Trip that cost Telford teenager Georgia Williams her life

On Sunday, May 26, Georgia Williams said goodbye to her parents and said she was going to visit Reynolds.

She was on holiday from college and the next day was a bank holiday. There was nothing to cause her parents Steve and Lynnette any concern.

They never saw Georgia alive again – their clever, happy and inspirational daughter had made one mistake, and she paid the ultimate price.

It was only when the bubbly 17-year-old failed to return home as expected that her parents started to ask around her friends, and realised their treasured younger daughter was missing.

She had trusted someone she thought was a friend.

See also:

• Jamie Reynolds pleads guilty to murdering Georgia Williams

• West Mercia Police statement

Policeman's daughter Georgia left her home in Telford Road, Wellington, at7.30pm on Sunday and went to the home of Jamie Reynolds in nearby Avondale Road. His parents were out of the country on holiday.

The police – including Steve's police colleagues in CID – started what became a nationwide hunt for Georgia.

After police found out that she had gone to Reynolds' house, the search for Georgia centred on the silver Toyota Hiace 300 GS van, registration number CX06 ASV, which he was known to be driving.

Tracking the van through CCTV and witness reports, the police were led to a budget hotel in Glasgow, where 22-year-old Reynolds was arrested on suspicion of kidnap.

But although they had Reynolds, and his van, the police had not got Georgia back.

On Wednesday, May 29, Superintendent Nav Malik, Telford's most senior police officer, said officers had become "gravely concerned" for Georgia's welfare and appealed for the public to help find her.

He said: "She has never gone missing before, it is totally out of character. Her parents are devastated and we are gravely concerned.

"She is a very nice girl. A former head girl from a local college. She is very bright and had a bright future ahead of her.

"We are afraid she may have come to harm."

Reynolds was refusing to say where Georgia was, and the police were running out of time to hold him without charge.

The longer she was missing, the more concern for her safety grew.

Police knew that Reynolds' van had travelled from Wellington to Oswestry before travelling to Rhyl, Chester, Cumbria and then onto Glasgow, where he was arrested at a Premier Inn.

Georgia had missed her first driving lesson and a date at a concert with her boyfriend Matthew Bird, both of which she had been looking forward to.

Her family knew that she wouldn't have missed either by choice, or without getting in touch with her family or Matthew.

A Facebook group, Help Us Find Georgia Williams, was set up by her friends to encourage people to come forward with information about her whereabouts. The page gained nearly 500 users within the first hour of being created and quickly grew to thousands as word about Georgia's disappearance spread.

Much was made at the time about the significance of the last message Georgia sent on Twitter: "Worst nights sleep in ages. Need sleep. Stuff on my mind. Now can't get back to sleep."

Superintendent Malik said police were aware of the tweet, which suggested Georgia was anxious, but there was no suggestion it was connected to her disappearance.

Messages asking for information about Georgia's disappearance spread worldwide, with singer Sinitta and Norwich City's Telford-born midfielder Elliott Bennett amongst those who retweeted appeals.

The story became headline news across the country, with reporters from national papers and television camped outside Wellington Police Station.

AFC Telford United, the fan-owned football club where Georgia was a matchday volunteer, also helped spread the word through internet forums and appeals.

Then on Thursday, May 30, the investigation took a dramatic turn for the worse when police announced that they had re-arrested Reynolds on suspicion of Georgia's murder.

Although her body had still not been found, police had enough evidence to be sure the red-headed teen had died – and it allowed them to hold him longer while the search for Georgia continued.

Evidence the police had gained by now meant they were fairly certain that she had not left the house in Avondale Road alive, and that she had died within an hour of arriving there – but there was still no clue as to where Reynolds had left her body. By a cruel twist of fate, another story involving the abduction and murder of a child was also in the news that day – Mark Bridger was sentenced to a whole-life prison term for the killing of five-year-old April Jones in Machynlleth, Mid Wales. April's body has never been found.

Reynolds had been brought back to Telford for questioning but was remaining tight-lipped about what had happened.

Without the benefit of the knowing what the police knew, Georgia's friends clung to the hope that she was still alive.

The Facebook page attracted 5,000 likes within a couple of days, with Georgia's picture being shared by thousands of people across the internet.

Chay Davis, headteacher of Ercall Wood Technology College where Georgia had been head girl, added his voice to wave of tributes being paid to the teenager.

He said: "Georgia enjoyed being at school very much and earned the respect of all the staff here. She was a great help to me during her time as head girl.

"Georgia brought a lot to the role, including plenty of energy. She was a real ambassador."

Police followed up every lead in the hunt for Georgia's body, and cordoned off part of Brown Moss nature reserve near Whitchurch – sparking rumours that the teenager had been found.

Forensics teams were also continuing to search Reynolds' home in Avondale Road as they started to build a case against the former petrol station worker.

That evening, Georgia's disappearance was featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme – and prompted a witness to pass on a fragment of information which was to bring the search to a tragic conclusion. The van had been spotted.

Any hope that Georgia would return safe and well disappeared the following day, May 31. After a day of searching woodland in Ercall Woods, near her home in Wellington, information from the witnesses who had seen Crimewatch led police to North Wales.

Superintendent Malik confirmed that the programme had sparked information of "potential significance" about thee van.

He said calls had come from a wide area along the route the van was known to have taken from Shropshire to Scotland, from which they had established that it had been in the Wrexham area at about 5pm on the Monday and was seen at 10.30pm the same night at Deeside.

That Wrexham sighting proved the difference. After a search of woodland near the the Nant-y-Garth pass, at about 2pm on the afternoon of May 31 a young woman's body was found. The body was Georgia's. After telling her devastated parents that their worst nightmare had come true, Inspector Malik faced reporters outside Wellington Police Station to confirm that Georgia was dead and that Reynolds had been charged with her murder.

He appeared at a special Saturday court at Telford Magistrates Court the following morning, and was remanded in custody as the legal process that, finally, led to today's hearing was started.

Police confirmed that new evidence proved that Georgia had died at an address in Wellington. A post-mortem investigation showed she died from pressure to the neck.

Superintendent Malik said the police officers, particularly those who were colleagues of Georgia's father, had found the investigation particularly difficult.

He said: "Although all investigations of this nature are extremely difficult, it is fair to say that this case has proved particularly challenging for all the officers and staff involved.

He also thanked all the members of the public who had used social media to spread the appeal for information, and all those who had contacted police to try to help.

Two weeks after her body was found, thousands of turquoise and orange ribbons guided Georgia on her final journey.

About 800 people turned out to the teenager's funeral, with the cortege route lined with ribbons in Georgia's favourite colours. All Saints' Church in Wellington was packed for the celebration of Georgia's life, with many hundreds more standing outside to listen as the service was relayed by loudspeaker.

Hundreds of air cadets who marched to the church from their headquarters in King Street under police escort and pupils from Ercall Wood Technology College, where Georgia was head girl, joined mourners including Georgia's mother Lynnette, father Stephen, and older sister Scarlett.

In accordance with her family's wishes, most of the mourners wore bright colours in a celebration of her life.

The cortege passed Georgia's fellow students paying their respects outside New College in King Street and air cadets from local squadrons formed a guard of honour for the mourners entering the church before the service.

Twenty police cadets marched into the church in ranks of two as the church bells started to sound.

Silence fell as the wicker coffin was taken from the hearse into the church followed by Georgia's family and boyfriend Matthew Bird.

Reverend Mark Ireland, who conducted the service, said that the service was starting with All Things Bright and Beautiful at the request of Georgia's family as it "reflected Georgia's character".

Her father Stephen, a detective constable with West Mercia Police, read a poignant poem to the teenager written by her friends.

He said: "We thought of you today. But that is nothing new. We thought of you yesterday And the days before that too.

"We think of you in silence We often speak your name. Now all we have is memories. And your picture in a frame. Your memory is our keepsake, with which we will never part. God now has you in his keeping Georgia, but we all have you in our hearts."

Georgia's college friend Dan Crossley sang Georgia's Song, a touching tribute he wrote while Georgia was still missing. Father Alban Greenwood, from St Patrick's Catholic Church in Wellington, also paid tribute to the teenager.

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard, whose constituency covers Wellington, was among the mourners. Also present were Lee Carter, the chairman of AFC Telford United, and the club's commercial manager Paul Riley.

Ercall Wood headteacher Chay Davies paid his own tribute to the teenager . There was also a tribute to Georgia, from Flight Lieutenant Philippa Bartlett, commanding officer of 1130 Air Cadet Squadron of which Georgia was a member.

As the coffin left the church, it was accompanied by the strains of Keeping the Dream Alive by Munchener Freiheit – the anthem of Georgia's beloved AFC Telford United.

When Reynolds first appeared in court in September he pleaded not guilty to Georgia's murder, leaving her family with the prospect of having to listen to two weeks of detailed evidence about what happened.

Yesterday's guilty plea means they can at least have some sort of closure – but life for the Williams family will never be the same again.

• See Tuesday's Shropshire Star for three further pages of coverage