The family of a murdered schoolgirl are still without answers after her killer died in prison.
Paige Chivers was just 15-years-old when she disappeared from her home near Blackpool in August 2007 following an argument with her dad Frank.
Robert Ewing, the paedophile who groomed and killed her at his Blackpool flat, was given a life sentence in 2015 and ordered to serve at least 32 years for her murder.
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Miss Chivers was killed to prevent her telling police about the sex abuse she suffered at Ewing's hands, Lancs Live reports.
Paige was a troubled teen following the death of her mother and her father's battle with booze, the court previously heard.
But Ewing preyed on her, allowed teenage girls to drink, smoke and take drugs in his flat, and had previously served a year in prison for gross indecency and indecently assaulting a 13-year-old girl, the Daily Record reports.
Paige's body has never been found. Gareth Dewhurst, 46, also from Blackpool, who helped Ewing to dispose of the body, was jailed for seven years for assisting an offender and an additional year for intending to pervert the course of justice by intimidating witnesses.
Both men, who denied all the offences, were convicted after a 13-week trial at Preston Crown Court. Ewing had developed an "inappropriate sexual interest" in Paige, who was described in court at the time as a "troubled and vulnerable youngster", before he beat her to death.
Paige's blood was found in the hallway of his flat, the court heard, while Dewhurst was overheard saying he used his car to dump Paige’s body.
Paige’s dad had reported her missing to police, but their initial response was botched, so her date of birth was recorded wrongly and her case was initially treated as a 45-year-old who had moved out voluntarily instead of a missing teenager until September 7 that year.
Ewing was arrested in 2008 and charged in 2014. An extensive proof of life inquiry found no evidence that the murdered schoolgirl was still alive, while the matter of the initial police handling of Paige’s disappearance was then voluntarily referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission by Lancashire Constabulary.
Tragically, Paige’s mother Sheila, 48, died from a heart attack six months before her daughter vanished, while her dad Frank, 49, was murdered in August 2013 after being attacked during a row at his flat. Sean Conlon, 44, of no fixed address, was convicted of his murder and jailed for 15 years in January 2014.
Ewing, who was 68, died in prison and was found in his cell last week. A spokesman for the Prison Service said: "We can confirm that Robert Ewing, 68, died in prison on Friday, November 4."
Paige’s brother-in-law Robert McClelland, speaking after the convictions back in 2015, described her as a "fun-loving kid" who was "bright and funny" and said the family longed to lay the murdered teenager’s body properly to rest.
Mr McClelland said "not a day goes past" when the devastated family of Paige did not think about her, adding that they longed to know where her body was so that they could lay her to rest. He said that every birthday was a "reminder" of Paige’s loss.
He told the Daily Star at the time: "Nearly eight years on and not a day goes by that we don’t think of her. It shouldn’t have happened to my sister, not my bonny, outgoing sister. It should not have happened.
"Paige should be at home with her loved ones around her, being an auntie to all her nieces and nephews and enjoying life. She should now be making a family of her own and had her life ahead of her. We all have big holes in our hearts that can never be replaced."
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