Robert Ewing (left) murdered Paige and Gareth Dewhurst was found guilty of helping to dispose of her body

Robert Ewing sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 15-year-old in Blackpool to stop her reporting their sexual contact to police

A man who murdered a 15-year-old girl to stop her reporting their sexual contact has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 33 years in prison.

Robert Ewing, 60, exploited Paige Chivers, a vulnerable teenager from Blackburn, Lancashire, for his sexual gratification and then decided to silence her when she threatened to go to the authorities.

A jury convicted him of murder earlier this month, but was not told that Ewing had previous convictions for child sex abuse.

Ewing served a 12-month prison sentence in 1995 for gross indecency with a 13-year-old girl, whom he also indecently assaulted.

Justice Jeremy Baker, sentencing Ewing at Preston crown court, told him he had carried out a “carefully planned and executed murder” to avoid the prospect of returning to jail.

The body of the teenager has still not been found, nearly eight years after she went missing.

Mr Justice Baker said Paige’s life was “in turmoil” in the summer of 2007 after her mother had died in February that year and her late father’s addiction to alcohol had worsened to the extent that he largely abandoned her.

He said she was “sexually promiscuous” and an “easy target”, which was recognised by Ewing, whose flat near her home in Bispham became “something of a magnet” for young girls as he allowed them to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs.

The judge said: “There came a point when Paige Chivers realised that she could manipulate the situation to her advantage and threatened to report you to the authorities … the last thing you wanted to occur was for the public authorities to be acquainted with what you had been doing.”

Less than a fortnight before Paige went missing, Ewing contacted police to tell them that a “problem child” had turned up on his doorstep, having been thrown out by her father.

Prosecutors said he was effectively “testing the water” and there had been “very little reaction” by officials.

The judge, who labelled the defendant intelligent and devious, said he also wanted to create an “innocent cover story”. He told the court that the precise circumstances of Paige’s death may never be known in the absence of any explanation from Ewing, but noted that Ewing had been heard in a covert police recording saying: “You don’t mess with me. Quick hammer over the fucking head, then they will be sorry.”

Only three tiny spots of blood belonging to Paige were found by police in inner hallway of his flat in All Hallows Road, after a meticulous clean-up by the defendant.

On August 23 2007, Paige packed two carrier bags with clothes and left her home in Longford Avenue, Bispham, after a row with her father over missing money. Later the same day she was spotted at a nearby bus stop with the defendant. An extensive proof of life inquiry followed her disappearance but found no evidence that Paige was alive and she never claimed a “significant” inheritance left to her after her mother’s death.

Ewing murdered her between August 23 and August 27 and then persuaded his friend, Gareth Dewhurst, 46, to use his car to dispose of the body. The judge said Dewhurst had been a “willing, if not enthusiastic, participant”. Dewhurst, of Duncan Avenue, Blackpool, was jailed for seven years for assisting an offender and an additional year for intending to pervert the course of justice by intimidating witnesses.

Ewing, of Kincraig Place, Blackpool, was also convicted of perverting the course of justice by intimidating witnesses and providing false information to the police.
Both men denied all the offences.

The teenager was described as “a fun-loving kid, bright and funny” in a victim impact statement from sister Madison Gordon, which was read out in court.

She said: “Paige was only a kid when her mum (Sheila) passed away in 2007. I would say it broke us. I think it hit Paige hard because of her age.
“Every birthday is a reminder that Paige is no longer with us to open her cards and to celebrate with her.”

She thought Paige would have gone on to study hair and beauty and would have been “a brilliant mum”. She added: “Not a day goes by that we don’t think about her. It should not have happened to my bonny outgoing sister. We all have big holes in our hearts that can no longer be replaced.”

Police say they remain committed to finding Paige’s body.

The Guardian

Paige was reported missing three days after leaving her home

The man who murdered Blackpool teenager Paige Chivers has been jailed for 33 years.

Robert Ewing, 60, was found guilty of murdering the 15-year-old in his Blackpool flat in August 2007.

Earlier this month, a jury convicted him, after the court was told he had developed an “inappropriate sexual interest” in Paige before he beat her to death.

Paige’s body has never been found.

Bloodstains belonging to the “vulnerable” teenager were later found by a police forensics team in the inner hallway of his flat in All Hallows Road, Bispham.

The murder was said to have taken place between August 23 and August 27 2007.

On August 23, Paige had packed two carrier bags with clothes and left her home in Longford Avenue, Bispham, after a family row.

Later the same day she was spotted at a nearby bus stop with the defendant.

An extensive proof of life inquiry found no evidence Paige was alive and she never claimed a ‘significant’ inheritance sum left to her after her mother’s death.

Less than a fortnight before Paige went missing, Ewing contacted police to tell them that a ‘problem child’ had turned up on his doorstep having been thrown out by her father.

Prosecutors said he was effectively “testing the water” and that there had been “very little reaction” by officials.

Ewing was also found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court of perverting the course of justice by intimidating witnesses and providing false information to the police.

Co-defendant Gareth Dewhurst, 46, of Duncan Avenue, Blackpool, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and assisting Ewing to dispose of Paige’s body.

Police say they remain committed to finding Paige’s body.
Blackpool Gazette

15-year-old Paige Chivers vanished eight years ago

A neo-Nazi paedophile has been found guilty of murdering a school girl who vanished eight years ago.

Paige Chivers, 15, disappeared in Blackpool in 2007 following a row with her father. Her body has never been discovered.

Robert Ewing, 60, murdered the schoolgirl after developing an “inappropriate sexual interest” in her, Preston Court heard.

Ewing was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice by intimidating witnesses and providing false information to the police.

Paige Chivers was fifteen years old when she went missing in 2007

Fellow defendant Gareth Dewhurst, 46, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and helping Ewing dispose of Paige’s body. He was cleared of the charge that he had had sex with her dead body after Ewing killed her.

Paige, who was described as “very troubled and vulnerable” packed two carrier bags with clothes and set off from the family home following the fight with her father. Later that day she was seen at a bus stop talking to an older man, believed to be Ewing.

Forensics found bloodstains containing blood from Ewing and Paige inside Ewing’s flat in 2007. However, he was not charged until last year.

The jury heard that Dewhurst had confessed to a 16-year-old boy whilst he was “heavily stoned” his involvement in the girl’s disappearance. He told the boy that Ewing had killed Paige and then made him have sex with her dead body before forcing him to use his car to dispose of her remains.

Gareth Dewhurst has been convicted of disposing Paige Chivers’ body, which has never been found

The court heard that a fortnight before Paige went missing, Ewing contacted the police with an anonymous tip that a “problem child” had turned up on his doorstep after being evicted by her father. Prosecutors said this was a calculated move to “test the water” and gauge police response. There had been “very little reaction” by officials.

In recordings made by the police, Ewing described himself as a “neo-Nazi”.

Det Supt Andy Webster, who led the investigation, told the Blackpool Gazette: “Paige Chivers was a vulnerable 15-year-old child who disappeared in August 2007.

“The court heard how Robert Ewing carefully groomed Paige before murdering her at his flat in Bispham, Blackpool.

“The prosecution case has been largely circumstantial as Paige’s body has never been recovered. A fundamental part of the prosecution case was that Paige was last seen alive with Robert Ewing, alone in his flat at teatime on Friday August 24, 2007.

“After this point there were no other corroborated sightings of her. Her blood was later found in his flat.

“When she was reported missing he failed to assist the police and then repeatedly lied to them. He has repeatedly sought to implicate other vulnerable people in her murder.

“The jury accepted that his co-accused, Gareth Dewhurst, disposed of Paige’s body and then sought to intimidate and harass witnesses. This included a family to whom he had confessed and who he subsequently sought to terrify.”

Speaking after the sentencing, Paige’s brother-in-law Robert McClelland said that “not a day goes past” when the family does not think about her.

He described Paige as a “bright and funny” girl, adding: “We all have holes in our hearts that can never be replaced.”

The court heard that a police error was made when Paige was reported missing by her father on 26 August, three days after her disappearance. He clearly stated that his daughter was a fifteen year old girl, but her date of birth was wrongly entered as 1962 instead of 1992. This meant that police thought they were investigating the disappearance of a 45 year old woman who had moved away voluntarily, rather than a child missing from home. The error was not corrected until 7 September.

The handling of the case is now being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Ewing and Dewhurst will both be sentenced on 28 July.

The Independent