https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-36321082

A man who fatally stabbed a lorry driver he believed to be a paedophile has been jailed for life.

Darren Kelly, 42, from Basildon, Essex, was attacked near his home last October and died in hospital.

Chris Carroll, 20, of Pevensey Close, Pitsea, was found guilty of murder following a five-week long trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

He will serve a minimum term of 21 years. Three teenagers also accused of murder were found not guilty.

During the trial, the court heard one of the defendants, a 16-year-old girl - who cannot be named because of her age - suspected Mr Kelly of being a paedophile and arranged to meet him "to get him arrested".

She had launched a "personal campaign" against paedophiles and had recruited friends to help, the jury was told.

Essex Police said the belief Mr Kelly was interested in underage girls was "completely unfounded", and he thought he had arranged to meet a woman.

He was chased and assaulted on 20 October before being stabbed several times by Carroll.

Carroll's hoodie and a hunting knife was thrown into a lake near Burnt Mills Road in Basildon, detectives said.

"Essex Police strongly deter anyone from vigilante behaviour at any level," said Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings.

"They could be acting upon inaccurate information and putting innocent people at serious risk."

Mr Kelly was given first aid by members of the public but died from his injuries in hospital.

His family said they had "been left devastated by Darren's cruel, needless murder by this shameless individual".

They described Mr Kelly as "a kind, hard-working, caring, fun- loving all round good guy".

"His death has left a very large hole in our lives," they said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-36258715

The victim of an alleged vigilante gang murder "kept images of people wanting to lose their virginity", a jury heard.

Darren Kelly, 42, from Basildon, Essex, was kicked, punched and stabbed to death near his home last October.

A group of four denies his murder and is currently on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Karim Khalil QC, representing the now 16-year-old girl accused of luring Mr Kelly to his place of death, said "there was no plan".

The jury had earlier been told there was no evidence Mr Kelly was interested in under age girls.

But Mr Khalil said he had used "at least four aliases" when using the "Whispr" messaging system and on one occasion had pretended to be the daughter of a former partner, whose image he attached to a message.

The jury was told Mr Kelly had complained "all females on Whispr are young" and did not want to talk to him when they knew his age.

"He knew the sort of people and he was bothered when they don't want to talk to him," Mr Khalil added. "He kept images of people wanting to lose their virginity."

The court also heard how Mr Kelly had driven alone to the meeting point with the then 15-year-old girl, who had previously arranged to meet two men she befriended online in the hope they would be arrested.

After getting out of his car he passed the girl once before coming back and began speaking with her, the court heard.

"He knew who he was there to meet, he knew her sort of age," said Mr Khalil.

Chris Carroll, 20, of Pevensey Close, Pitsea, along with two 17-year-old boys and the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny murder.

The trial continues.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-...shire-36027408

A teenage girl recruited a gang of friends to lure a man to his death after mistakenly deciding he was a paedophile, a court has heard.

Lorry driver Darren Kelly, from Basildon, Essex, was kicked, punched and stabbed to death near his home last October.

Four people, including the 16-year-old girl, have denied his murder.

The girl had launched a "personal campaign" against paedophiles, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

She had previously arranged to meet two men she had befriended online in the hope they would be arrested, prosecutor Crispin Aylett told the court.

The girl spoke to 42-year-old Mr Kelly using the anonymous messaging app Whisper before making a plan to attack him, he said.

"The girl instigated this attack by forming a group of teenage vigilantes in order to attack a 42-year-old man that she had met online," Mr Aylett said.

"She had told the others that the man was a paedophile and as a result he was punched, kicked and then stabbed to death in the street," he said.

Describing the case as being "as disturbing as it is extraordinary", Mr Aylett said there was no evidence Mr Kelly was interested in under-age girls.

He added: "In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest precisely the opposite."

Officers asked her why she had arranged to meet the two other men, aged 23 and 67, after befriending them on Facebook,

She replied: "Because they're perverts and I don't think perverts should be around and I don't see anybody else doing anything about it."

Chris Carroll, 20, of Pevensey Close, Pitsea, along with two 17-year-old boys and the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny murder.

This is what is crazy here is that an innocent person has died from false allegations but the "Predator Hunters" committed acts of brutality leading to Darren Kelly's death.