Stuart Hazell has today admitted murdering 12-year-old Tia Sharp after dramatically changing his plea a week into his trial.
The 37-year-old, who was her step grandfather, had previously maintained that Tia had fallen down some stairs and her death was an accident at their home near Croydon, south London.
This morning the jury at the Old Bailey was brought back in and the charge was formally re-read to the defendant.
His guilty plea prompted sobs and gasps from the public gallery.
Lord Carlile, representing Hazell, said his client wanted to make it known that 'Tia's family have suffered enough and he did not want to put them through any further stages of this trial or this process.'
