20-year old teen stabs friend 100 times and plucks out his eyes in gruesome murder

A teenager  murdered his friend in woodland by stabbing him more than 100 times before going to the cinema to watch a gory horror film. Lewis Ashdown, 20, arranged to meet Marc Williams for a drink and then lured him to a remote woodland. He got him drunk by feeding him large amounts of whisky and coke and, as he was being sick, Ashdown launched a "merciless" and "frenzied" attack on the 18-year-old.In a savage assault that continued for almost 40 minutes he stabbed him 107 times, gouged out his eyes and knifed his genitals. Ashdown used his phone to make seven videos showing himself kicking his friend in the head "like a football", beating him and hitting him over the head with a tree branch.

He then went home where he spoke "normally" to his mother and the following day went to the cinema with a friend to watch The Conjuring 3 - The Devil Made Me Do It. The film - the third in a trilogy of horror films - describes a killer brutally stabbing someone to death while allegedly in the grips of demonic possession. Today Ashdown stood emotionless in the dock as he was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years after pleading guilty to murder and possession of an offensive weapon. The pair, who both lived in Uckfield, East Sussex became friends and they would meet up for nights out. On May 29 this year the pair texted each other and arranged to meet and have a drink and Mr Williams bought beer, whisky and coke in preparation. But when Ashdown discovered the teenager had taken his younger brother along as well he told Mr Williams he did not "feel comfortable" with that and did not turn up. Instead Ashdown texted him much later when Mr Williams was returning home and arranged to meet him in Fairwarp Field in Uckfield.

He begged his friend for help saying: "Help, help. Can you get me an ambulance? I think I'm dying." At around 11.30pm he called his aunt, Emma, to tell her he was on his way home and she could hear Ashdown in the background saying: "Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets home okay." But the court heard that just minutes later Ashdown launched a "sadistic, gruesome and horrifying" attack on his friend, first stabbing him in the back. Ashdown then went on to stab the 7st 6lb Mr Williams 107 times in the face, eyes, neck, head, back, genitals, chest and right leg, the court heard. He pulled down his trousers and pants and dumped his body in a stream before returning home. Both men were initially reported missing before Ashdown was ruled out and a search was launched for Mr Williams, with friends and family joining police and dogs in the hunt for the teenager, When Ashdown met his friend they got drunk on Jack Daniels before Ashdown made a shocking confession to him. The murderer told him he had killed the teenager because he had been "annoying" him. Jailing him for a minimum of 27 years, Judge Christine Laing said: "This is one of the savage, sustained and merciless murders and is one the worst killing this court had dealt with in some time."