17-year-old girl killed by stepfather after accusing him of sexual abuse

A man has been found guilty for the charge of killing a 17-year-old girl who called him father after she accused him of sexual abuse.

Prosecutors say Scott Walker, 51, murdered Bernadette Walker to:

prevent her pursuing her allegations of sexual abuse against him.

Diary entries by the victim revealed her mother, Sarah Walker did not believe her when she told her of the abuse. Bernadette wrote:

Told my mum about my dad and the abuse. She called me a liar and threatened to kill me if I told the police.

The diary entries also suggest the victim had planned on leaving home and cutting her parents out of her life.

I’d rather say I’m an orphan than say I have abusive parents who couldn’t give a s*** about me or what happens to me.

The Cambridge Crown Court heard that her mother may have conspired with her ex-partner, Scott, to cover up the killing.

Her body is yet to be found after multiple searches.

Unholy alliance

After the tragic death of the teenager, Walker formed 'an unholy alliance' with her mother Sarah Walker, 38, to cover up the murder, prosecuting QC Lisa Wilding said.

After speaking with Walker after the murder on July 18, 2020, Sarah Walker hacked into her daughter’s phone, accessed her social media and email accounts and sent apologetic messages to herself as though they were coming from the victim.

She also messaged Bernadette’s friends to say she had run away because she had lied.

Later on the night of Bea’s murder, the couple drove to a lock-up garage where the prosecution believe Bea’s possessions and mobile telephone may have been stored.

The cover up

The couple failed to report their daughter missing until July 21, three days after she was last seen. They spent this period cooking up stories to cover their track. Nicola Rice, senior prosecutor from CPS East of England, said that the couple,

concocted a plan and began to lay a false trail that she was missing. They went to extraordinary levels of deceit to cover-up what happened, telling a web of lies to family members, friends and ultimately to the police.

Sarah Walker admitted two counts of perverting the course of justice by sending messages from Bea's phone after she disappeared and by providing false information to the police relating to her disappearance.

Scott Walker told the court that his partner had feared the involvement of social services.

Rice added:

The delay in reporting Bea missing and the lies they told everyone were nothing short of wicked and designed only to protect themselves without any thought, care or love for Bea or their wider family.

The two will be sentenced on 10 September.