Megan Newborough murder suspect allegedly abused by notorious Leicestershire rapist Stephen Beadman

A man on trial for the murder of Megan Newborough hinted to his boss he had been raped as a teenager by one of Leicestershire's most notorious rapists and murderers, a jury has heard.

Ross McCullum is on trial for murdering the 23-year-old human resources worker by strangling her at his home in Windsor Close in Coalville, on Friday 6 August, last year.

Today, on the eighth day of the trial, Leicester Crown Court heard the 30-year-old lab assistant was allegedly abused by Stephen Beadman, a man who brutally raped and murdered Measham schoolgirl Kayleigh Haywood in 2015.

McCullum's boss at Ibstock Brick in North West Leicestershire, where he had met Ms Newborough, gave evidence.

Lab manager, Graham Fyson, said McCullum and himself had a close relationship when the pair worked together and said they would often talk to one another.

Mr Fyson said McCullum has confided in him about being sexually abused as a child.

When asked under cross-examination by John Cammegh KC, for the prosecution, he said: "Yes, he told me that he had been raped as a child. This was about six months before Megan's death."

The lab manager went on to explain McCullum revealed more information over time.

He said the defendant reported being "goaded" into sexual behaviour by several older children on numerous occasions and spoke about being raped when he was 13 years old.

Speaking to the jury, he said: "I asked him at one point if he knew the individual who had raped him.

"He said there were three of them. One had run away but two remained.

"I asked again if he knew them. There was a long pause and he said 'Do you remember the murder of Kayleigh Haywood?'

"I said 'yes'. He then gave me a name. I told him it sounded familiar.

"It wasn't until I got home and Googled the case that I realised who it was.

"The name he gave me was Stephen Beadman, who was the man who murdered Kayleigh Haywood. That's all he said and left it at that."

Who is McCullum's alleged abuser Stephen Beadman?

Stephen Beadman, who was 34, was serving a life term in Wakefield Prison for killing 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood, from Measham in Leicestershire, in November 2015.

From Ibstock in Leicestershire, Beadman and his neighbour Luke Harlow, aged 23, had groomed Kayleigh online.

Harlow originally made contact with the 15-year-old and exchanged 2,643 text messages with the youngster over a period of 13 days.

Kayleigh then spent the night at Harlow's flat in Ibstock on November 13, 2015.

The following day, Beadman, then 28, was invited around and the pair plied Kayleigh with alcohol.

After being sexually assaulted by Harlow, the teenager had tried to flee the house, however, Beadman chased her down before raping her and killing her with a brick and then dumping her body in a farmer's field.

Kayleigh's body, which had to be identified using dental records, was found five days later on the outskirts of the village.

Last year, Beadman was found injured in Wakefield Prison and was taken to hospital on Thursday 8 April, but died later that same day.

McCullum claims an episode of post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his abuse as a child triggered the out of "control" attack on Ms Newborough after a sexual encounter between the pair.

McCullum pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies the murder of his colleague.

Ms Newborough and McCullum worked together at Ibstock Brick in North West Leicestershire.

The pair had struck up a relationship after Ms Newborough carried out a data protection audit of the lab where McCullum worked as an assistant, last summer.

Leicester Crown Court heard the pair exchanged more than 3,500 text messages, many of which were extremely sexually graphic and included violent and misogynistic content on McCullum's part.

Prosecutors claim McCullum has a disturbing interest in 'domination' sex and porn.

It is believed Ms Newborough had driven from her home in Nuneaton to McCullum's anticipating some kind of sexual liaison on Friday 6 August.

However, within 40 minutes of her arrival, prosecutors say she was dead.

Prosecuting teams said McCullum attacked Ms Newborough in the living room of the home he shared with his parents before cutting her throat with a carving knife to "make sure she was dead".

In a bid to cover his tracks, the trial heard how McCullum went on to bundle Ms Newborough into her own Citroen C3 and drove, without a driving licence, to a remote rural location near the village of Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire to bump Ms Newborough's partially-clothed body.

The court also heard, he had discarded her phone in Hermitage Road, Whitwick and left her car in the car park of Loughborough College, where CCTV footage was shown of the defendant disposing of Megan's boots and glasses, as well as bloody sheets and other incriminating evidence in nearby bins.

Ms Newborough was reported missing by her family on Saturday, August 7, 2021, after she failed to return home.

Her body was found in the early hours of the following day.