Alex Rodda's murder in December 2019 shocked the nation. The 15-year-old schoolboy from Cheshire was groomed and beaten to death by 19-year-old Matthew Mason, who struck him repeatedly with a heavy metal wrench in a secluded woodland.
The case drew widespread attention not only for its brutality but because the digital trail of messages between the pair became central to the trial. What started as seemingly harmless flirting spiralled into secret payments, blackmail claims, and ultimately a fatal encounter.
