Murdered Becky Watts 'threatened over sexting' - BBC News
Becky Watts, killed by her step-brother and his girlfriend, was bullied over explicit photographs.
Becky was suffocated at her home and her body was later moved and dismembered

Murdered schoolgirl Becky Watts was told explicit pictures of her would be posted online months before she was killed, it has been revealed.

Becky's step-brother Nathan Matthews suffocated her at her home in St George, Bristol, in February 2015.

He and his girlfriend, Shauna Hoare targeted Becky due to their sexual interest in petite teenage girls.

Becky's parents told a serious case review they did not know she was being bullied and "could not keep her safe".

The review by the Bristol Safeguarding Children Board said Becky had been the victim of sexting at the hands of a "young male peer" who told her the explicit pictures would be posted online.

Becky told caseworkers about it some time around May 2014 and said she was worried her father "would throw her out" if he found out - a threat that he had carried out at least once.

In one instance she was told to leave one Christmas and had stayed with friends. She had exhibited "serious anxiety" about this being made permanent.

The report criticised the advice she had been given to deal with this.

Becky's father, Darren Galsworthy, told the review he was not given the parental support needed to help his daughter and he was "not included by professionals".

Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare were jailed for murdering Becky

Becky, who had a history of mental health issues and suffered from anorexia, had been seen by a number of professionals over several years.

Her mother told the review that too many people had been involved in her care and she could not build the trust she needed to speak out.

During an initial assessment "Becky reported feeling scared about a lot of things" and told a family support worker that she read about abduction cases.

The report said instead of looking at her wider problems Becky was described as "controlling", "lacking aspiration" and "not engaged with the assessment".

Mr Galsworthy said in hindsight they could see her behaviour was worse when her step-brother, who bullied her about her weight, was present.

The review said there was no evidence that her murder could have been "predicted or prevented by any professional working with Becky".

But it did find there was a need for services to be focussed on "the needs and circumstance of adolescents" to avoid vulnerable young people "being seen as 'troublesome' rather than troubled because of their circumstances".

The safeguarding board also said there were shortcomings in "assessing and understanding" Becky's complex needs and professionals failed to engage her father and help him understand her issues.

It also recommended trying to engage fathers in family therapy and parenting sessions.

The report said that "at the time of working with Becky there were inconsistencies" in the multi-agency approach to looking after Becky and recommended in future that professionals should not take what parents or carers say about a young person at "face value".

In addition to the safeguarding review, there is an ongoing Domestic Homicide Review into Becky's case.

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