TEEN GIRL BEATEN TO DEATH BY CONTROLLING BOYFRIEND SENTENCED TO LIFE
Natasha Hill's foster mother has voiced her grief over her daughter's death, revealing that her only wish was for her to experience love.The 18-year-old girl was violently attacked by her older boyfriend, Scott Clifford, who was controlling and coercive.
Clifford, aged 34 and also known as Scott Bridgeham, caused a total of 53 injuries that led to Ms Hill’s death.
Initially, Clifford claimed that Ms Hill had caused her own injuries and that she had fallen after a day of drinking in Thamesmead.
Despite this, he was convicted at Southwark Crown Court on charges of murder, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and one of common assault.
The incident was brought to police attention following a call reporting a severely injured woman at a residence on Sewell Road on April 15 of the previous year.
She was declared dead at the scene.
Clifford denies all allegations but is expected to serve a minimum sentence of 18 years.
Caroline Shearer, her foster mother who, along with her husband Mick, has fostered 40 children, said Clifford 'deserves everything he gets' and described Natasha as a 'wonderful, caring child' who simply wanted love.
This tragedy adds to a series of losses for the family, including her mother’s loss of another son, Jay Whiston, who was stabbed to death in 2012, and her foster brother Alex Wagner, who died by suicide at 21 in 2015.
