Lewis Daynes, 19, stabbed his friend to death. The case has highlighted the very real dangers teenagers face when interacting with people on the internet and Breck's devastated parents are now seeking to warn other families about how easy it is for online predators to quietly exploit youngsters. Despite a difficult childhood, much of which was spent in care, Daynes was something of a computer prodigy and by the time he was 18 was running an online gaming forum popular with other teenagers. Breck, who like many boys his age, loved to play violent computer games such as Call of Duty, was hugely impressed by Daynes, who boasted of a multimillion-pound business, links to the FBI and luxury homes in London and New York. In the months leading up to his death Breck, the son of a wealthy American born oil trader, fell increasingly under Daynes' spell.

Killed: Breck Bednar was found with a neck wound at a flat in Essex. Credit:Essex Police Such was his growing influence over him, that in December 2013, Breck's mother, Lorin LaFave, 48, contacted her local Surrey Police to complain that she feared her son was being groomed. But when she failed to hear anything back from the force, she assumed her concerns were unfounded and wrongly thought there was nothing to worry about. What the police had failed to investigate and pass on, however, was the fact that four years earlier Daynes had been arrested by their colleagues in Essex after a 15-year-old boy claimed he had raped him. Had that matter been explored more fully Daynes may never have had the chance to live out his sick fantasy.

Instead on February 17 last year Breck, who had triplet siblings, left his home in Caterham, Surrey and made his way by train to Grays in Essex, where Daynes lived, not in a penthouse apartment, but in a grotty flat. It has since emerged that Daynes had persuaded the teenager to visit him with the promise that he was preparing to hand over the reins of his £135 million ($250 million) computer business. With Daynes refusing to co-operate with police the full details of what happened inside that flat may never be fully understood, but what is known is that terrified Breck was sexually assaulted and then murdered. There is evidence that he was bound with duct tape before his throat was slashed with a penknife, causing him to bleed to death in a mercifully short time. Daynes then sat down at his computer and sent three pictures of his dying victim to two other online friends.

One of those friends unwittingly contacted Breck's sister to express sympathy, meaning his siblings learnt something tragic happened before the police were able to alert his parents. Detective Inspector Anne Cameron, who led the investigation, said: "We have evidence Breck was bound with duct tape, possibly at the wrists and ankles. He bought the duct tape off Amazon along with condoms and other items which indicate a sexual motive. "I am convinced Daynes lured Breck to his flat in order to kill him. He had spent so long telling Breck extensive lies about his millionaire lifestyle and working with the FBI. "He would not have let Breck walk away knowing they were lies and that he was only an 18-year-old boy with good computer skills. If he wanted to just sexually assault him why did he tell these lies? He wanted to murder him." After committing his vile crime, the callous and calculating teenager, who even at 19 looks much younger due to his baby-faced features, dialled 999, telling the operator: "Hello. I need police and a forensics team to my address, please. My friend and I got into an altercation and I'm the only one who came out alive."

Claiming the killing had been an act of self-defence after Breck attacked him with a pen-knife, Daynes ordered the call operator not to interrupt him and stated in a very matter of fact way: "I grabbed the knife and I stabbed him once in the back of the neck, I believe somewhere near the brain stem." He went on: "I don't remember exactly what happened, but the fight ended with me cutting his throat. I believe I turned around and I slashed his throat. He fell face-first on my bed. I tried to stop the bleeding. He fell onto the floor. I couldn't stop it - his throat was properly cut." After his arrest Daynes refused to co-operate with police and initially suggested he would be denying the murder, only changing his mind on the opening day of the trial. Last night he was beginning a life sentence, but could be released in his mid-40s after being told he will have to serve a minimum of 25 years before he is eligible for release. The judge in the trial, Mrs Justice Cox said: "You had befriended Breck and a number of other adolescent friends through an online community.

"Your contact with Breck increased in a sinister way. The precise details of what happened in your flat are unclear and may never be known." But she added: "I'm sure that this murder was driven by sadistic or sexual motivation." When Ms LaFave was told the news of her son's murder, she screamed so loud she damaged her own ear drums. She was in Spain and was told the news by phone. She said: "I had an impending sense of doom that day. I don't know why I felt it but I got a message saying Breck was not answering his phone and when he told me the story I immediately became alarmed.

"When I heard the news I couldn't stop screaming and my life changed forever. I damaged my ears from the screaming and I suffer from a post-traumatic disorder. "It's really difficult to sleep at night, I wake up just wondering what happened to him and what he had to go through at the end when the penny dropped. I wonder did he cry out 'mum help'. I would have done anything to protect him." She said she had initially thought Breck's gaming had been positive as he appeared to be making friends. It wasn't just gaming it was socialising and a lot of interaction. He was good at sports and other things but it never meant as much to him as computers - it was his passion and what he wanted to do for a living. "I found myself thinking: this looks quite fun."

After becoming concerned about Daynes, just months before the killing, she took away her son's computer for a few days and contacted the police. Unfortunately the pair had continued to communicate behind her back. "Lewis would speak in a very controlling manner and sounded older than he claimed," she said. "A lot of things about him didn't add up. He claimed he had worked for the US government which just didn't make sense for somebody of his age. "I thought that he was old and possibly trying to groom Breck for gay sex.

"He would tell Breck not to do so much with his family and Breck became more surly." Since the murder Ms LaFave has launched the Breck Bednar Memorial Foundation and is distributing wristbands with the slogan Play Virtual/Live Real in a bid to highlight the dangers of meeting strangers online. Telegraph, London