of really in awe
of his like, technical ability.

He could just do
anything on the computer.

Me and Breck, we
really liked coding,

and he would encourage us
to sort of code and stuff

like that.
- Oh, shit.

Cover me, cover me,
cover me, cover me.

Too many people.

LEWIS: Can you get
down [inaudible]

No, no, no, I can't.

One, two-- yes!

Right through the eyes.

You could always hear
before you could see,

and even though he had
his big deep voice,

he'd be giggling away,
teenage fun and games.

Breck would spend
all of his money,

his birthday money,
his Christmas

money, on his computer stuff.

And he had three big screens.

There was always
something going on.

The center usually
was the gaming screen,

and the right was
more interactive

and things would pop up.

On the left was sort
of his message screen.

Right there where
I saw the avatar

of Daynes who wasn't Daynes.

GAMER: How was your day?

LIAM: It was good.

We got to see "The Mad
Max" in the cinema,

and we were the
only two in there.

It was empty.

Oh my god.

I think some of his friends
were probably there just

to play the games, but
Breck was very in tune

with the technology
that was going on.

Lewis Daynes was
somebody that had skills

or wherewithal to teach
Breck something new about it,

and he was learning.

BRECK'S FATHER: Hey, Breck.

Hey, Breck.

[inaudible]

As a child, he
was always attracted

to machines and electronics.

Two, one--

BARRY BEDNAR: One of our big
bonds, we would build models.

We would build rockets.

And when he was like
three years old,

they called him a
boy genius because he

was always fixing things.

And as he got older,
he kind of transferred

those talents to computing.

He was able to fix and modify
and make things happen.

And that was one of his
big passions in life

was doing that.

When Breck first got
his computer, he built it.

He bought all the PCUs and
graphics cards and motherboards

and stuff like that so that he
could get the exact computer

that he wanted.

Breck really looked
up to Lewis as a mentor,

because of Lewis being more
knowledgeable about computers.

He just wanted to soak in every
sort of ounce of information

that would help
him in his career.

NARRATOR: What Lorin
didn't know was her son

was gaming with a
teenager who spent

his days prowling the internet,
looking for young gamers

to befriend.

LEWIS: Yeah, is anybody here?

NARRATOR: In Breck,
Lewis Daynes quickly

detected someone
he could impress

with his computer skills.

Yeah, this server is the
quickest one I've ever been on.

It's so fast.

How do, um, how
do you do it all?

I mean, I've run
at optimum level.

And my network,
it's impenetrable.

Boom!

So where are you now?

I'm in New York, Breck.

Wait, are you in New York now?

LEWIS: Yeah.

I mean, [inaudible]

What, on this?

No, Breck.

I do have a life.

Been testing security
for the US government.

You're a hacker.

I can't say that.

That's all you're getting
from me, I'm afraid.

BRECK: Oh, go on.

No, no, no, [inaudible]
might be picking

up these communications online.

By day I run the computer
technology company.

No way.

I'm also a computer engineer.

Are you serious?

Yeah, totally serious.

That's like my dream job.

NARRATOR: While Lewis claimed to
be running a computer company,

he was really unemployed,
living alone in a flat in Essex,

spinning a web of lies.

At the time he was part
of a million dollar company.

Made over two
quid in Bitcoins.

He told me he'd made
about two million pounds

off of this virtual currency.

That's what he said,
and I believed him.

BRECK: 2 million?
- Mhm.

BRECK: Really?

Yeah, and I gave
most of it away.

It was was quite,
you know, like, wow.

As a computer engineer done
work for the government there.

He was very private about
his job and what he did.

He sort of kept this
character of sort of mystery.

Can't say it but it's top
secret government stuff.

You know, need to know basis.

BRECK: Go on.

No, Breck, that's all
you're getting from me.

He had his own apartment,
a [inaudible] rich,

independent, job in computing,
traveling around the world.

Everything that Lewis
was saying was sort

of Breck's ideal lifestyle.

If you got any technical
issues, just give me a shout.

I'll give you a hand.
BRECK: Yeah, definitely.

Nice on.

When I would go into
the room, Breck would

sometimes say, my mom's here.

Mum's here, anyway, now.

The other boys
would just go quiet,

but Lewis was very confident
and would say, oh, hey, mom.

How you doing?

And I'd ask him, what
have you been doing?

You know, what have you been--

what do you like about New York?

New York's great.

I mean, I haven't
been doing much.

Just working.

I'd say, why aren't you
out with a girlfriend?

Or why aren't you
out with a friend?

Oh, I'm just
staying in tonight.

A lot of times his
answers would be vague.

I thought, why is a 17
going on 18-year-old

hanging out with
14-year-old boys

Friday and Saturday
nights online?

And I thought, you know, what is
sort of wrong with this person,

that he's not
actually interacting

with people his own age?

It seemed unusual, and it
did put sort of little niggle

of worry in my mind.

NARRATOR: Breck had only been
part of Lewis's gaming group

for a few months, but
some of the older boys

were becoming suspicious.

I'd talked to Lewis then for
about a year and a half, which

is quite a long time
to go without actually

meeting this person.

Everyone else was pretty
open out their appearance.

We had pretty much
everyone on Facebook.

We'd all connect
through social media.

Lewis didn't have any
social networking,

would share his face.

So we had no idea
what he looked like.

I had Breck around for a
sleep over, Skyped Lewis.

Lewis's screen was
almost pitch black.

It was just-- you didn't
really see much of Lewis.

There were no lights on
in the rest of the room.

It was pretty much silhouetted.

I thought it was a
little bit weird.

I didn't really expect
him to sort of skulk away

in the shadows,
because, you know,

he sounded like he'd live
this glamorous lifestyle,

and you think he'd be
a bit more confident.

NARRATOR: Lewis had
every reason to hide.

He'd already built
up a large network

of young gamers in an
attempt to groom one of them.

Breck, with his passion
for computer programming,

was becoming a promising target.

BRECK: Shoot him in the face!
- I'm trying, Breck.

I'm trying, I'm trying, .

Burn this place to shit.

BRECK: I've been
meaning to ask you--

LEWIS: Mhm?

I want to try out
a mod, and I was

wondering if you could,
like, chalk up a server

so we could try it out.

Oh, yeah.

I've just got this
server in Germany.

- Oh, really?
- Hm.

I mean, I'm kind of using
it for work, testing things.

How much space do you need?

Uh, like 60 gig,
but obviously,

it has to be really fast.

LEWIS: Of course it's fast.

It's mine, Breck.

What's the mod?

BRECK: It's just some graphical
mod I've been working on.

LEWIS: Oh yeah, forgot you
were a bit of a smart ass.

Well, hardly managing my own
multimillion pound company yet,

but--

LEWIS: You want to start
thinking about it, Breck.

Yeah, right.

I'm 14.

So?

I was hacking my
schools internet at 14.

Lewis sort of gave
him this confidence.

You're a bright guy.

You're really intelligent.

You're good at computing--

just played into everything
Breck wanted to hear.

You've got a very bright
future ahead of you.

You have so much potential.

Your knowledge of computer
systems is extensive.

Use that, Breck,
to your advantage.

Very intelligent young man.

Listen, Breck.

I need to dash and I've
got [inaudible] to get to.

Thanks.

LEWIS: I'll speak
to you later, yeah?

BRECK: Yeah, cool.

NARRATOR: Since Breck's
murder, his mother, Lorin,

has spoken publicly to raise
awareness of the dangers

of online grooming.

Tweet here from John.

The buck stops with parents.

What would you say to
that point by John?

I thought Breck was
safe in his bedroom

where I could hear what he was
saying, see what he was doing,

but I didn't realize,
you know, until too late

how dangerous it was.

Lewis wanted Breck
24/7 on that computer.

Well, if I asked him,
you know, why does

Lewis not have other friends?

Why is he always
available for gaming?

And he'd say, oh, it's because
it's what he likes to do.

Or his friends have
moved away, or--

I didn't feel like
Breck would ever

say, yeah, that is weird, mom.

Breck never said that.

LORIN (ON TV): Breck
would have never

known he was being groomed,
because it's so subtle

and it's not always sexual.

It can sometimes just
be a lot of compliments,

a lot of attention.

Oh, I just thought
of it as he was like,

having fun with his friends.

It didn't seem that dangerous.

It would only seem dangerous
if, like, he didn't know them

and they weren't his friends.

LORIN (ON TV): You know, you
start to trust people online,

but then you have to
think that maybe they

have some underlying motive.

NARRATOR: After
six months, Lewis

was winning Breck's trust.

He now encouraged Breck to speak
to him on a private channel

so his friends couldn't hear
how he was being manipulated.

LEWIS: I think you're making a
stupid mistake, sticking around

with school and university.

Don't limit yourself
with social conventions.

There's a bigger picture
for you here, Breck.

I don't know.

I always just thought
I'd go to uni, I suppose.

LEWIS: Do you actually
buy into that crap, Breck.

BRECK: What, education?

Yeah, Pythagoras, geometry--

what's that about?

What's the point in GCSEs?

You know, what, so you
end up with a certificate

at the end of the three years?

Pathetic And what
about life experience?

Practically-- doing the work.

That's what you need.

I mean, look at me.

I left school at 16, and now
I'm running my own company.

Yeah, yeah, like,
now you mention

it, like Steve Jobs just
left Reed College, didn't he,

to set up Apple?

And then Mark Zuckerberg
dropped out of Harvard

and I look at Facebook.

Exactly.

BRECK: Yeah.

So you know, Breck, you could
follow in their footsteps.

Yeah, you understand about
computing and coding,

how it works.

You've got technical aptitude.

You know, it's like your
brain is wired the right way.

BRECK: Do you think so?

Yeah.

Use that, Breck,
to your advantage,

and you'll up with 2
million bitcoins, like me.

2 million-- think of what
you can do with that?

Yeah, and don't get
me started on church.

Who needs that?

There were a lot of
things that he didn't

like about our lifestyle.

He didn't like us reading
mainstream news channels,

because he felt like they were
lying or distorting the truth.

He was definitely
trying to change

perceptions on multiple levels.

He painted himself as quite
a sort of liberal, I guess,

freedom fighter.

[inaudible] them poor sods
in Syria, being bombed to shit.

I'm thinking of going
out there, Breck,

and fighting with
the Syrian rebels.

Wouldn't be the
first time, though.

BRECK: What do you mean?

Well, I went out to
Egypt a few years back,

fought with the Egyptian rebels.

He said he was
going to go to Syria

as an aid worker,
which I thought,

oh, that's quite noble.

You sure you want to do that,
though, because it's supposed

to be really dangerous.

But then the
morning he went out,

it's like, oh, goodbye,
good luck, et cetera.

Then he came back on a
couple of hours later saying,

oh no, the flight's
been canceled.

There was a bomb in Baghdad.

It's like, oh, OK.

NARRATOR: Lewis's lies we're
getting more far fetched.

He was beginning
to lose credibility

with the older boys.

Everything he was saying
wasn't really adding up.

He was a bit sort of fantastical
for reality, quite honestly.

I didn't really believe
that he was in America.

By that point, I was
pretty sure he wasn't who

he was saying he was.

You know nothing.

So often I'd be a bit
rude or a bit sarcastic,

and he didn't like
that very much.

Hey, dude.
You poked?

LEWIS: Yeah, they
were annoying me.

Yeah, what happened to Liam?

LEWIS: Booted him.

That guy annoys me every day.

How come?

LEWIS: Spouting bollocks.

Was just chatting
about school.

LEWIS: Yeah, that
is the bollocks.

It's my server.
I can do what I want.

Lewis, by the end of the day,
was the owner of the server.

So if someone started
annoying him quite a lot,

then he would just
simply restrict

their access by banning them.

This isn't going to carry on.

I won't tell you again.

Shut the fuck up.

They began to
sort of feel like he

was segregating everyone
else from Breck by arguing,

pushing them away.

FRIEND: I mean, we had quite a
few conversations with Breck.

And the conversation
[inaudible] sort of just

involved, we're your
real life friends.

Why are you sort of
focusing more on someone

that you haven't actually met?

FRIEND: I disliked
him, and I didn't

like the way he spoke to us.

And I told him Breck that
getting in with Lewis

was a bad idea, because of
the way that he treated him

and me and everyone.

But I didn't enforce it.

NARRATOR: Lewis now
told another lie

to ensure the Breck would no
longer listen to his friends.

LEWIS: Listen, Breck.

I've got some shit news.

What?

I had them [inaudible].

I tapped into another channel.

I heard them talking
about you, Breck.

What are you talking about?

Your friends, they are--

well, they said they
don't really like you.

Well, in fact, they
said they hate you.

Who said what?

Look OK, um, it was Liam.

BRECK: Liam?

Yeah.

Well, and Matt.

Yeah, Liam and Matt.

Forget about them, Breck.

You don't need them anymore.

They're not going
to help your future.

They're just going to
stop you from doing well.

We've got that bond, Breck,
and that's all that matters--

our friendship.

You don't need them
anymore, Breck.

We tried to say it to,
Breck, like, OK, this guy is

acting really weird.

This is scary.

You guys need to get out.

Lewis joined the server
while we were having a chat,

began counteracting
everything we were saying,

saying that we were
bitchy about Breck to him,

and that we did hate him.

I ended up just saying, oh,
you know what, screw it.

I don't have the effort
or time to argue.

All he did was make
our life really shit.

Around November
time a bunch of us

older guys just decided
that was enough.

So we decided to leave.

And that was the last
time I spoke to Breck.

NARRATOR: Breck stayed
in Lewis's gaming group.

Under Lewis's influence, he'd
given up many of his hobbies,

including air cadets.

I did try and talk
to Breck about why

he started not coming
up, and he just shoved

me off with generic answers.

Oh, yeah, I can't.

I'm busy.

It was literally like
someone had flipped a switch

and he just stops.

The smiling, happy Breck
just wasn't there anymore.

He kept everything to himself
and became much more isolated.

Looking back, that was
probably a sign that something

wasn't quite right.

NARRATOR: Lewis had
been grooming Breck

for eight months, and now
there was only one person

standing in his way.

Breck would have
his headphones on,

and I'd be standing
there with Breck,

saying, Breck, you need to come
and do this couple of things.

And he'd have Daynes
literally in his ear saying,

you don't have to do that.

Don't listen to her.

You don't have to do that.

Don't listen to her.

I had to do
something about it.

So we had this online chat,
and it went back and forth.

I said, why are you trying to
tell me how to raise my son?

And he would say, well, he
doesn't want to go to church.

Why do you make him?

He doesn't believe in God.

It's a waste of time.

And I would say, well,
that's what we do as a family.

And it's one hour a week.

I'm not asking, you know,
for a full time commitment.

And he'd say--

Why are you forcing Breck
to do chores when it's really

the triplets who make the mess?

Well, he shouldn't have
to do any of these chores.

And then he always had a
thing where he would say,

Breck's a good boy.

He doesn't smoke.

He doesn't do drugs.

You know, why can't
you just let him be?

Breck gets good grades.

Well can't you let him be
on the Wi-Fi when he wants?

I just, listen, he's my son.

I care about him.

All of my rules, everything
that we do as a family

is because I love him.

And I wrote, and that's that.

End of story.

And that was it.

That was the absolute
last time that we

had any conversations together.

Dude, are you there?

Hello?

LEWIS: Yeah.

Oh my god, so my mom has
just gone absolutely mad.

She's really panicking.

And like, she's
called my dad in--

Yeah, and she gets off on
making out like I'm some sort

of creepy criminal, Breck.

She's threatening to take away
like all my computer equipment,

and I actually think
she's going to do

it this time because she's
going absolutely mad.

She's manipulative you.

She's controlling you, Breck.

It's abuse.

She might your mum, but
she's a total failure.

It was painfully
obvious that Lewis

Daynes was encouraging Breck
to act out against his mother.

I was horrified, and you know,
I spoke to Breck about it.

He initially said, he's a good
guy and has a great heart.

We challenged that.
You're 14.

You really don't know.

I'm not some stranger, OK?

She's going to isolate you
from you and your friends,

including me.

Is that what you want?

I told Breck, we don't know
this guy, if he's good or bad.

He may be great.

He may be not.

We just don't know, and it's our
job to protect you as parents.

They just want
to meet you, and I

know it's like a
really massive ask,

but is there any way that you
could just come and meet them

so that they'll stop
going on at me like this?

You know I can't do that, OK?

I've got too much
work on at the moment,

too many responsibilities.

He would never do it.

So that was when we
really got concerned.

I just had this
image that he was

a 40-year-old fat
pedophile sitting

behind the computer screen.

So I called the police.

I wanted to know if Daynes
was known to the police.

I passed over Daynes full name.

Breck had told me he was 18.

Breck had told me he was
from Essex, originally.

And I gave as much
information as I could.

I was just told that the
system would be checked.

In our wildest
dreams, we thought maybe

because of these war
games and the fact

he was talking about Syria,
maybe he was radicalizing

these kids for terrorism.

We didn't know.

NARRATOR: Desperate
to persuade Breck

to give up his
friendship with Lewis,

Lorin contacted other parents.

BRECK: She just doesn't
understand any of this.

She's panicking.

She's going to call this
meeting with another point

and his parents to
discuss the situation.

It's like totally ridiculous.

I don't know what I'm
going to with that.

LEWIS: [inaudible]
Breck, your mom shouldn't

be controlling what you do.

Breck, you know
what you need to do?

You need to record that
[inaudible] meeting.

Get it on tape.

BRECK: What do you
mean record it?

Record it.
You're an intelligent lad.

You'll figure it out.

BRECK: Yeah, I guess it
would be kind of funny.

At least then you can see
exactly what she's been

saying to me for this long.

Exactly, Breck.

We'll have a good laugh.

I mean, maybe we could even
send it into the police.

That would sort her out.

Do you want to do
that for me, Breck?

BRECK: Yeah.

Yeah, I will.

Good lad.

NARRATOR: Breck's secret
recording of the meeting

was later found by police.

NARRATOR: Sensing his parents
weren't going to back down,

Breck gave in.

NARRATOR: To make sure
Breck did what he promised,

Lorin took away all
his computer equipment.

Breck was very upset
and quite annoyed at mum

that she was being so mean.

He thought she was
just punishing him.

He didn't realize that she
was trying to save him.

I listened out for his name.

We listen for Lewis, we
listened for a new name,

maybe a new alias.

I listened for his voice,
and the sad thing is is it

all went underground after
I forbade him from speaking.

Christmas 2013 was
a great Christmas.

I remember that the kids
came to my house as well,

and we had all
sorts of presents,

and Breck got a new
hoodie that he wanted.

It was like we had Breck
back because he wasn't

on the computer all
the time, and it was

kind of good to see him there.

I was very happy.

NARRATOR: But after
nine months of

intense psychological
pressure, Lewis wasn't

going to give him up easily.

He secretly couriered
him a phone.

And believing their son was
over his friendship with Lewis,

Breck's parents gave
him his computers back.

This is like the last
picture we have of him.

It was a week before he died.

That was right before
he went to Spain.

His Spanish trip, I
think he really enjoyed it.

He met a girl that he liked,
and to see Breck post a picture

of him and a girl
together, I was a bit,

I thought, oh, that's nice.

So that's good for
him, you know, to have

that for the first time.

I remember picking up
Breck at the airport.

He looked tall.

He looked confident.

And he had a great time.

After we got back,
he asked if he

could go to a friend's house.

I was so happy that he wanted
to go and physically hang

out with one of
his friends instead

of being on the computer
that I said, OK.

And he gave me the name of him.

He said it was Tom,
and he was dead.

And I said, do you
want me to take you?

He says, no, no,
I'll take care of it.

He texted me after
a couple hours

and he said that he would
like to spend the night.

They had pizza.

I'd be really proud of him.

He was going to be working
on some computer stuff,

and they were trying to make
a faster operating system

for something which, sounded--

OK, great.

That's fine.

And I didn't think
anything of it.

I was happy that he was
with one of his friends.

NARRATOR: The next
morning, when Tom

logged onto TeamSpeak,
it became clear

that something was very wrong.

It was the first day of half
term and I was home alone,

and I got up fairly
early because I couldn't

sleep the night before.

Didn't sleep so well.

I went on the computer for
a bit, then Lewis came on.

He said that, you know,
there had been a accident,

that Breck had come
round to Lewis's house,

sort of depressed
and suicidal, tried

to hurt himself with a knife--

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE PHONE):
Essex Police Emergency.

--and that Breck was dead.

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE
PHONE): What's happened?

My friend came
to stay the night

with me yesterday, was feeling
very down, feeling suicidal.

I was scared.

At first I though
maybe it's a joke.

Tried to calm him down.

I hugged him and said that
[inaudible] was bad for him.

911 DISPATCHER (ON
THE PHONE): Right.

OK.

I have a pen knife
adjacent to my bed.

I have a chest of drawers.

I've got aftershave and
the TV and stuff on that.

I had a pen knife
on their folded.

He picked it up, opened it--

NARRATOR: The news
spread quickly

amongst Breck's gaming friends.

I sort of came
on to the TeamSpeak

and was told that
Breck had died.

He picked it up, opened
it, and then lost control.

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE PHONE):
In order to harm himself?

No, in order to
harm me, he opened it,

and then lost control.

911 DISPATCHER (ON
THE PHONE): Right.

OK.

I was just sort of shocked.

I just sort of sat there, sort
of at my computer, just sort

of just in silence, really.

Can you not interrupt
me with this part?

911 DISPATCHER (ON
THE PHONE): OK, go on.

OK.

This is being recorded,
anyway, isn't it?

911 DISPATCHER (ON
THE PHONE): Yep.

I grabbed the knife
and I stabbed him once

in the back of the
neck, I believe

somewhere near the brain stem.

He turned around, tried to--

That was when it was
like, holy shit, like, this

has actually happened.

Breck must have died
feeling incredibly alone.

He was on his own with this guy
who promises him everything,

ended up living in a
pretty rough area of Essex

in like a small flat.

I don't remember
exactly what happened,

but the fight ended
with cutting his throat.

I believe I turned around
and I slashed his throat.

Why?

Why would-- I don't
understand why

he would do that, to build
up the trust and friendship

and then to murder him.

I was just so shocked.

I just could believe it.

I couldn't believe it.

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE
PHONE): You're telling me

he's definitely dead.

Yes, I'm telling you
he's definitely dead.

911 DISPATCHER (ON
THE PHONE): Can

you just bear with me a second?

Don't tell me anymore.

At first we just
sort of thought,

maybe it was just an accident.

They may have had an argument,
or like Lewis had said,

Breck tried to commit suicide
and he tried to stop him.

Although, it did
sound ridiculous.

You know, how can
you accidentally

stab someone in the neck?

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE
PHONE): Right, you've

left the weapon in the hallway.
LEWIS: Yes.

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE
PHONE): And has spend

how long sitting in the shower?

LEWIS: I--I don't know.

Look, are the
police on their way?

I can hear something--

911 DISPATCHER (ON
THE PHONE): They are.

They are.

LEWIS: I just going
to go [inaudible]

thank you for your help.

911 DISPATCHER (ON THE
PHONE): Right, just listen.

NARRATOR: The calm
tone of the 999 call

suggested to Essex
Police that Lewis

Daynes was no ordinary killer.

What we have is a 14-year-old
boy being groomed to go and see

an 18-year-old man, and
that 18-year-old man has

lied quite significantly
to him about

the reason for that meeting.

That's what I needed to
focus my investigation on.

Walking into the flat
was very startling.

The hall way had a knife
lying on the floor.

In the lounge there was
a bag of clothing cut up.

Duct tape in the bins looked as
though it had been used to bind

somebody, and it looked
like it would be maybe hands

or feet, something like that.

In the lounge there
was a tower unit,

and there was an external
hard drive on the table.

In the bathroom there was
a sink filled with water,

and there were a number
of devices and hard drives

and some phones of that
were covered in water.

In the bedroom there was
one laptop on the bed

that was covered in blood.

Breck had a significant
injury to his neck,

and at the end of
the post-mortem,

the declaration of Breck's
death was an incision

to the right side of his neck.

I have nightmares, and I just
keep playing it over and over

in my mind when I go to bed.

What happened?

What happened?

You know, was he suffering long?

Was he, you know, was screaming?

Was he crying?

It kills me to think at what
point things turned for Breck

and he realized, whoa,
I really messed up,

and I'm in trouble here.

NARRATOR: Lewis maintained
his story of self-defense,

but evidence was
pointing to the contrary.

We identified that Lewis
Daynes had purchased

duct tape and condoms.

He'd planned this.

It's definitely a
good three weeks

beforehand that
he's putting things

into place to make Breck.

NARRATOR: Despite
Lewis Daynes attempt

to destroy all the
computer evidence in water,

he left one vital clue, Breck's
iPad, which police found

at the bottom of his backpack.

On it, proof that Lewis had
continued to pursue Breck.

I feel completely worthless
in respect of us being friends.

I've done nothing wrong.

I've been a good friend to
you for almost a year now.

I've provided a safe--

NARRATOR: Police retrieved a
barrage of e-mails from Lewis

to Breck dating
back to Christmas.

What if she
takes your PC away?

What happens then?

And you've responded with,
I won't let that happen.

Well, Breck, it's happened.

Your mother has completely
isolated you from your friends.

Lewis Daynes was
constantly contacting Breck,

making sure that Breck's
focus of attention

was on Lewis Daynes.

CLIFF PELL: I'm being
treated like some kind

of criminal, a creep.

And he would be quite
demanding in the emails, too.

Breck, why aren't
you contacting me.

What are you doing?

You seem to have
forgotten about me.

Breck.

Breck.

It was scary to think
that a young man of that age

would be controlling
in that way.

Daynes has clearly
groomed him to not speak

to anybody else about this.

He's just not shared
it with anybody.

We do know that Breck got
a taxi in the morning,

that that taxi had
been pre-booked

by Breck after conversation
with Lewis Daynes two weeks

before the date.

[inaudible] if your
father asks you where

you're going on Sunday,
say you're going

to meet a friend who's 14.

And then just say, I've
spent too many half

terms and holidays indoors.

I'm going to spend this
one outside with friends.

Every day, I challenge
myself as what could I have

done to protect Breck better?

I've been told by the
police and by everybody else

that you did everything you
could, and you Lewis Daynes

is just an evil person.

Still, deep down, I
don't believe that.

I mean, that's my
responsibility.

I had him and I was
responsible for him.

I let him go to his death.

It will haunt us forever.

[inaudible] for coming.

OK, as Breck's parents, I
think it's only right that you

should know what we've
actually identified

for our investigation.

Just going to explain to you--

NARRATOR: Detectives discovered
that Lewis Daynes had been

abandoned by his
parents as a child

and had grown up in
and out of foster care.

Living alone from the age
of 16, he had developed

unhealthy online interests.

Lewis was, by his
very nature, obsessive.

And he was obsessed with Syria.

There's a link that was
sent to the young people

about a Syrian beheading,
and it's one of the worst

that I've ever seen.

And there are links in
reference to sexual pause,

to sexual behavior.

Within the last six months,
between September and February,

Lewis Daynes was aiming to
meet at least one of the people

within community, and
Breck just happened

to be the first person he met.

NARRATOR: Police discovered
Lewis Daynes had bought service

space in Germany, and had
access to an online community

of over 400 gamers.

He practically
created the sort of,

I guess you'd call an
empire, where he could

just drag in anybody he wants.

He's got service for
games, like Minecraft,

which means young kids are going
to want to come on his server.

He can get any teenage guy he
wants because he has servers

for games like Team Fortress 2.

And he had such endurance
that he talked to them for 2,

3 years until he made his move.

Doesn't look like a murderer.

Just looking on the Essex
Police page, and someone's

commented on the post, oh my
god, I went to school with him.

He was always the
kid that was bullied.

Guess he just snapped.

I just feel like this whole
situation could have been

averted if we didn't know
Lewis, and if we didn't meet him

at all, none of this
would have happened

and Breck would have been alive.

NARRATOR: After a 10
month investigation,

police finally have the answer
to why 14-year-old Breck had

secretly gone to Lewis's flat.

LEWIS: Breck, Breck,
get on my chat.

I want to speak.
BRECK: What?

NARRATOR: It was Lewis's
greatest deception,

and on that would
cost Breck his life.

BRECK: Yo, what's up?

LEWIS: I'm running
out of time, Breck.

BRECK: What are
you talking about?

Look, Breck, I didn't
want to let on, but I'm--

I'm ill.

BRECK: You're-- you're ill?

Yeah.

What, like flu or something?

LEWIS: I don't joke, Breck.

I'm serious.

I'm unable to keep
control of the company.

It's just too much for me.

I've tried, but it's taking
too much toll on my health.

And I've decided I want
to hand it over to you.

What?

Are you joking?

LEWIS: No, and this is
why I need you to step up.

Because I need you to take over.

What?

Mate, what are
you talking about?

The company, Breck.

I'm serious.

I wouldn't lie to you, Breck.

I need you to take
control of the company.

Grab it with both hands.

You need to step
up, Breck, for me.

You're not going to
let me down, are you?

When you're back from holiday--

Yeah.

LEWIS: --you'll come
over to my place.

Yeah.

LEWIS: We'll talk
through the details.

I'll hand over the
company to you.

You'll do that
for me, won't you?

Uh-- and you'll
be there with me?

Of course.

I need you to bring
with you your tablets,

your phone, your
drives, everything,

absolutely everything.

And then I will take you through
the business, every step.

And I will be with you
every step of the way

until you get the hang
of you need to do.

And from there on in, I'll
explain my health situation.

OK.

Uh, all right then.

Can't wait.

Can't wait to meet you, too.

Yes.

On the morning of a trial,
I was due to go as a witness

into court.

And then just before we're about
to leave, we got a phone call

saying he's pleaded guilty,
which was hard to hear,

because still some part of
me wanted it to be, you know,

this was an accident.
It's just a tragic accident.

It's not, you know, a murder.

NARRATOR: Lewis Daynes
was convicted of murder

with sexual and
sadistic intent, and was

sentenced to life imprisonment.

The biggest trend at the
moment, the biggest thing

that we're hearing about
is grooming online,

and this is so hard
to try and police,

because you don't physically
know who that person is.

You just got to
notice the signals.

There were clear signals that
Lewis was letting out that were

dangerous, and you
just need to make sure

that you're picking up on them.

Because that's what's
going to keep you safe.

LORIN: I think there's
so much more we all

need to learn about grooming.

I think we just need
to keep reminding teens

and even younger children
not to trust people

that we don't online.

I'd like to welcome Lorin
[inaudible] for talking to us

about internet
safety, a topic which

we've been covering and is
highly debated in schools.

You know, Breck
felt like the friend

that he met online
was a true friend,

and because he met them
through other people

that he knew, friends of
friends, it felt safe.

And unfortunately,
people aren't always

who they say they are online.

When I made that phone
call to the police,

I wanted to know if Daynes
was known to the police.

Well, Daynes was
known to the police

for prior sexual
activity, allegations

against a 15-year-old boy.

In the system-- this
was in the system.

In my, you know, pretend
dreams, the police would come

to the door, speak
to Breck, and say,

actually, your mom was right.

And Breck would have
finally believed me.

And in my mind,
that is what should

have happened in my life,
and my son would be here.

I would still be a
productive human being,

instead of what I am now,
which is a shell of a person.

I'm only alive for the triplets,
and I'm not alive for me.

I found this one
in an old folder,

and it's the acceptance
letter for when Breck

went to [inaudible] school.

NARRATOR: Breck's
13-year-old siblings

have to learn to live with
the hole left in their lives.

Do you want to do
some more trimming?

Yeah.

Every day is different
because Breck's not here.

He's not in his bedroom.

He's not on his computer.

Sometimes I still
lay one too many places

at the dinner table, and
that really makes me sad.

It's hard at school.

I kind of don't like
it that everyone

knows about it,
that I'm the sister

of the boy who was murdered.

It's just such an ugly word--

murdered.

Sometimes I just
want to cry and sit

by Breck's tree
at school and cry

instead of having
to go to lessons.

NARRATOR: Today would've
been Breck's 16th birthday.

In his memory, Lorin has
decided to continue visiting

schools to educate teenagers.

I want something good to
come out of Breck's murder.

It's a known fact
that there are people

out there, pedophiles grooming
teenagers more than we know.

But groomers are
chameleons, and they'll

be who ever they
think they need to be

to convince that
child to do something

they wouldn't normally do.

Happy birthday, Breck,
you're 16 today.

This comes with love to wish you
a wonderful day, because you're

such a special son.

We love you, [inaudible].

OK, guys, do you want
to let the balloons off?

Do you miss Brecky?

All right, on the
count of three.

One, two, three,
happy birthday, Breck.

You know what?

I feel it's my job to get the
word out, if the work that I do

can save another life.

See Breck, we
celebrate your birthday

whether you're here or not.

We miss you, Breck, we love you.

One, two, three.