Southampton care worker jailed for minimum of 33 years for Lucy McHugh murder

Care worker Stephen Nicholson, 25, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 33 years for the rape and murder of 13-year-old Lucy McHugh in Southampton. Stephen Nicholson has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for the Murder and rape of Lucy, and sexual assult on another girl aged 14. He will now spend many years behind bars, the court has heard of Nicolsons past offending history, Nicholson was given a two-year detention order in May 2009, while he was 14, for false imprisonment, possession of a knife, two counts of theft from a person and aggravated vehicle taking. Nicholson’s defence barrister, James Newton-Price QC, mitigating for Nicholson. He said: “These are extremely serious offences and my lady will, of course, impose an appropriate sentence to match the gravity of these offences.” He said: “We appreciate in terms of personal mitigating factors there are, of course, relatively little.” He adds: “It appears that the defendant, now aged 25, had a difficult upbringing, having been sent to a children’s home aged 13 or 14. “He is still, at 25, a relatively young man and will have to serve a long time in custody.” She describes Lucy as “vulnerable” and “easy prey” for someone like Nicholson. Justice May stated; She describes Lucy as “vulnerable” and “easy prey” for someone like Nicholson. CCTV of Lucy walking past Tesco Express on July 25 the last time she is seen is “heartbreaking now that it is known she was walking to her death. She tells the court that the police’s “groundbreaking” use of technology to help locate a dumped bag of clothing in Tanner’s Brook as “inspired”. She names and pays tribute to several key police officers and detectives in the Lucy case and praises their “exemplary work. The attack on Lucy as “particularly ferocious and brutal”. She jails for Nicholson to a life sentence, with a minimum term for 33 years.

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