Alexander Cashford, 49, was found with multiple injuries
Eliana Nunes News Reporter, Carrington Walker and Ellie Crabbe
10:27, 14 Jan 2026Updated 12:19, 14 Jan 2026
Three children aged between 14 and 16 sent messages to a 49 year old man under a false name before his death at a seaside resort, a court has heard.
Alexander Cashford, from Kent, was discovered with multiple injuries in Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey on August 10. A 16 year old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, all from London, were charged with murder by joint venture two days after Alexander's body was found.
Kate Blumgart KC, the prosecutor, informed jurors at Woolwich Crown Court that the girl and the two boys first encountered Alexander Cashford on August 8, last year, in Leysdown-on-Sea.
He gave the girl his phone number, and the teenagers sent him messages using the pseudonym Sienna, arranging to meet him again by the sea wall on August 10, the court heard. Jurors were told that just over an hour after meeting them, Mr Cashford was declared dead.
The three defendants cannot be named due to legal reasons, but the court heard that the 16 year old girl and 15 year old boy are related, reports the Mirror. In her opening statement on Tuesday, Ms Blumgart said that witnesses described the 16 year old boy hurling stones at Mr Cashford and labelling him "a paedo". The witness described the first throw as "like a lob", "frantic" and with "a lot of power around it".
"Mr Cashford did not react at all, he was lying face down in the mud," Ms Blumgart said.
When one witness yelled at the defendants to stop, the 16 year old boy retorted "he's a f****** paedophile" and the 16 year old girl also said "he's a f****** peado", jurors were told.
Kent Police was called to the Warden Bay Road area of Leysdown-on-Sea following reports of a skirmish on August 10.
Eyewitnesses reported that Mr Cashford had "a very badly damaged nose", with blood visible externally and "a ping pong ball sized lump" on the back of his head.
The three accused each deny a one count of murder and the trial is ongoing.