Mother unknowingly watched her daughter’s killer walk away moments after strangling the teenager – after the 18-year-old had told her: ‘I’ll be there now mam. I’m on my way’
- Lily Sullivan, 18, was strangled by Lewis Haines, 31, at a beauty spot in Pembroke
- The pair met on a night out in the South Wales town and walked to secluded area
- Lily’s mother Anna waited in a car to pick her up and saw Haines as he fled scene
- She spoke to Lily at 2.47am when she said: ‘I’ll be there now mam. I’m on my way. I’m a couple of minutes away. I’m nearly there’
A mother unknowingly watched her teenage daughter’s killer walk away from the murder scene just moments after he strangled her at a beauty spot, a court heard today.
Lily Sullivan, 18, was strangled by Lewis Haines, 31, after meeting him on a night out – and he left her semi-naked body face down in the pond water.
Father-of-one Haines launched the attack on Lily after the pair had walked to the beauty spot after meeting in Out Nightclub, Pembroke.
A court heard Haines fled the scene – and Lily’s mother was waiting to give her a lift home.
Mum Anna Sullivan had been sitting in a garage waiting to pick up her daughter in Pembroke on December 17 last year.
She spoke to Lily at 2.47am when she said: ‘I’ll be there now mam. I’m on my way. I’m a couple of minutes away. I’m nearly there.’
Prosecutor William Hughes QC said Mrs Sullivan’s call was then cut off from her daughter as she frantically tried to call her back.
Swansea Crown Court heard the mum made 30 calls to her daughter but there was no answer and it went to voicemail.
Lewis Haines poses for a picture in front of Pembroke Castle in Wales, near where he killed Lily Sullivan. The image was posted on Facebook in May last year – months before her death
Lily Sullivan, 18, died at Mill Pond in Pembrokeshire. Pictured: The last photo of Lily taken just hours before her death
Mr Hughes said: ‘On or around the time of this call is when the prosecution say this is when physical contact took place.’
The court heard Mrs Sullivan had been sitting at the Green Garage near the Mill Pond when she spotted a man ‘walking casually, swinging his arms.’
Mr Hughes said: ‘As she waited for Lily she noticed someone pass behind her car. He was walking casually, swinging his arms. He did not look at Anna Sullivan but he did look at people in the garage.
‘He began to act strangely, running across the road even though there was no traffic and walking towards the Bush school. He was shaking his head and holding his head in his hands. This occurred at 3.09am.
Father-of-one Lewis Haines (pictured), 31, of Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, was due to stand trial for murder on June 20 after previously pleading guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter. He changed his plea to guilty today.
‘Anna Sullivan decided to follow Lewis Haines due to his behaviour. She lost sight of him as he disappeared into the woods.
‘Mr Haines was aware that Anna Sullivan was waiting for Lily at that location.’
He added: ‘The person Anna Sullivan saw at this point was her daughter’s killer Lewis Haines.’
The court heard Haines returned home at 3.40am before waking his girlfriend Maisie John by banging on the door.
Haines told his girlfriend: ‘I have strangled somebody. They are in the Mill Pond. I’ve been in the Mill Pond.’
He removed his long sleeve black top before throwing it on the floor and confessing to strangling somebody at the pond.
The court heard Haines demanded to speak to his mother Sharon Pitman before the pair drove to her home in the early hours.
Lily Sullivan, 18, was found dead in Mill Pond, Pembroke, at 4.12am on December 17 last year after police attended ‘following reports of a female body in the water’
Mr Hughes added: ‘Miss John describes him as crying and being hysterical. He kept repeating to her, ‘Take me to my mum. I need to speak to my mum.’
The court heard Haines told his mum and step-dad Lee Pitman that he met Lily in Out nightclub before they ‘necked’ during the night out.
He claimed that he launched the attack after Lily had threatened to accuse him of being a rapist when she found out he had a girlfriend.
The court heard step-dad Mr Pitman called the police while on his way to the pond to look for Lily.
Two officers then arrived at the scene before Lily was found face down in the water with no clothing on her upper body.
Mr Hughes said Lily was pronounced dead at 6.02am before a post mortem by Dr Stephen Leadbeatter found her injuries consistent with ‘manual strangulation.’
CCTV footage purportedly shows the pair leaving the club separately and meeting in a lane nearby. Haines was later seen running across a bridge close to the town’s historic castle (pictured)
Haines told police: ‘I strangled her’ when they arrived at the address. He later said ‘What the f*** have I done?’ at the custody desk at the station.
The court heard Haines later gave a defence statement to say he met Lily for the first time that night.
He said Lily suggested they go back to his house but he then admitted he had a girlfriend and she said he was ‘like all men.’
Mr Hughes said: ‘Mr Haines said Lily Sullivan then stated she was underage and this shocked and upset him.
‘She said she would tell her friends and the defendant’s girlfriend that he had raped her. He grabbed Lily by the neck and said she was twisted and to go away.’
Haines said he tried to walk away but Lily was hitting his back and saying she was going to ‘ruin his life’ and his daughter ‘would be ashamed of him.’
Lewis Haines (pictured) today admitted murdering 18-year-old Lily Sullivan after the teenager’s body was found near Mill Pond, in Pembroke, shortly after 4am on December 17 last year
Haines and Miss Sullivan (pictured) allegedly met in a Pembroke nightclub called Paddles just hours before her body was found. CCTV footage is said to have showed the pair speaking in the club.
The court heard Haines admitted grabbing Lily’s neck with both hands before he ‘threw her sideways’ and caused her to fall into the water.
He said he tried to lift her out but he could not do so because she was a ‘dead weight.’
CCTV footage played in court showed the moment Lily met Haines inside the nightclub while out partying with friends.
But Haines’ schoolfriend Charlene Jones later tried to stop them leaving together by shouting to Haines: ‘You have a girlfriend and a baby at home. She is only 18.’
The court also heard Lily was seen on security cameras as she walked down an alleyway with Haines leading to the pond.
Lily’s phone can be seen flashing in the footage as she received messages and calls, including from mum Anna Sullivan.
Prosecutor William Hughes QC said police later found Lily’s phone on the floor of the alley just 213ft away from the water.
The court heard the pair had been in the lane together for up to 50 minutes before Haines launched the attack on Lily.
Neighbour Amanda Casey was woken up by a ‘female scream’ before hearing the town clock strike 3am moments later.
She said: ‘It was a short, sharp scream that came from the bottom of my garden in the alleyway.’
Lily’s body was found in Mill Pond near Pembroke Castle (pictured), a renowned beauty spot in the area
The court heard the couple went to see Haines’ mum Sharon Pitman before he confessed: ‘Sorry mum, I have strangled a girl and she is in the pond.’
Stepdad Lee Pitman rushed to the pond while raising the alarm with the police before Lily was discovered face down.
Swansea Crown Court heard Lily’s lace top was in vegetation and her handbag was recovered from the water with a large clump of her hair in the zip.
Toxicology results showed Lily 212mg of alcohol in her blood – over two times the drink drive limit of 80mg.
Haines was tested eight hours after the attack and had 82mg of alcohol in his blood.
Oil refinery worker Haines previously admitted manslaughter but changed his plea to guilty to murder a week before his trial.
The sentencing hearing, which is due to last two days, continues.
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