Breck Bednar, a 14-year-old boy, lost his life to an online friend. Bednar's untimely death shook the world in 2014. The murderer, Lewis Daynes, added more insight to the horrific story.

After tricking Bednar into believing that Lewis Daynes was only an online gaming friend, 18-year-old Lewis lured Bednar into his flat and stabbed him in the neck. After that, he would send pictures of his victim as he lay dead to his sibling. Daynes never showed any remorse for his crimes.

If nothing else, the horrific murder incident of Bednar posed a valuable lesson to British parents to alert their children about the dangers of meeting online strangers.

Who Was Breck Bednar?

Born on March 17, 1999, Breck was a student at St. Bede's School, Redhill, Surrey. He was also a member of the Air Training Corps 135 Squadron. His mother would say that he was a relaxed and kind-hearted person.

He used to have many friends that he played games with online after school and was passionate about computing. During his developing years, he loved creative play. Barry Bednar and Lorin LaFave, Bednar's parents, were from the United States.

Overall, Bednar was a warm-hearted good kid with a loving family. However, everything fell apart after he befriended Lewis Daynes over an online game.

Breck Bednar's Family And Daynes' Friendship

Breck Bednar has three younger siblings. He was from a loving family full of affection and love that nourished the foundation of Bednar and made him grow into an intelligent teenager.

Bednar was fond of online games and used to play them with his friends.

How Daynes And Breck Bednar Became Online Gaming Buddies

While gaming, Bednar came across Daynes, who befriended him impersonating a businessman. Lewis Daynes was an 18-year-old boy who introduced himself as a Computer Engineer. He pretended to be the head of a successful New York company.

In no time, Bednar developed a strong bond with Daynes and began chatting with him all day and all night. Bednar slowly started to believe and value everything and anything that Daynes told him.

Breck Bednar's Mother Found Out About Dayne

Lorin LaFave, the mother of Breck Bednar, noticed the changing attitude in her son. She tried warning him about limiting the interaction with Daynes. She believed that the predatory nature of Daynes negatively influenced her son.

But when she noticed that things were no longer under control, she took the help of the police to check on the records of Lewis Daynes and his family. Soon she found out that Lewis was no business person but an unemployed 18-year-old. He lived in Grays, Essex.

Lorin was terrified, knowing the criminal records of Lewis Daynes that involved sexual assault charges long before even befriending Bednar and more of his friends. He was involved in child pornography and had raped a young boy.

There were no records of further investigation on Daynes. Instead, he was roaming around free in the city. His sadistic nature was set free in public which was unsafe and unethical. Bednar's mother then tried to stop her son from associating with Daynes, but Breck believed Daynes was a tech guru.

The Police's Negligence

The police neglected to get more involved in the matter, which led Lorin to decide accordingly. She started handling the situation on her own. She limited Bednar's access to his gaming console. She made it crystal clear to her son that she disapproved of his growing friendship with Lewis Daynes and did not want him to use a server meant for older teens.

But Lorin was unsuccessful at her efforts. Breck was adamant and continued his obsessive friendship with Lewis Daynes. He blindly followed everything that Daynes asked out of him and trusted him with his whole heart.

The Murder Of Breck Bednar By Lewis Daynes

Soon the day came when Lewis Dayne initiated his next move. He allegedly told Breck Bednar that he was terminally sick and needed to pass over the will of his company in good, trusted hands. He meant that he wanted to transfer his company to Bednar's name.

So, Bednar caught a cab and went to Daynes' flat in Essex tenement in February 2014. On the 17th of the same month, Breck informed his parents that he was staying over at his friend's place nearby. That lie would cost him his life.

Although the details of the night at Daynes' flat seem vague still, the brutal murder of Breck Bednar is predicted to be sexually motivated. In the initiation of such moves, Bednar was quickly attacked and captured by Lewis Daynes.

The confirmed information about the case is that Daynes made a chilling call to the police the following day. He informed them that he and his friend had been involved in an altercation, and he was the only one alive out of it.

The police arrived at his place the next day and noticed that there was no altercation and that it was a one-sided murder. It was a brutal attack on Breck, indeed. The corpse lay there on the apartment floor, and his ankles and wrists were tied with duct tape. Moreover, his throat was slashed.

The Aftermath

Breck Bednar was buried at St John the Evangelist in Caterham on March 17, 2014. It would have been his 15th birthday, but unfortunately, it was a day of grieving the loss of his young life. Hundreds of people joined the Bednar family to celebrate his short yet inspiring life.

Later, a memorial fund was raised in Breck Bednar's name that raised more than £25,000 in a few weeks. In January 2016, a documentary focusing on Beck's story was released, and it was called, Murder Games: The Life and Death of Breck Bednar. It was aired on BBC3.