Teen murder plot dubbed 'real Adolescence' from sick voice notes to final hours
It was a cold, quiet Sunday in January 2021 when 13-year-old Olly Stephens left his family home in Emmer Green, Reading, telling his mum he was heading out to meet a friend.
Just 15 minutes later, he was dying in a field - ambushed, beaten, and stabbed in a horrifyingly calculated attack that would shake the nation. The chilling case was revisited in a harrowing BBC documentary The Real Adolescence: Our Killer Kids this week.
Dubbed 'The Real Adolescence' for its shocking insight into teenage violence fuelled by social media and groupthink, Olly's murder was a brutal turning point in youth crimes. Behind the senseless killing was a twisted revenge plot orchestrated through voice notes, text messages, and a dangerous desire to 'pattern' a peer - a disturbing online trend where children film and share assaults to humiliate their victims.
Olly, a kind-hearted boy described by his family as 'loving' and someone who always 'stood up for the underdog,' had recently discovered a video in a Snapchat group showing a younger child being humiliated.
True to his character, he shared the footage with his older brother, hoping to protect the victim. But in the eyes of two boys in the group - aged just 13 and 14 - Olly had committed the ultimate betrayal. He was a "snitch." And for that, they plotted to kill him.
In voice notes later recovered by police, the level of malice is chilling. 'I actually hate the kid with a passion, like if I was to see him right now I'll probably end up killing him or something…' said the older boy.
The girl who helped orchestrate the plan - a 13-year-old who knew Olly in real life - was disturbingly enthusiastic about the impending attack. 'I'm so excited you don't understand,' she said in one message, after arranging to lure Olly to the scene.
Olly, who had been recently diagnosed with autism, had no idea what lay ahead when he made his way to Bugs Bottom, a field close to his home. He believed he was going to meet a friend.
Instead, he was set up. The boys were lying in wait. First, they punched him. Then, one of them pulled out a knife and stabbed him multiple times - in the chest and back - before fleeing with the girl.
A passing nurse tried to save him, as did paramedics, but Olly died in the ambulance before reaching the hospital. The aftermath was every parent's worst nightmare.
When a boy Olly knew knocked on the door to tell them something had happened, his dad Stuart sprinted to the park barefoot. The scene was indescribable. 'I just remember the faces - everyone turning and looking at me and the horror just written on their faces,' Stuart told the Mail Online. 'I was kneeling in his blood, so I knew he had lost a lot of blood. Once I held his hand I knew he had gone.'
His mother Amanda recalled the moment Stuart collapsed at the scene, screaming, 'My boy, my boy.' Her son, just 13, was gone.
The investigation that followed was massive. More than 200 police officers worked on the case, with Detective Chief Inspector Andy Howard calling it 'one of the most shocking' of his career.
In the digital age, the killers had left a trail of evidence behind. A staggering 90 percent of the evidence used to convict the teens came from mobile phones - voice messages, texts, and social media activity documenting the murder from planning to aftermath.
One message from the older boy read: 'Boy it was me and my boy innit. I started slapping him up and then my boy backed out and then **** shanked him.' The younger boy later messaged a friend, admitting: 'It was the biggest mistake of my life… I did it out of pure anger.'
Despite their denials, the boys were found guilty of murder at Reading Crown Court in the summer of 2021. The older was sentenced to at least 12 years, the younger to a minimum of 13. The girl - who had admitted manslaughter and perverting the course of justice - was initially sentenced to just over three years.
But after public outcry, her sentence was deemed too lenient and was later increased to five years. During sentencing, Judge Heather Norton offered a scathing assessment: 'Because of some online petty argument the three of you acted together to plan an attack... You have taken one life and damaged your futures and have caused so much pain to so many.'
Olly's father Stuart continues to speak publicly about his son, hoping to honour his memory while warning other families of the dangers lurking behind screens. 'Olly trusted people too much, it was part of his make-up, it was part of his autism - that's why we loved him. He knew no sense of danger.'
Olly's death, and the disturbing detail of how it was orchestrated and celebrated on social media, has been dubbed "The Real Adolescence" after the hit Netflix show was praised for raising awareness into these kinds of crimes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Gangster: The Story of the Black Widow - inside the life of Britain's most notorious female gangster Linda Calvey
The BBC's hit Gangster podcast series returns on Friday 8 August with the explosive true-crime tale of Linda Calvey - a woman whose name is etched into the darkest corners of the British underworld. And for the first time ever, her children speak publicly about the lasting consequences of her life of crime. Hosted by investigative journalist Livvy Haydock, Gangster: The Story of the Black Widow explores the extraordinary life of Linda, who rose through the ranks of London's criminal scene to become one of the UK's most feared female gangsters. Now 76, Linda opens up in candid interviews with Livvy about love, loss, and lethal consequences. Dubbed 'The Black Widow', Linda served time in the infamous H Wing alongside notorious killers Myra Hindley and Rose West. In this six-part series, she revisits the crimes that defined her, the prison years that changed her, and the regrets that still haunt her. This series also includes exclusive interviews with Linda's children, Neil and Mel, speaking publicly for the first time. In a raw and emotionally charged conversation, they reveal what it was really like growing up as the children of armed robbers, and how their childhood was shaped by crime, violence and loss. Neil recalls playing outside aged just three and a half with what turned out to be a real sawn-off shotgun: 'I thought it was just another toy gun, I'd found it behind the sofa. I was outside running around with it when one of the neighbours knocked on the door. My mum just said, 'Oh, he's got loads of guns.' She thought it was a toy, but it wasn't.' Mel, meanwhile, describes a surreal early memory of going on a spending spree to Hamleys, with money she found under Linda's bed. They also open up about the devastating loss of their father Mickey who was shot and killed during a failed robbery, and how they later lost their mother too, when she was later imprisoned for murder. Neil said: 'When my dad got killed and my mum went to prison, it was like falling into a black hole. You just don't know which way to turn.' Mel added: 'I was angry. I'd already lost my dad, then I lost my mum. I told her that. I was about 14, and I asked her, 'Why did you do that to us?' I was bitter for years. It was like drinking a poison that festered in me.' Both siblings reflect on how that trauma shaped their adult lives, from struggles with addiction and mental health to years spent numbing the pain. 'It's like I walked into a party at 14 and didn't leave until I was in my forties,' Mel said. 'I was reckless. For years I was just on another planet.' Despite the pain, there are also moments of reconciliation. Neil adds: 'I might have been angry with the situation, but I never blamed my mum. I'd still choose her. And my dad. It's just a shame how it all went.' Mel agrees: 'I'd still choose them too, but I'd want it to be different. I used to be envious of my friends whose parents had jobs, mortgages, dinner on the table. That's what I wanted. A normal life.' The Gangster podcast series has garnered millions of downloads and widespread critical acclaim for its deep dives into Britain's criminal underworld. This latest six-part series pushes even further, offering a rare female perspective on violence, power and survival in a world dominated by men - and for the first time, lays bare the personal cost of crime on the children left behind. Livvy Haydock said: 'Linda Calvey's story is one of the most extraordinary I've ever come across. This podcast isn't about glamourising crime, it's about asking how someone becomes 'The Black Widow' and what that says about class, gender, and justice in Britain." Listen to Gangster: The Black Widow on BBC Sounds from Friday 8 August AG / MCL Follow for more
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Iran drives out 1.5 million Afghans, with some branded spies for Israel
Ali Ahmad's eyes fill with tears as he lifts his shirt to show deep bruises across his he was detained, Iranian officers struck him and accused him of spying, he says. "They used hoses, water pipes and wooden boards to beat me. They treated us like animals."He was speaking to the BBC earlier this month at Islam Qala on the two countries' border, before crossing back over to Afghanistan. His name has been changed to protect his - which says it hosts more than four million undocumented Afghans who fled conflict in their homeland - has been stepping up deportations for months. In March those without papers were given a July deadline to depart voluntarily, but since a brief war with Israel in June, the authorities have forcibly returned hundreds of thousands of Afghans, alleging national security returns peaked at about 50,000 people in early July, according to the United Nations – often after arduous Ahmad says Iranian officials confiscated his money and phone and left him without "a single penny to travel back". He'd lived in Iran for two and a half years. 'Scapegoats' Iran's crackdown has coincided with widespread accusations linking Afghans to Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, including Iranian media reports that cite police sources claiming some individuals were arrested for espionage."We're afraid to go anywhere, constantly worried that we might be labelled as spies," one person, who wished to remain anonymous, told BBC News Afghan."You Afghans are spies", "You work for Israel" or "You build drones in your homes", are other frequent accusations, according to this Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan who served as senior adviser to the US Department of State, says Tehran may be "looking for scapegoats" for its shortcomings in the war against Israel."The Iranian government is very embarrassed by their security failures", which show Iran "was very thoroughly penetrated by Israeli intelligence", he says."So they had to find someone to blame."Critics also say the accusations of espionage are aimed at buying legitimacy for the government's plan to deport undocumented BBC attempted to contact the Iranian government but did not receive a response. The return of Afghan refugees "without tension and with respect for human rights… is a goal pursued at all levels", the state-backed Islamic Republic News Agency said on 18 July. 'Four days, like four years' Abdullah Rezaee, whose name has also been changed, has a similar story to Ali the detention centre where he was held, about 15 Iranian officers physically harmed him and other deportees, Abdullah told the BBC at Islam Qala."Iranian police tore up my visa and passport and beat me severely. They accused me of being a spy." Abdullah says he'd only been in Iran two months before being detained, despite having a visa."They beat us with plastic batons and said: 'You're a spy, you're ruining our country'."The four days he was detained "felt like four years". He describes constant mistreatment, physical abuse and lack of online allegations of collaboration between Afghans and Israeli secret services started early in the 13 June, the day Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military facilities, the government issued statements to the population, asking citizens to report suspicious activities such as unusual movements of vans, which might be transporting Israeli operatives' Telegram channels with large followings posted warning messages using similar wording to the government's. But they added that the population should be vigilant of "alien citizens" – an expression mostly used to describe Afghans in Iran – driving vans in big following day, a series of detentions of people allegedly connected to the Israeli attacks, including some Afghans, were 16 June, news channels broadcast a video of Afghans being detained claiming that they had been carrying drones with them. It went viral. But the video was old, and portrayed migrants detained due to their undocumented 18 June, a Telegram group attributed to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted that 18 Afghans had been arrested in the city of Mashhad for building drones for Israel, according to the independent monitoring group Afghan following day, the provincial deputy security chief was quoted saying the arrest had "no connection to drone-making" or co-operation with Israel. "They were arrested solely for being in Iran illegally."But posts connecting the arrests to espionage had spread widely on social media platforms. A hashtag saying the "expulsion of Afghans is a national demand" was shared more than 200,000 times on X in the space of a month, peaking at more than 20,000 mentions on 2 sentiment on Iranian social media is not new, but the difference this time is "the misinformation is not just coming from social media users but from Iranian-affiliated media", according to an independent researcher at Afghan Witness. From 'serial killers' to 'spies' More than 1.5 million Afghans have left Iran since January, according to the UN Refugee Agency. A spokesperson from the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation told the BBC that more than 918,000 Afghans entered Afghanistan from Iran between 22 June - 22 had been in Iran for of Afghans have fled to Iran and Pakistan since the 1970s, with major waves during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and more recently in 2021, when the Taliban returned to warn Afghanistan lacks the capacity to absorb the growing number of nationals forcibly returned to a country under Taliban rule. The country is already struggling with a large influx of returnees from Pakistan, which is also forcing hundreds of thousands of Afghans to first, Afghans were welcomed in Iran, says Dr Khadija Abbasi, who specialises in forced displacement at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. But anti-Afghan sentiment increased gradually, with state media portraying Afghan refugees as an "economic burden" to society, she narratives about Afghan migrants in Iran followed suit. In the 1990s, a series of rapes and murders in Tehran was widely assumed, without evidence, to be the work of an Afghan, which led to a rise in hate crimes. It was later revealed that the killer was an estimated two million Afghans migrated to Iran in the post-2021 wave, exaggerated posts on social media claimed more than 10 million Afghans were living in the country. Iran had been the only neighbour to allow refugees and migrants to enter at scale during that of Afghans from Iran, says Dr Abbasi, "might be one of the very rare topics that most Iranians" are in agreement with the government – although in July more than 1,300 Iranian and Afghan activists signed an open letter calling for an end to "inhumane" treatment of Afghan citizens in anti-Afghan sentiment is widespread. "It has become very dangerous," she says, "so people will just try to stay at home."For huge numbers that is no longer an option. The border continues to swell with Abdullah the deportation has destroyed his plans."I lost everything," he Babrak Ehsas, Yasin Rasouli, Rowan Ings, and Sucheera Maguire, with additional reporting by Soroush Pakzad
BreakingNews.ie
7 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Young man jailed for raping teenage girl and engaging in sexual act with 12-year-old
A man who raped a teenage girl and engaged in a sexual act with a 12-year-old in separate incidents has been jailed for five-and-a-half years. The Dublin man was convicted of the rape of a 16-year-old girl in February 2021 following a Central Criminal Court trial earlier this year. Advertisement The 21-year-old also pleaded guilty after this trial to engaging in a sexual act with a child under 15 in January 2021. This injured party was 12 at the time, the court heard. He was 17 at the time of both offences and cannot be named for legal reasons. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence on Thursday, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo noted the defendant 'told lies' and claimed both victims had made up false allegations against him. The judge said the court had taken account of the man's youth at the time, noting that immaturity reduces culpability. Advertisement Mr Justice Naidoo said he would impose consecutive sentences as there are two victims. He imposed a total sentence of six-and-a-half years with the final year suspended for two years on strict conditions to encourage rehabilitation and victim awareness. The court previously heard that the defendant and the 12-year-old came in contact through Snapchat when she was 11. There were communications between them, and he sent her pictures of his abs. They met up several times and on a date in January 2021, he took her to the garden of an abandoned house where he engaged in as sexual act with her. She said it was sore and asked him to stop, but he replied 'shush, it's okay'. Advertisement Reading her victim impact statement, the now 17-year-old described feeling uncomfortable in her own body and the area where she lives. She outlined the effects on her mental health including sleeplessness, anxiety, flashbacks and panic attacks. She said she had to drop out of school for mental health reasons, 'when it came out what he did to me' as the man was then also a student at the same school. When interviewed by gardaí, the man denied ever being alone with the 12-year-old girl, claiming she was infatuated with him. Advertisement Evidence was heard that the man and the 16-year-old girl were part of the same friend group and had been hanging out in the area on a night in February 2021. The injured party, her female friend, the man and his brother walked to her home. The man later went into her home and raped her, telling her afterwards it was their secret. The girl told gardaí that the man's brother threw a condom inside during the incident, the court heard. In a victim impact statement she read to the court, the now 21 year old woman said she had experienced 'four long years of pain, hurt, confusion' and that her home is no longer a safe space as it has been 'tainted by that night'. She said she hopes that she never has to set eyes on the man again and prays he will never get the chance to do this to another person again. Advertisement The accused told gardaí that the 16-year-old made up the allegation as she was upset about kissing him earlier in the night, having recently broken up with another boy. Mr Justice Naidoo said the age disparity between the defendant and the 12-year-old girl was aggravating, describing it as 'significant' at that stage in life. He said this was not a spontaneous incident and the defendant had developed a relationship with the girl, which 'culminated in a serious criminal act'. He noted that the defendant and the 17-year-old girl were part of the same peer group before this incident. The judge said this was not a case of sexual experimentation between two young people where the male had gone too far, but the physical imposition by the defendant of his will on this girl. He noted the contents of a forensic psychological report, which states the man has an 'extreme lack of awareness about consent' and is at average risk of sexual re-offending. The report also states that the man did not ask for consent, but believed both victims wished to engage. Mr Justice Naidoo said this is 'at odds' with the evidence. The judge also said he had considered testimonials provided to the court on the man's behalf. Ireland Man (58) spared jail over getting another person t... Read More He said he would set a headline sentence of eight years for the defilement charge if sentencing an adult, before reducing it to four years to reflect the defendant's age at the time. The judge also set a headline of nine years for the rape charge if sentencing an adult, which he reduced to four-and-a-half years. The judge noted the man now accepts the jury's verdict, and that both victims have 'understandably' declined to accept letters of apology, given the defendant blamed them both If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at or visit Rape Crisis Help .
