09 August 2023 , 19:00
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Chilling messages sent between 15-year-old Alex Rodda and his older lover who murdered him are set to be revisited in an ITV documentary airing tonight.
Alex, from Cheshire, was bludgeoned to death by Matthew Mason, aged 19 at the time, who fatally beat the popular schoolboy with a large metal wrench in a secluded woodland in December 2019.
It was a murder case in which messages - online and text - were at the heart of the tragic events. What started out as flirting on Facebook dramatically spiralled to Alex's murder just six weeks later.
Drawing on interviews with loved ones to introduce viewers to the young victim, the episode demonstrates how the grooming process played out.
Mason admitted to killing Alex and claimed it was the result of a loss of control after being blackmailed by the teenager. He was sentenced to life in January 2021 with a minimum term of 28 years after being found guilty of murder.
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The trial was told Alex had been asking for money to keep the relationship secret (MEN Media)
Matthew Mason was found guilty of murdering schoolboy Alex Rodda, following a month-long trial at Chester Crown Court (Cheshire Police)From their initial contact on Facebook and Snapchat, to text arguments over money and a tragic Facetime chat minutes before Alex met his death, communication uncovered by police investigation charted how the relationship began between the two boys before violently unravelling.
"I started getting messages late at night and I was in bed and (Alex) asked if I had any clothes on. I did respond, thought nothing of it," Mason, of Ollerton, Knutsford, told the jury at Chester Crown Court in 2021. Mason had known Alex from Holmes Chapel High School - and was three years his senior.
On the surface, they had little in common. Alex was openly gay while Mason, a farmer's son from an affluent churchgoing family, was quiet and had left school to study at college. He claimed they started conversing in October 2019 with brief chat, before the messages turned intimate.
According to Mason, Alex complimented him - telling him he was 'fit' and then they began swapping pictures on Snapchat. One night, drunk after a night out at the pub, Mason sent Alex a 'd*** pic' - he would later claim that Alex had asked him to. He also sent a video of himself masturbating. Days later, Alex messaged Mason's then-girlfriend, Caitlyn Lancashire, exposing their illicit liaison.
On November 3, he wrote: "Are you going out with Matt Mason?" to which she replied: 'Yes'. Alex then replied: "Because I thought I should let you know that the past 2-3 weeks Matt has been trying to message me, he came to my house in his car to meet me last week but I told him my dad wouldn't let me out so I didn’t meet him, I have told him it has to stop but just thought I'd let you know before he does a d***head move and I didn't know he was dating you until I went to go follow him on lnstagram."
Meanwhile, Alex messaged Mason, apparently explaining why he had contacted his girlfriend. "Because it's wrong", Alex told him, adding: "u have a gf that loves [you], there's no need to speak to me."
An hour later, Alex told Mason: "Look, your gf loves you. She doesn't know what to think because she [and] you were together for 2 years like wtf if u were that serious u should not of got your d*** out at the end of the day. U need to tell your gf the truth Matt because I already have."
At that point, the relationship between the teenagers took a disturbing turn. Later that day, Mason added Alex as a payee to his bank account and transferred him £50. That came minutes after Alex told Mason that he still had the 'd*** pic' Mason had drunkenly sent him, and suggested he would post it online.
A wrench which was used by Matthew Mason (PA)"Remember when you sent me ur d*** n u w***** oh yeah i got the picture you sent. Don't lie now there's no point Matt I've got the proof." When Mason denied this, he said: "I will literally put your d*** on my story and @ you if you don't stop lying." Mason then said: "I'm talking to her please don't Alex."
Mason, at this point, had been dumped by his girlfriend, following her conversation with Alex. Despite the apparent animosity between them, on November 9, Alex performed a sex act on Mason. In the first two weeks of that month, Mason paid Alex a total of £1,270, with the payments linked to sexual encounters.
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Alex's girlfriends, in whom he confided, became increasingly concerned. Friends of Alex, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police that they knew what Alex doing 'wasn't right', but said he 'still did it'.
The teen was speaking to his girlfriends frequently about his new 'relationship'. It boosted his confidence, with friends recalling how he seemed to be 'glowing' at school. Messages between him and Mason show that Alex was asking for more money from him as time went on, however. At one point Mason told Alex he was 'skint' and 'couldn't afford it', but then went on to pay the schoolboy £700.
Woodland in Ashley, Cheshire, where he was bludgeoned to death (PA)On December 7, just five days before Alex was killed, Mason came face to face with the schoolboy's mother. Text messages would later indicate that mum Lisa Rodda had interrupted Mason having sex with her son.
Alex, shortly after the encounter, at his mother's home in Pickmere, near Knutsford, messaged a friend saying: "My a******* hurts, like I feel sick." "S***. That's what you get for being a prostitute," she replied.
He said: "Money money money," to which she said: "Infection infection infection." Indeed, that day, Mason transferred £100 to Alex. It was his final payment.
Internet searches, over the next couple of days revealed Mason was already thinking about killing Alex. Mason searched these terms online: 'What would happen if you kicked someone down the stairs', 'everyday poison', 'things that are poisonous', 'people missing in Cheshire' and 'the mysteries of Cheshire unsolved deaths of missing people'.
Alex was last seen on CCTV leaving his house on Holly Grove at 5.24pm on December 12, after Mason had messaged him on Snapchat. A friend of Alex said he was 'happy' about going out with Mason, but, following a second FaceTime call, their concerns grew.
"He called me and he said 'how weird is this?'" they said. "I said 'what's weird?' and he said 'this guy I'm meeting wants to take me to a special secret place in a forest.' "He said to me he didn't want to go," they said.
The witness said that Alex was 'confused' during the call, but later agreed to going with Mason because 'he needed the money'. Minutes after getting into Mason's car, Alex posted a picture on his Snapchat story to his friends - it showed the inside of Mason's car and had a small love heart emoji at the bottom. It was the last message he ever sent.
Mason's car near the scene at a woodland in Ashley, Cheshire, where he murdered 15-year-old Alex Rodda (PA)On that cold and rainy night, Mason drove Alex to woodland at Ashley, near Altrincham, and rained at least 15 heavy blows to his head with a wrench. Following the attack, Mason left Alex - alone and partially clothed - to die.
He discovered Alex's phone on the passenger seat and got rid of it. Mason knew how much evidence was on the phone - to this day it has not been recovered. As friends and family of Alex frantically searched for him, Mason went to the pub and met up with friends for a pint.
A Snapchat selfie he sent to friends from the pub and a bare-chested photo of himself he sent, smiling, to his girlfriend later on from his bed, were callous attempts to cover his tracks. But one final message ended Mason's hopes of getting away with murder.
At 00.35am, Cheshire Police texted Mason, saying: "Matthew could you please contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number … with regards to your friend Alex. Thank you." Around 12 hours later, at noon on December 13, Mason, who was instantly suspected by Alex's mother was stopped by police on the A41 in Staffordshire and arrested. In the boot, police found a blood-stained wrench. He was interviewed and charged with murder. A year later he went on trial at Chester Crown Court, where he was found guilty and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 28 years.
Social Media Murders Episode 2: The Murder of Alex Rodda airs tonight on ITV at 10.45pm.