Sexual jealousy was murder motive

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Paul Moseley BBC News, Norwich Simon Everitt's body was found three weeks after he went missing

Simon Everitt's badly burned body was found in woodland at Mautby, Norfolk, on the 28th June, 2008.

It took a week to confirm the identity of the remains.

The 17-year-old had been tied to a tree and doused in petrol before being set on fire. He was then partially buried in a ditch.

It would be almost a year before any explanation was given for his death.

Three people were charged with Simon Everitt's murder and Norwich Crown Court was told his death had centred on "sexual jealousies".

The teenager had been involved in a relationship with 19-year-old Fiona Statham.

But so had two of his killers; 20-year-old Jonathan Clarke from Telford, Shropshire, who was 19 at the time of the murder, and 25-year-old Jimi-Lee Stewart from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Both men told the court they "hated" their victim.

Lured to his death

The third involved in the murder was 40-year-old Maria Chandler from Great Yarmouth.

She was said to have been the best friend of Ms Statham, but disliked how Simon Everitt had treated her.

On 6 June last year Jonathan Clarke attacked the teenager in St George's Park in Great Yarmouth. He was arrested by police but later released.

The next day Clarke and Stewart came up with a plan, which Stewart later said was to meant to "terrify" their victim.

Stewart told the court that he lured him to a lay-by at Corton near Lowestoft, Suffolk, where Clarke and Chandler were waiting.

He said Clarke used a homemade cosh to attack the teenager, but he escaped and dialled 999 for an ambulance.

But, pretending to be Simon's friend, Stewart took the phone and told the ambulance service that he did not know where they were and he would call them back.

Confession

He said Chandler then drove towards them in a Toyota car and Clarke hit Simon with the passenger door.

Simon was then made to get into the boot of the car and was driven to remote farmland at Mautby.

It was there that he was forced to walk into woods on the edge of a field and tied to a tree.

He was then "interrogated" by Stewart who believed his victim had slept with Ms Statham.

After that, Stewart said he poured petrol all over the 17-year-old including down his throat, but told the court he was "shocked" when Clarke lit a match and set fire to their captive.

Hours later, he said, the three returned to Mautby where the body was buried in a ditch.

Simon was reported missing on 9 June by Ms Statham.

Stewart was with Ms Statham at the time and told her that Simon had probably gone up north and that she should "move on".

Days later though, he broke down and confessed to his mother that he had been involved in the murder.

His mother Susan Lewis went to the police and Clarke, Stewart and Chandler were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Chandler finally led police to Simon's body, almost three weeks after he had been killed.

Clarke, Stewart and Chandler were charged with murder, but it would be almost a year until they would finally face justice.

The three have all been found guilty of murder and will be sentenced on 26 June.