Grays: Stabbed Boy 'Met Internet Friend'

19 February 2014, 14:39 | Updated: 19 February 2014, 14:47

A 14-year-old boy found stabbed to death in Grays may have left home two days earlier to meet an internet friend.

Breck Bednar, from Caterham, Surrey, died after suffering a wound to the neck in a flat in Roseberry Road, Essex Police said.

A post has since appeared online saying Breck had left home after arranging to meet somebody through the internet.

The message, posted on Facebook by a person claiming to be his cousin, described him as an "incredibly smart, funny and cute" boy who had turned to the internet after struggling to make friends.

Essex Police said it was aware of the post but refused to comment on the circumstances surrounding the killing.

The Facebook message read: "He turned to his computer and the internet for entertainment.

"He ended up meeting someone who he thought wanted to be his friend. Breck told his father that he was going to his friend's house for a sleepover a couple of streets away, this wasn't a huge concern for his parents.

"He ended up taking a train down to Essex, about two hours away to meet the man he had been talking to over the internet.''

The post's author said they wanted to highlight the threat to children on the internet. Essex Police said Breck's parents, oil futures trader Barry Bednar and mother Lorin LaFave, were being supported by family liaison officers.

Lewis Daynes, 18, a computer engineer from Roseberry Road, Grays, has been charged with murder.

Daynes has been remanded in custody to appear before Chelmsford Crown Court.

Anyone with information should contact the force on 101.