Sex Killer Jailed for Life For Lily's Murder
Lewis Haines will serve minimum of 23 years for murdering teenager
Last updated 26th Aug 2022
A sex killer was jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years today for strangling a teenage girl in West Wales before dumping her body in a pond - as her mother waited nearby to give her a lift home safely from a nightclub.
Father-of-one Lewis Haines, 31, killed Lily Sullivan, 18, just minutes after she rang her mum to say: "I'm nearly there."
A court heard Haines and Lily had been kissing after meeting in a nightclub - before he led her down an alleyway to dump her semi-naked body into the waters.
Her mother Anna told the court in a statement how she saw Haines on the night - and how she has been devastated.
She said: "The man who killed Lily knew I was waiting for her and passed me by the garage.
“The pain of Lily being taken from her family is unbearable. I am broken inside."
Haines denied the murder was sexual - but that was rejected by Judge Paul Thomas QC after Lily's body was found topless.
Judge Paul Thomas ruled that Haines had tried to force himself on Lily when she attempted to leave the Mill Pond in Pembroke, West Wales, to find her waiting mother.
Swansea Crown Court heard Haines killed Lily because he "couldn’t risk her surviving" and telling his long-term partner at home.
Judge Thomas said: "His intention was to silence her. He didn't want anyone to know what had happened in the lane.
"I am sure, however, having been in that lane for some time with Lily and having had intimate contact with her up to a point, Lily decided that she was going home to meet her mother.
"She made it clear from the phone call if nothing else to her mother that she did not want the intimacy between her and Lewis Haines to go as far as sexual intercourse.
"Fuelled as he was by drink, I am sure that Lewis Haines was frustrated by this because he had expectations and hopes that it would go further."
Lily had spoken to her mother at 2.47am when she said: "I'll be there now mam. I'm on my way. I'm a couple of minutes away. I'm nearly there."
But the call was cut short before her mum Anna Sullivan tried calling her back 30 times as she sat waiting to pick her up in the nearby Green Garage. Her calls to Lily all went to voicemail as she waited.
Mrs Sullivan unknowingly spotted Haines "walking casually, swinging his arms" at 3.09am when he started to "act strangely."
CCTV showed he and Lily walking together through the streets and turning down a lane. Then he was spotted alone minutes later.
Prosecutor William Hughes QC said: "He began to act strangely, running across the road even though there was no traffic and walking towards the Bush school. He was shaking his head and holding his head in his hands. This occurred at 3.09am.
"The person Anna Sullivan saw at this point was her daughter's killer.
"Anna Sullivan decided to follow Lewis Haines due to his behaviour. She lost sight of him as he disappeared into the woods.
"Mr Haines was aware that Anna Sullivan was waiting for Lily at that location."
The court heard Haines fled the scene after leaving Lily's half-naked body face down in the water on December 17 last year.
Her cream lace top was found next to the waters and her brown leather jacket and phone in the alley nearby.
He went home to tell girlfriend Maisie John: "I have strangled somebody. They are in the Mill Pond. I've been in the Mill Pond."
The court heard scaffolder Haines then told his mum and step-dad that he met Lily in Out nightclub before they "necked" during the night out.
He claimed that he launched the attack after Lily had threatened to accuse him of being a rapist when she found out he had a girlfriend - and that his young daughter would be ashamed.
Lily was pronounced dead at 6.02am before a post mortem by Dr Stephen Leadbeatter found her injuries consistent with "manual strangulation."
Haines told police: "I strangled her" when they arrived at his mum's address. He later said "What the **** have I done?" at the custody desk at the station.
Swansea Crown Court heard Haines claimed he had tried to go in the water to pull Lily out - but the judge said he had put her in the pond "where she would not be easily seen at night in the murky water."
After the case, Michael Cray of the CPS said: “Haines committed a dreadful, callous offence, murdering a young woman who had her whole adult life in front of her.
“The shock of this tragedy will be felt in the community for some time.
“Our thoughts are with Lily’s family and friends as they deal with the tremendous loss they undoubtedly feel.”
A victim impact statement from Lily Sullivan’s mother Anna told how Lily was her only child.
Mrs Sullivan said: “I suffered 14 miscarriages prior to Lily being born. I had almost resigned myself to not having any children so when Lily was born it felt amazing. She gave purpose to my life, she was my little bit of normal.
“Everything made sense when she arrived. We were so close.
“She was a beautiful girl inside and out. She didn't see that and lacked self-confidence.
“She always saw the good in people. She was not an angry person or confrontational.
“Lily was always good in a crisis.
“She was bright, funny and a talented artist.
“She was a typical teenage girl who loved clothes and makeup and mostly music. She adored house music.
“She had just started going out with friends on a regular basis.”
Mrs Sullivan added that her daughter had “so much to look forward to”. She had just started driving lessons and was going to college.
'The man who killed Lily knew I was waiting for her and passed me by the garage'
“The pain of Lily being taken from her family is unbearable. I am suffering many physical symptoms which are debilitating. I suffer regularly from panic attacks. When they come I cannot speak or function.
“I constantly feel numb and in a daze.
“The feelings I have are so difficult to describe. I am broken inside. It's almost like I don't know why I was put on this earth in the first place.
“I used to be afraid of dying because I didn't want to leave Lily, but I am waiting for my time now. I can't wait to be with her again.
“Until this happens it feels like my life is on pause. I am struggling to find a reason to be here.
“I wake up in the night picturing Lily in the water and wondering what was happening, whether she was scared.
“I picture the male responsible for Lily's death, when I saw him in front of the garage and could have confronted him. He looked me straight in the eye.
“I question what happened when her phone went dead when I was speaking to her and what I could have done differently so she could still be alive. It's like being tortured, thinking that one decision could have changed the whole night.
“Overwhelmingly I feel it's all so senseless. It didn't need to happen.
“What I can't come to terms with is that the man who killed Lily knew I was waiting for her and passed me by the garage... He chose not to help... He did nothing, which I can't forgive.”
At this point Lewis Haines shook his head and covered his eyes with his hand.
She added: “I intend to move in the near future because the house is so full of memories of Lily. I miss her so much.
“I want to know why she was killed. I want to grieve for my daughter. With all these questions running through my mind I can never have peace.”
Lily Sullivan's family shouted: "Monster" and "rot in hell" as Lewis Haines was jailed for her murder.
The 20 friends and members of her family in public gallery reacted when he was given a minimum of 23 years behind bars - and called out: "It should have been longer."
The family apologised to Judge Paul Thomas QC for their outburst as Haines was led away with his head bowed.
Judge Thomas had said: "If the murder involves sexual conduct the starting points is 30 years. Otherwise it would be 15 years."
He said Haines "brutally" murdered Lily Sullivan because she did not want to have sexual intercourse with him. As she made arrangements to meet her mother Haines got "frustrated", forcibly removed her top and strangled her.
The judge continued: "Precisely what happened in that lane will never be known because you have chosen not to tell anyone. At least, not to tell the truth about it.
"She said she would complain about what you had done. In order to stop her, you strangled her.
"She must have been terrified. An 18-year-old woman alone in the dark. You were only concerned with your own self-preservation.
"The death at the age of 18, just on the verge of adulthood, has caused devastation to many, as vividly and movingly illustrated by the victim personal statement by her mother.
"In my view there clearly was sexual conduct involved in the murder and therefore the starting point is one of 30 years."
The judge said he took into account Lily's vulnerability, the intention to silence her, and the dumping of her body in the Mill Pond where she could not be found until she was dead.
He said Haines had shown "self-pity" more than genuine remorse but acknowledged there was no evidence of him forcing sexual intercourse.
Passing a minimum sentence of 23 years and four months, the judge said: "It will be 2045 before you can even be considered for release. By that time you will be in your mid-50s. That does not mean you will be released then, if it is considered by those responsible for the decision that it is not safe to do so."