A man has been jailed for life after murdering a teenage girl and dumping her body in a lake after she refused to have sex with him. Lewis Haines, 31, strangled 18-year-old Lily Sullivan after meeting her at a nightclub in Pembroke just before Christmas last year. The pair had kissed after meeting at Out nightclub on December 16 and later went together to a nearby alley where they became more intimate. Chilling CCTV footage captured the final moments of Mrs Sullivan’s life – as Haynes drove the unidentified teenager to her death. Swansea Crown Court heard that she was later found face down and topless in Mill Pond, a two-mile freshwater lake near the town. After Miss Sullivan’s murder, Haynes walked past his victim’s mother as she waited to pick up her daughter from a nearby garage. Father-of-one Haynes admitted murdering Miss Sullivan but claimed the killing was not sexually motivated. Lewis Haines pleaded guilty to murder but had denied any sexual motivation. Credit: Media Wales But after a two-day trial of the facts, Judge Paul Thomas QC concluded that Haines had killed the teenager after rejecting his sexual advances. “It is clear that Lewis Haynes wanted to ensure that Lily died. His intention was to silence her,” the judge said on Tuesday. “No one wanted to know what had happened on the strip. “I’m sure, though, having been in that lane for a long time with Lily and being close to her up to a point, Lily decided she was going home to meet her mother. “Mr. Haynes had a lot to lose. Reasons like these which in my view explain why he strangled Lily to prevent her from telling people that he had tried to make her go further than she wanted. “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 Haynes to escalate to sexual intercourse. “As he was full of drink, I’m sure Lewis Haynes was disappointed by that because he had expectations and hopes that he would go further.” Haynes claimed Miss Sullivan threatened to accuse him of rape and did not want his partner and family to find out. “His account of him threatening to tell people what he had done to her actually has an element of truth to it,” the judge said. William Hughes QC, prosecuting, had argued that Haines “showed a sexual interest in Lily” from the moment he met her at the venue, despite being “warned more than once” by friends. The court heard how Haines admitted they kissed in the alley where her jacket, mobile phone and cigarettes were later found. The teenager’s call to her mother at 2.47am. had been interrupted mid-sentence and Mr Hughes said it was the Crown’s belief that “Lily was assaulted at that point”. He also said it was their case that Miss Sullivan’s cream lace crop top had been “forcefully” removed before she was pushed into the water. Haynes claimed he tried to pull Miss Sullivan out of the water, but the judge rejected this saying he had made no attempt to save her. “A horrible, cruel crime” Jailing Haines for life with a minimum term of 23 years and four months, Judge Paul Thomas QC said: “You strangled her face to face, she must have been terrified. “An 18-year-old girl all alone in the dark with a powerful man. She was completely at your mercy and you, Lewis Haynes, showed her nothing. “You were thinking entirely of your own self-preservation.” He said Lily Sullivan’s death had caused “devastation to many”. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Yelland from Dyfed Powys Police read a statement outside Swansea Crown Court after the sentencing. In it, he described Haines’ actions as “violent” and “predatory.” He said: “These cruel actions have changed the lives of those who knew Lily and the close-knit community of Pembroke. “The life sentence handed down to Lewis Haines today ensures that he will not be able to freely harm others in the community.” He added: “Dyfed Powys Police and our partners will continue to work tirelessly to bring to justice those who commit crimes against women and girls in all their forms. “This sentence is no comfort to Lily’s friends and family, but I hope this will be a step forward in the slow process of rebuilding their lives.” Michael Cray of the CPS said: “Haines committed a horrific, cruel crime, murdering a young woman who had her whole adult life ahead 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 cope with the immense loss they are no doubt feeling.”