A detective leading an investigation into the death of a man killed near a Kent beach says the “sad” case has ruined multiple lives.
A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 16 and 15, were cleared by a jury after being accused of murdering Alexander Cashford in Leysdown last year.
Mr Cashfor died on August 10, 2025. Picture: Kent Police
The older boy accepted responsibility for the death of Mr Cashford and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the third day of the trial.
Today (February 16), the jury found all of the defendants not guilty of murdering the 49-year-old on August 10 last year in the Warden Bay Road area of Leysdown.
But the younger boy and girl were found guilty of manslaughter.
The trial heard from several members of the public who intervened when the attack happened.
Speaking to KentOnline DCI Kimber said: “This case is quite sad because if that group had not made contact with the victim and had thrown that business card away, we would not be in this position.
“They took it upon themselves to formulate some sort of plan and did what they did.
“There is a stark lesson, as sad as it is. We have the lives of many families being ruined.
“We have the death of a 49-year-old male whose family is in tatters, and then we have three other families, those of our defendants, who are seeing their children being tried on suspicion of murder.”
Map of Warden Bay Road area
DCI Kimber went on to praise members of the public who helped with the case.
He said: “We are so grateful to the public who provide support and evidence for the police.
“It is something that everyone has to decide if they are going to get involved in and make an assessment at the time.
“We are really grateful to the bravery of those individuals in this case because it really helped us at a very early stage.
“The Great British public are supporting their police force, and what they feel is right. They certainly felt that it was right to act at the time.”
Mr Cashford lived in Moor Street, Rainham, and enjoyed visiting Vinters Park in Maidstone and Capstone Park in Gillingham, where he would feed the ducks.
He was unmarried and did not have a wide circle of friends, but he would often visit Leysdown as his family had a bungalow in Jetty Road, Warden, which he was helping to renovate.
The electrician, who was unemployed at the time, usually parked his car at The Warden Bay pub before walking along the coastal path towards The Promenade.
He first met the female defendant “by chance” at Playtime Arcade on August 8, when he sat between her and another girl at the fruit machines.
CCTV of Mr Cashford handing the female defendant his business card at Playtime Arcade on August 8. Picture: CPS
The interaction only lasted about 45 seconds, but he handed her his business card with his number on it before making his way back home, it is believed.
Around 15 minutes later, the girl met up with the other two defendants and several other youngsters, and the group used the eldest boy’s phone to send the first message to Mr Cashford.
Pretending to be a 16-year-old girl called “Sienna”, 57 texts were exchanged on that initial day.
The messages continued over the next two days, and the court heard that Mr Cashford had said “her age did not put him off” and that he thought she was “really pretty”.
The jury was also told that a text stating: “I will have to dream of you until then. I really want to kiss you” was sent from Mr Cashford’s phone to “Sienna”.
The police could not prove who was controlling the group’s phone throughout the interactions, but explained that Mr Cashford had no way of contacting the girl if the group had not messaged him first.
CCTV of Mr Cashford walking with the female defendant minutes before he is attacked. Picture: CPS
In their evidence, the two male defendants claimed that they did not send any of the text messages, although they did know that they were being exchanged.
Regardless, the trio arranged to meet Mr Cashford near Love Fish on the seafront on August 10 at 6.45pm.
It is understood that he was watching football on TV before he told his mum that he was going to feed the ducks and left.
However, he went to meet the female defendant, and CCTV showed Mr Cashford and the youngster walking along the coastal path towards Warden Bay at around 7pm.
In his evidence, the youngest defendant claimed that he was not involved in a plan to attack the man, but followed the two people to make sure the girl was kept safe.
The two boys followed the pair before the 16-year-old, who was 15 at the time, picked up a glass bottle, and they “touch fists”.
Ten minutes later, the girl started recording the attack on Minster-born Mr Cashford, which saw him hit over the head with the bottle, and fall to the ground.
The mobile phone footage continued, and the 15-year-old boy, who was 14 at the time, tripped over the victim before they both recovered.
Mr Cashford was hit and chased along the path. Picture: CPS
Mr Cashford began to run away but was pursued by the other teenage boy while the 16-year-old girl shouted after them: “F***ing paedophile. Get him, f***ing nonce”.
The court heard that the video was sent to three other people with the caption “f***ed paedo up” and was also uploaded to social media.
Speaking to KentOnline, senior crime prosecutor in the CPS complex casework unit, Natalie Smith, said: “They had made up their minds about what Mr Cashford was.
“They had saved him on the phone as a paedo, and lured him to where they would attack him.”
There is no suggestion that Mr Cashford had any previous convictions which were relevant to this case, but he had recently been spared jail for stalking.
KentOnline previously reported he had been accused of following a young woman home from work and visiting her house in the early hours, where he posted a chocolate bar and a letter through her door.
Mr Cashford was jailed for three years and four months previously. Picture: Kent Police
Appearing at Medway Magistrates’ Court on March 17, 2025, he admitted a charge of stalking involving serious alarm and distress and was placed on a month’s curfew and fitted with a tag which was to remain in place until September 16.
On August 10, Mr Cashford was still subject to the tag’s requirements, which required him to be at his home address in the evenings.
In 2014, he was also jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to multiple counts of theft from vehicles.
Following the initial attack, the three defendants continued to follow the victim to an isolated and rocky area near The Warden Bay pub, where he again fell to the ground.
Multiple eyewitnesses told the court they saw the eldest boy throwing rocks at and kicking Mr Cashford as he lay unresponsive and face down in the mud.
Giving evidence, the 16-year-old boy admitted he did want to hurt him, but said he did not want to seriously injure him and did not think he had.
One witness, Owen Bye, told the court he ran down to where the man was and challenged the teenager, who called the victim a “paedophile” before walking away “as if nothing had happened”.
Drone footage of police at the scene. Picture: CPS
He and his girlfriend then followed the group as they walked back towards Leysdown and called the police.
In that 999 call, he said: “These kids have beaten up this man. They were throwing rocks at his head. We think he is going to die.
“They said he was talking to a 16-year-old girl, but that does not justify it. They were trying to kill him.”
Meanwhile, Chris Bye and his partner, Ella Wood, stayed with the victim and started CPR.
But, despite their efforts and intervention by medical professionals, Mr Cashford was declared dead just after 8pm, a little over an hour after he met the defendants.
Giving evidence, two forensic pathologists could not determine a precise cause of death but put forward several plausible explanations.
Mobile footage showed Mr Cashford being chased along the seafront. Picture: CPS
Dr Anna Biddlestone believed that he is most likely to have died from severe chest injuries, which included several fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, which she claims he received while still alive.
However, Dr David Rouse told the court he thought it was more plausible that Mr Cashford suffered a cardiac arrest brought on by the assault and chase, which was not helped by his underlying heart disease.
Due to the descriptions given by Owen Bye, police officers were able to quickly identify the group along the busy promenade and arrest them on suspicion of attempted murder.
Speaking to KentOnline, DCI Neil Kimber praised Owen Bye’s quick thinking.
Ms Smith added: “I think not only the police and the CPS were very grateful for the intervention of the members of the public, but I think it was comforting for the members of Mr Cashford’s family to know he did not die alone.
“There were members of the public who were prepared to intervene, notwithstanding the comments that the defendants were making at the scene. They were prepared to get involved and help him.
“One witness was not only able to stop the attack from happening any further, but he also was able to follow them to ensure that there was a continuity of the evidence and describe the youths so the police were able to arrest them a few moments later.”
Once it was confirmed that Mr Cashford, who was his parents’ only son, had died, the teenagers were re-arrested on suspicion of murder.
CCTV of the two male defendants walking behind Mr Cashford and the female defendant. Picture: CPS
The court heard that during their detention, the girl claimed she “did not do s***” while the 16-year-old boy said: “I am a big guy, if I wanted to kill him I would have.”
Later, he would ask officers how long they think he might get.
During their interviews, each defendant gave “no comment” answers and was remanded on August 13, three days after the attack.
A 12-year-old girl was also arrested in connection with the incident, but no charges were brought forward against her.
As part of their investigation, officers collected 99 statements, reviewed 110 hours of CCTV footage and examined three mobile phones. The 16-year-old girl’s phone was never recovered.
It is understood that the trio, who are from London but had been staying at nearby caravan parks, became friends a few days before the attack.
Mr Cashford was found in the Warden Bay Road area of Leysdown
There is no suggestion that they had been involved in any similar incidents, and they did not have any previous convictions or police cautions.
None of the youths can be identified due to being under the age of 18.