The brutal murder of 15-year-old Alex Rodda will be revisited tonight in an ITV documentary.
Social Media Murders is a new true-crime series for ITV2 and ITV Hub, bringing together three films airing over consecutive nights, each focusing on a shocking real crime.
Linking each of the films is the unsettling role social media played in bringing together the culprit and the victim.
READ MORE: Social Media Murders: What happened to Grace Millane and where killer Jesse Kempson is now
Providing a compelling yet cautionary insight into the experiences of young people affected by disturbing 21st century crime, these three films put the victim at the centre of the narrative alongside material obtained from social media accounts and mobile phones which will immerse viewers in the events as they unfolded.
Tonight's episode explores the case of Alex Rodda, a 15 year-old who was murdered by 18 year-old Matthew Mason in December 2019, six weeks after they first exchanged messages via social media.
Mason began grooming Alex, sending him explicit photographs of himself through platforms such as Snapchat and Facebook.
Soon after, the pair started a sexual relationship, but Matthew, who had a girlfriend at the time, was keen to conceal the relationship he had with Alex.
Killer Matthew Mason eventually drove Alex to a remote woodland in Ashley, Cheshire where he brutally murdered him.
For the first time Alex’s family and friends speak openly as they introduce us to the much-loved young boy, and talk through the events that led up to the night that he lost his life, as well as the trial that followed.
Adam Rodda, Alex's dad, said: "Without social media, I suspect Alex would still be alive now.”
Material obtained from social media accounts and mobile phones immerses viewers in the events as they unfolded, symbolising the key role this intermediary played in connecting these two individuals.
Experts observe how social media acted as a catalyst for this dreadful crime and also share their views on how the older killer’s grooming of Alex played out.
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