A 17-year-old boy who stabbed his schoolgirl girlfriend to death before dismembering her body and trying to hide it has been jailed for at least 25 years.

Steven Miles, who was fixated with the TV serial killer Dexter, carried out the brutal attack at his home in Oxted, Surrey in January this year.

He then callously cleaned up any mess or evidence before a family member made the gruesome discovery.

Guildford Crown Court heard police were called to a property on Amy Road near Oxted High Street at around 5.20pm on Friday, January 24 where the body of Elizabeth Rose Thomas was discovered.

A post-mortem concluded the cause of death as a stab wound to the back.

Steven Miles, of Edenbridge, who was 16 at the time, was arrested at the scene shortly after on suspicion of murder.

Miles had known Elizabeth for several months before the offence - they were both students at the same school - and pleaded guilty to the murder at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday, September 9.

The court heard how Miles had dismembered Elizabeth's body, using tools from his father's tree surgeon business, following her death.

After stabbing her in the head and the back, he went on to dismember her legs and an arm before wrapping the limbs in cling film and putting them in bin bags.

He covered her body in a green plastic garden sheet and attempted to clean up the scene before it was discovered by a family member.

Miles, who had been diagnosed as having an autistic syndrome, told his family that an alter ego called Ed had told him to kill someone.

When his sister returned home to the flat an hour later, Miles told her: "Ed made me do something bad."

Elizabeth's family provided the court with a victim impact statement in which they described her as family orientated, happy, chatty and mature beyond her years.

They described the effect losing their eldest daughter has had on their family and how they no longer have any milestones to look forward to - their sadness will last forever.

"This was a horrific, premeditated and thoroughly planned murder of an innocent young woman who had her whole life ahead of her" - Ch Insp, Claire Pridgeon

Elizabeth was described by her friends as a ‘really pretty, really funny and really kind' young lady.

During sentencing the court heard that Miles had a fascination with horror movies and novels and wanted to copy the actions of Dexter a characted in a TV series about a police forensics officer who is also a serial killer.

Judge Christopher Critchlow told the defendant: "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."

Senior investigating officer detective chief inspector Claire Pridgeon of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: "This was a horrific, premeditated and thoroughly planned murder of an innocent young woman who had her whole life ahead of her.

"The murder of Elizabeth Thomas sent shockwaves through the close-knit town of Oxted, an impact which is still felt today and no doubt will continue to do so for some time.

"Nothing will ever bring back Elizabeth but I hope the sentence handed today will bring some form of closure to Elizabeth's family and friends and our thoughts continue to be with them at this extremely difficult time.”

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