A 16-YEAR-OLD BOY has been found guilty of murdering his former sweetheart by battering her to death.

Joshua Davies arranged to meet his ex-girlfriend, 15-year-old schoolgirl Rebecca Aylward, in woods near their hometown of Maesteg, South Wales, last October. When she arrived he smashed her skull with a stone the size of a rugby ball and left her lying face down on the ground, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Davies had made a bet with a friend who promised him a full cooked breakfast if he carried out the killing, the court was told. The Independent reports that Davies was yesterday convicted of murder and told to expect a sentence of “indefinite duration”.

Rebecca was wearing new clothes she had bought just the day before and put on especially for the occasion, the Guardian reports.

Following the verdict the schoolgirl’s family issued a statement saying their lives had “stopped” since the killing. According to the BBC, the statement continued: “Rebecca was killed in a senseless and barbaric act. She died at the hands of someone she loved and trusted. We will never forget what he [Davies] did to her or forgive him for destroying our family.”