Who was Tia Sharp, when was she murdered by Stuart Hazell and what has her father Steven Carter said about her death?
In 2012, the murder of 12-year-old Tia Sharp shocked the nation.
Responsible for this heinous crime was a man who was supposed to keep her safe and care for her - his name was Stuart Hazell.
Who was Tia Sharp?
On August 3, 2012, 12-year-old Tia Sharp was reported missing from the home of her grandmother, Christine Bicknell.
Christine shared the home with her partner Stuart Hazell, in New Addington, south London.
Stuart Hazell informed the police that Tia had left the house on August 3, 2012, to travel to Croydon, to buy shoes in the Whitgift Centre.
Just days later, Tia's uncle, David Sharp, made a televised plea for her safe return.
Stuart Hazell then gave an interview to ITV News, denying that he had done anything to the young girl and prayed for her safe return.
On August 10, police visited her grandmother and step-grandfather's home for the fourth time.
It was there, they discovered Tia Sharp's body in the loft.
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That same evening, Hazell was arrested on suspicion of murder.
In 2013, Hazell pleaded not guilty to the charges, however, on May 13, as the trial was underway, he changed his plea to guilty.
Reports revealed Hazell had photographed the 12-year-old’s naked corpse before dressing her in pyjamas and hiding her body in the loft — then callously joined hundreds searching for
the missing youngster.
The killer was sentenced to 38-years behind bars as Tia's grandma Christine Bicknell was reportedly seen crying and hugging a relative.
Hazell will be 75 years old before he is eligible for parole.
He is currently serving his sentence in HM Prison Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
What has Tia's dad Steven Carter said about her disappearance?
Tia’s dad Steven Carter, who split with her mother Natalie, before their daughter was born, has opened up about the moment he was told that his daughter's remains had been found.
He said: ''I didn’t want to believe it, I didn’t want to believe it was Tia, but deep down you know that it is Tia because there was no one else that was reported missing.
“Why else would there be a body in that loft?”
Steven also expressed the anger he felt when he saw Hazell in the dock on trial for Tia’s murder.
He said: “I wanted him to look at me so he could see the anger in my face and hurt that he’s caused to me and family and to what he’s done to Tia and the pain and suffering that he must have put her through.
“But he is a coward. He wouldn’t look at no one. He just had his head down. “
In 2017, Steven appeared in the Channel 5 documentary, The Murder of Tia Sharp: My Daughter.
In the documentary, the grieving dad said: ''I massively blame myself. I should have done more as a father."
He added: "I had Tia every holiday until things turned sour between me and her mum. If that hadn't happened there's every possibility Tia would have been staying with me that August instead of being at her nan's where she was killed by someone she trusted and called 'grandad'."