Louise Smith death: Shane Mays denies trying to 'silence' teenager

Louise Smith was reported missing on 8 May

A man accused of murdering a teenager has denied trying to sexually assault the 16-year-old before killing her to keep her quiet, a court has heard.

Louise Smith's burnt body was found at Havant Thicket, Hampshire, on 21 May - 13 days after she went missing.

Shane Mays, 30, replied "no" when asked "did you want to have sex with her there?", during cross-examination at Winchester Crown Court.

Mays, who denies murder, has previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

He told jurors on Wednesday he punched Louise repeatedly during an argument and left her in a clearing, but insisted he did not kill her.

Under cross-examination earlier, James Newton-Price, prosecuting, asked: "Did you kill her because she was screaming and fighting back?"

Mays replied: "I didn't kill Louise."

"Did you silence her so she couldn't tell anyone about what you did?", Mays said: "She was alive."

When later asked "are you making this up?" the defendant replied "I have a problem with remembering things".

The trial previously heard Louise, who has been described as vulnerable, had gone to live with her aunt, who was married to Mays, at a one-bed flat in Leigh Park in late April after an argument with her mother.

She was last seen alive in Somborne Drive in Leigh Park at midday on 8 May.

Her body, which jurors have been told was "dreadfully treated" and "defiled", was found in the nearby wood after extensive searches by specialist teams almost two weeks later.

Louise was "brutally" killed by the defendant, who had a sexual interest in her, prosecutors previously said.

Louise had moved in with her aunt, who was married to Shane Mays

Giving evidence earlier, the defendant said he was pleased when the teenager invited him out of their shared home on the false pretext of meeting a friend and later led him to the woods.

He said: "She wanted me to be on my own so she could bond with me. I was happy because she could finally open up to me."

Previously the defendant, of Ringwood House, Leigh Park, said he lost his temper and punched her repeatedly after she hit him with a stick during an argument in the woods about her drug use.

The court has heard that a clinical review of Mays found he has an extremely low IQ of 63.

He also scored in the 0.1 percentile range of memory which tests his ability to retain information over a short period.

In previous evidence, he said he had not defiled or burned Louise's body.

The victim suffered "heavy blows to the head" but pathologists were unable to determine the cause of death, the court previously heard.

The trial continues.