A teen who was ‘obsessed’ with the television series Dexter has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering and dismembering his girlfriend.
The Mirror reports that Steven Miles, who was 16 at the time of the murder, killed Elizabeth Thomas in the bedroom of his home in Oxted, Surrey on January 24 this year. Miles reportedly stabbed her in the head and back, and he went on to dismember her legs and an arm, wrapped the limbs in clingfilm and placed them in bin bags, before covering her body in a green plastic garden sheet.
The teenager, who was a politics student, used saws and tools from his father’s tree business to cut up Elizabeth’s body. The boy, who had been diagnosed as having an autistic syndrome, told his family that he had an alter ego called Ed who had instructed him to kill someone. During the sentencing hearing at Guildford Crown Court, the court heard that Miles had a fascination with horror movies and the macabre, and he had wanted to emulate the actions of Dexter, the lead character of an American TV series about a police forensics officer who is also a serial killer.
Judge Christopher Critchlow expressed the sheer horror of the events that took place in the home that dreadful day.
“This is a case of the utmost gravity, the horrific features of which are rarely heard in any court. Nothing this court can say or do, no sentence this court can impose can alleviate the pain suffered by Elizabeth Thomas’ family for death in such a terrible manner. There must be a life sentence.”
In fact, the judge felt the details of the case were so horrific that he made a disclaimer at the start of the trial that anyone with a nervous disposition should leave.
“[The details] are extremely unpleasant and may cause considerable distress to anyone listening.”
One satire site reported that 17 bodies were found wrapped in plastic , inferring a Dexter copycat was on the loose. Unfortunately, the case of Kevin Mills is not satire.
The court documents also note that Miles referred to Elizabeth on numerous occasions as “his project.” The Guardian reports that the judge noted how the television character, Dexter , had influenced this young man to kill.
“The case is a sad testament to the perils of how young people can become entrenched in modern TV blockbusters involving violence which shockingly led to a copy-cat killing in real life.”
The judge in case said that the “phenomenon” of Ed was not “fully understood” by psychiatrists, but they all agreed that the defendant was not psychotic at the time of the killing.
[Image Via Showtime and The Mirror]