Murder ● April Jones

 Introduction
 On the 1st of October 2012, April Sue-Lynn Jones, aged 5, went missing near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, Wales. She was sighted being seen willingly getting into a vehicle near her home. Quickly due to appeals on social media and the story breaking on the news people came to the small town to help search for little April and information about the disappearance was gathered.

The Search
On October the 3rd, April's mother made an appeal for information about the whereabouts of her daughter. Following this, the next day David Cameron, the then Primer Minister, issued an appeal to the public. From October 1st 2012, till the 22nd of April 2013, a search operation involving police and search and rescue teams was undertaken using specialist equipment but unfortunately to no avail. This was the largest missing person search to take place in the United Kingdom in police history.

The Murder Inquiry
On the 2nd of October 2012, the day after April's disappearance, Mark Bridger, a local 46 year old man, was arrested due to witnesses identifying that April got into a left hand drive vehicle. This was damming evidence as Machynlleth was a small town and identifying someone who drove a left hand drive was not difficult, he also matched the description of the man witnesses saw driving the vehicle.

On the 5th of October 2012, the investigation was designated to a murder inquiring instead of a missing persons case. On October 6th, Mark Bridger was charged with child abduction, murder and attempting to prevert the course of justice, this was a rare move for police to charge without a body but they felt that they would succeed with a trial without little April's body.

He appeared before a magistrates court on October 8th 2012 where he was also charged with unlawful concealment and disposal of a body. This led to him being remanded in custody at HMP Manchester whilst he awaited an appearance at Caernarfon Crown Court, this took place on the 10th of October by video link.

On the 14th January 2013, Mark Bridger pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but accepted that he was 'probably responsible' for her death. The trial began at Mold Crown Court on the 25th of February 2013, in the trial forensic experts told the court that fragments of bone consistent of being that of a ''younger individual'' were found in the fire place in Bridger's cottage, blood also found in the cottage matched April's DNA profil. The trial was adjourned the same day, April 29th 2013, so that Bridger's defence team could make further enquires.

On May 29th 2013, the judge concluded his summing up and ordered the jury to retire and consider its verdicts. The following day, May 30th 2013, Bridger was found guilty of abduction, murder and preventing the course of justice. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life tarriff, having been called a ''pathological liar'' and ''a paeodophile'' by the judge.

On November 17th 2017, Mark Bridger's home, the place believed that April was killed in, was demolished. Mrs Jones', April's mother, said ''April's spirit can now be free from it all. She was murdered there and now we can all have some peace''.

A petition for 'April's Law' was debated in parliament on March 13th of 2017. The law looks to make all sex offenders remain on the register for life no matter the crime, for service provides and search engines to be better policed regarding child abuse images and harder sentences on those caught with idencent images of children. For more information on the debate the link of the video is here.