WEARING a sunny yellow top that matched her smile as she picked out sweets, Tia Sharp looked like any other bride who treated herself today.
Just days later, that same tip was discovered tucked into a Sainsbury’s bag next to bin liners containing the decomposing body of a 12-year-old girl.
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Tia Sharp was murdered by her grandmother’s lover, then hid in the atticCredit: PA: Press Association
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Before the horror she was seen shopping with murderer Stuart HazellCredit: PA: Press Association
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He was jailed for life after admitting murder Credit: Dan Jones – The Sun
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The clothes Tia was wearing before she was killed were placed in a Sainsbury’s bag Credit: Manual
Tia was horribly murdered by her grandmother’s lover, Stuart Hazell, who hid her body in the attic.
The pedo also sexually assaulted the girl and took X-rated photos of her dead body for his own twisted pleasure.
We now return to the murder that horrified the nation and how Tia was failed at every possible opportunity by her family and the police – even after her death.
Hazell first entered Tia’s life in 2002 when he started dating the student’s mom, Natalie Sharp.
After the couple split, he formed a second relationship with Tia’s grandmother – Natalie’s mum – Christine Bicknell.
The career criminal soon moved into Christine’s home in New Addington, Croydon, and took on the role of caring stepfather.
Gaining Tia’s trust, he was allowed access to the child alone while she tried to escape the chaos of her own home.
But while Tia was just looking for stability, the predator was trying to satisfy his depraved fantasies.
Hazell developed a “sexual interest” in the schoolgirl – filming her as she creamed her legs in her underwear.
He also searched the internet for disgusting content in the weeks leading up to Tia’s death – including young girls who wore glasses, which she did.
What the family didn’t know was that Hazell had a history of viewing similar material online – meaning he could have gained access to the child during the nights he spent babysitting her alone.
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Hazell earned the trust of TiaCredit: PA: Press Association
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They were seen making out several hours before he sexually assaulted and choked her Credit: PA: Press Association
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He was in a relationship with Tia’s grandmother ChristineCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Because of this, Tia seemed at ease in his company on August 2nd – unaware that he was about to kill her just hours later.
CCTV showed the pair as they went to the Co-op supermarket wandering the aisles together.
Hazell appeared to be a caring stepfather, but behind his sweet nature was a real monster.
Just hours after the pair were seen getting off the bus together, Hazell choked Tia to death and sexually assaulted her.
Hazell then informed her partner Christine that Tia had gone shopping the next morning but had not returned.
A huge search has been launched for the young man as the small community of New Addington came together to put up posters.
Twisted Hazell was among those clamoring for information – appearing in front of TV cameras bleary-eyed and wearing a T-shirt with Tia’s face on it.
He told waiting reporters: “It’s not about me, it’s all about Tia and we have to get her home. I just don’t know what else to do.
“Tia, come home, baby.”
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Tia was found in the attic a week after she went missing Credit: PA: Press Association
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Hazell appealed for information about her disappearanceCredit: Doug Seeburg – The Sun
The police suspected that Hazell knew more than he was letting on, but he had no idea that the schoolgirl was right under their noses the whole time.
In fact, it took the clumsy cops four visits to the house before they found Tia’s body.
On the third attempt, the dog was brought inside to sniff the previously unsearched areas, but never reached the attic because the entrance was blocked.
Her body was finally found on August 10 – a full seven days after Tia was reported missing.
The student wore pink and white pajama bottoms and a “Little Miss Giggles” top.
I interviewed the evil killer unaware that the tragic Tia was only a few meters away
By Holly Christodoulou, Digital Court Editor
STARING into Hazel’s piercing blue eyes, there was something eerie about him, but apparently I could never imagine the true horror of what he had done.
I was sent to New Addington when Tia first went missing and spent a week talking to her family and locals.
This included talking to Hazell, who would run around the property in a T-shirt with Tia’s face on it begging her to come home.
As a journalist you become cynical enough to always expect the worst and there was clearly something wrong with Hazell.
He’d grab us for interviews and insist he’d done nothing wrong—even before the network caught him.
Of course, during all these creepy conversations, no one could have predicted that Tia was lying dead in the attic just a few meters away.
Pleading not guilty at first, Hazell forced Tia’s already devastated family to listen to details of her murder that were too gruesome to publish.
He eventually confessed to his evil crimes, but it was too late.
After Hazell was convicted, I went back to New Addington to talk to the residents and get their thoughts on the brutal murder.
It was clear the community was shaken by Tia’s death after she spent every waking hour helping with the search in the belief that she would be found safe and sound.
It was this same hope that meant no one suspected as they laid the flowers outside Hazell’s front door that the schoolgirl had never made it out the front door as he had claimed.
The house of horrors where Tia was killed has since been demolished, but the memory of what happened there will always remain.
Police also found a memory stick hidden in a door frame containing a gruesome photo of Tia taken after she was killed.
Hazell went on trial for the murder in May 2013, but dramatically changed his guilty plea five days after the trial ended.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 38 years on 14 May 2013, as Tia’s family shouted “beast” from the public gallery.
Sentencing, Judge Nicol said: “She was a bright girl who was full of life, but you took that life away from her. Everything that was in front of her – career, love and her own family – now will never be.
“Losing her was devastating for her mother, father and all her relatives and friends.
“The tragedy of their loss and her death is because of your act of murdering Tia Sharp. You are responsible.”
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Tia was lying dead in the attic the whole time Credit: Doug Seeburg – The Sun
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Her glasses were also discovered in the attic Credits: Manual
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Tia was sexually assaulted and then killed
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Hazell was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 38 years Credit: PA: Press Association
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education