18 year-old found guilty of murdering man at his home after meeting on Grindr

A British teenager has been found guilty of murder today after killing 52-year-old civil servant Paul Jefferies after meeting him on gay dating app Grindr.

Ben Bamford, who was aged 17 at the time of killing, stabbed Jefferies over 4o times in what’s being described as a “sustained attack”, reports The Telegraph.

Jefferies, who had previously worked as a tax adviser to former Chancellor George Osborne’s Treasury team was found naked with a dish towel covering his head on his kitchen floor in his East Sussex home.

Following the attack, Bamford stole Jefferies’ car and was admitted to Eastbourne District General Hospital for head and arm injuries.

Jefferies and Bamford first spoke on Grindr when the latter was just 15-years-old, two years prior to Jefferies’ death. The pair did not speak again until December 2015, but by the time of the killing on February 23 had formed a relationship and had met up on several occasions in both Jefferies’ home and car.

The court heard that Bamford was under mounting pressure to pay drug debts of around £400, and “sought out” Jefferies on the day of the murder. Prosecutors accused him of robbing Jefferies to pay off the debts before killing him after a struggle broke about.

Bamford claimed in court that he had killed Jefferies in self-defence after he found himself trapped in the house – however he was convicted by the jury after three hours’ deliberation. The teenager will be sentenced tomorrow.

Detective Superintendent Adam Hibbert said: “This was a horrific attack by a teenage boy who preyed on his victim with the aim of exploiting him for money. The level of violence he inflicted on Paul Jefferies was extreme and then he himself fled from the scene in the victim’s own car.

“He showed no remorse and indeed is smirking for a selfie photo taken around three hours later.”

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