Rikki Neave: Murderer who strangled boy, 6, to fulfil ‘morbid fantasy’ jailed 27 years after killing

A murderer brought to justice more than 27 years after strangling a six-year-old boy has been jailed for life.

James Watson was 13 years old when he lured Rikki Neave to woods just a few minutes’ walk from his home in Welland, Peterborough, on 28 November 1994.

The 41 year-old was sentenced to serve a minimum of 15 years at the Old Bailey on Friday morning after he was found guilty in April of murder. The case had gone unsolved for close to three decades.

John Price QC, prosecuting, had said Watson would be sentenced for the age he was at the time of the murder. The prosecution and the defence were agreed the starting point was one of 12 years.

There was “the clearest possible indication” of a sexual motive in the way Rikki’s naked body was displayed, he added.

Watson throttled the boy from behind with a ligature or anorak collar, to fulfil a “morbid fantasy” he had told his mother about three days before.

He stripped Rikki and posed his naked body in a star shape for sexual gratification, deliberately “exhibiting” him near a children’s woodland den. Rikki’s body was found the day after he went missing.

The court heard various victim impact statements, firstly from Rochelle Orr, one of Rikki’s younger sisters.

She said: “I was only three when Rikki was murdered and I was removed from my family. After I entered the care system I suffered severe mental health issues.

“I remember Rikki feeding me, washing me and help me with my clothes.

“He has missed so much or our lives, happy times that we have had. I also wonder what he would be like if he was still here but, sadly, I will never know because he was taken from me.”

Rebecca Maria Harvey, Rikki’s eldest sister, broke down as she addressed the court.

She said: “Although I was the eldest, it wasn’t like that as he would look after me. Losing Rikki was like losing the other half of me.

“I still wake up every day thinking it was a nightmare. I never had a brother to grow up with.

“Rikki is the one who is not here and lost his life, but the effect this had on me and my family is just never-ending.”

“I just cannot understand what happened or why. This has been so traumatic, not knowing what happened to him or why. Not only did I lose Rikki, but I lost my whole family.

“I miss him so much. All of our lives have been turned upside down and nothing has been the same since.”

Addressing Watson, but not using his name, she said: “After all these years of living your life … you finally get your comeuppance and Rikki Lee Harvey finally gets justice.”

Jennifer Dempster QC, defending Watson, said her client’s most substantial mitigation was his age at the time of the offence.

Xural.com