Robert Ewing has been sentenced to life imprisonment – with a minimum of 33 years – for the murder of Paige Chivers. Paige was just 15 when she was killed by Ewing.
He had exploited vulnerable Paige for his own sexual gratification and murdered her when she threatened to speak to the police.
Eight years on from her murder, Paige’s body has still never been found.
A victim impact statement from Paige’s sister Madison Gordon was read out in court.
It read: “Paige was only a kid when her mum (Sheila) passed away in 2007. I would say it broke us. I think it hit Paige hard because of her age.
“Every birthday is a reminder that Paige is no longer with us to open her cards and to celebrate with her.”
Ewing, 60, was caught after a long police investigation in which officers bugged his flat to listen to his conversations. After a search they later found three spots of Paige’s blood on a skirting board along with a large case of cuttings and photographs about Paige’s case.
Joanne Cunliffe, from the Crown Prosecution Service North West complex casework unit, added: “At the time of her disappearance Paige had very little stability in her life and Robert Ewing took advantage of this.
“He was a middle-aged man who befriended her, not for any charitable reasons, but because he had an inappropriate sexual interest in her."
She went on to say: “Neither of the defendants has ever shown any remorse and over the years since Paige went missing they have done everything they could to cover their tracks, to divert enquiries away from them and try to put the blame on other people.”