Man found guilty of murder after stabbing teen more than 100 times in a sinister and deadly Grindr hook-up
18-year-old Alex Davies was stabbed more than 100 times. (Lancashire Police)
A man has been convicted of murdering an 18-year-old he lured to a remote location for a Grindr hook-up.
At Preston Crown Court on Monday, Brian Healless was found guilty of killing Alex Davies by stabbing him more than 100 times.
The court heard that Healless, also 18, had met Davies via gay hook-up app Grindr in April 2019, and had convinced his victim to meet in a secluded area near Parbold in Lancashire.
Lancashire Grindr killer Brian Healless stabbed teen to death.
He wrote: “We can cuddle, just not in public, go to a more discrete spot… I’m not out yet and like to be discrete about it.”
However, Healless took a kitchen knife to the April 29 hook-up, and stabbed Davies repeatedly – before dragging his still-alive victim through the mud and covering his body with branches.
Brian Healless was found guilty of killing Alex Davies by stabbing him more than 100 times
Davies died from stab wounds to his back neck, chest, abdomen and left arm, as well as suffocation from the mud he was left to lie in.
Healless also took both of his victim’s mobile phones, taking them home, where he wiped them in hopes of obfuscating their online encounter.
However, by taking the phones back to his home, the GPS trail from the devices led police straight to him.
When police searched the property, they found headphones, a mobile phone and a wallet all belonging to Davies. A hoodie and a bike found in the house by police had traces of Davies’ blood on them.
Healless’ internet history also revealed that before meeting Davies, he had searched online, “How strong is the back of the skull?”, and had looked up how to wipe another person’s mobile phone.
Killer asked other men to meet.
The court also heard that Healless started conversations with four other men on Grindr between Davies’ death and his arrest, in which he also sought meetings in secluded areas – while searching online for details on how to reset their phones.
Defence lawyers had argued that Healless was not guilty of a murder charge because of a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, but prosecutors described him as a “calculating, cunning, manipulative and dangerous young man.”
The jury convicted him after less than an hour of deliberation on Monday, according to the BBC.
Healless will be sentenced on Tuesday.
