Victim: Simon Everitt

A TEENAGER from the North-East died after being tied to a tree, forced to drink petrol and then set on fire.

Simon Everitt, 17, who grew up in Escomb, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, died as a result of inhaling combustible fluid, tests revealed.

The body of Simon, who moved to Great Yarmouth with his family four years ago, was hidden in woodland at Mautby, five miles north-west of the Norfolk resort.

He vanished on June 7 and his remains were found three weeks later buried in a ditch and covered with soil.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, attended by Simon's father and stepmother, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Strong said post-mortem examination results confirmed the Yarmouth College engineering student had been taken to the woodland against his will.

"Simon was made to drink petrol and the conclusion of the post mortem is that the cause of death was the inhalation of combustible fluid," he said.

Simon's father, Vince, who was born and brought up in Bishop Auckland, said: "Anyone who thinks they have got any information, however daft it might sound, please come forward and tell the police.

We have to make sure this never happens to anyone again."

His stepmother, Sue, said: "No one deserves to die like this. This could have been anyone's kid out there. Someone must know something."

Last night, his former headteacher expressed shock at the news. Bruce Guthrie, headteacher at Bishop Barrington School, Bishop Auckland, said: "We remember him as a cheerful little lad."

Simon, who also attended Escomb Primary School, was at Bishop Barrington for two years, from the age of 11, and still has relatives at the school. "He was only here for a couple of years before he moved down south to stay with some of his family," said Mr Guthrie.

"But he was a canny little lad and he seemed happy." Vince Everitt, 44, had been clinging to the hope that his son may have returned to the region to visit friends.

But detectives launched a murder inquiry more than a week before they found Simon's remains, after a tipoff.

Yesterday, Mr Everitt, a pub entertainer, thanked everyone who had sent messages of support to the family.

Simon had last been seen on a mountain bike near a hospital in the Gorleston area of the town on June 7.

He lived in a bedsit in Beach House Hotel, Marine Parade, Yarmouth, and, like his father, was a keen entertainer and singer.

* Three people have been charged with Simon's murder. Jimi Lee Stewart, 24, of Nelson Road Central, and Maria Chandler, 40, of Lancaster Road, both Great Yarmouth, and Johnathan Clarke, 19, of Queen Elizabeth Way, Telford, Shropshire, are due in court in Norwich on July 14.

8:18am Saturday 5th July 2008

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