A lodger who killed a 13-year-old girl to stop her from exposing him as a sex abuser has been found guilty of her rape and murder.

Stephen Nicholson, 25, stabbed Lucy McHugh in a “vicious” attack near Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre.  He first raped Lucy, then aged 12, while living at her home, and abused her before her death in last July.

Jurors at Winchester Crown Court found him guilty of three charges of raping Lucy.He was also convicted of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl in 2012, who he had taken to the same woodland where Lucy was found dead years later.

Nicholson, who showed no emotion when the verdicts were delivered, will be sentenced on Friday.

//sc//bbc//