Our Georgia: The devastating murder of my daughter by a killer who should have been stopped

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Two days later, following a ­Crimewatch appeal, Georgia’s body was found near Ruthin, North Wales. Reynolds was charged with murder, and Steve and Lynnette made a harrowing journey to lay flowers at the scene. Reynolds, 23, of Wellington, Shropshire, has admitted murdering the teenager. The sentencing judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, has indicated he may consider a full-life term for the killer, which would mean he would never be released. Police were called and Reynolds was arrested. He told police he was suffering from depression and was given a final warning and counselling. Mr Crigman said Reynolds's fascination with Miss Williams was undeterred and he had written a gruesome story on his mobile phone entitled “Georgia Williams in Surprise” in which she died following a sex game. After her death, police recovered several seemingly innocuous photographs taken by Reynolds showing Miss Williams “happy”, “compliant” and fully clothed, although it was clear she could have had no idea of her killer's real intent until it was too late.

The book details the aftermath of her murder and probes West Mercia Police's failings to stop Reynolds in the years before he killed Georgia and how he was able to infiltrate their daughter’s life and allowed him to kill. The couple now split their time between a new home in Market Drayton and Spain. “Telford’s full of painful memories,” she says. The Georgia Williams Trust, which funds sports, music and outdoor adventures for young people, is still going strong. West Mercia Police claimed there was “no causal link” between its officers’ actions in dealing with Reynolds in 2008 and ­Georgia’s murder five years later.The setting is Great Britain not the USA. Georgia was a lovely girl who was sassy, feisty, hardworking, determined, and knew what she wanted to do with her life. She had a close circle of friends that was ever growing. She never dreamed that one of those friends was not who they said and acted like they should have. We soon find out that Georgia was murdered, not by some unknown person, but someone who was supposed to be a friend.

In interview, Reynolds denied any knowledge of what had become of Miss Williams but later said: “I just can't believe I have hurt her - that was never my intention,” Mr Crigman told the court. Lynn and Steve Georgia's parents questioned the events leading to their daughter's death at the time Steve was a highly commented murder squad detective serving with West Mercia Police the same force that had had Reynolds in there sights years before their daughters death. As we read the book, we discovered the friend was in love with her and she kept rejecting him as she nicely told him repeatedly she wasn't interested in him. He could not and would not leave her alone and disguised a way for her to be his. After that event, we come to learn what the police knew from various locations, parents, or others. Only to soon to realize that people didn't do their jobs correctly and this death as well as others could have been prevented. It is a very powerful moving memoir from Lynn and Steve about what an amazing daughter Georgia was her love for life and for all the people around her. The sheer determination this family has shown is amazing, especially, how after a murder this brought the family the powerful strength for the quest for justice. They did not falter in their fight to try and change the future of policing, for future families that become victims of crime. I think after reading this book that Renolds was a chillingly disturb young man whom I think nothing, or nobody could get through to. Plus, it is very important not to forget that there is a family suffering for the rest of their lives due to his actions. At first, I thought the book was just a typical true crime story, but as I got further into it, I found myself getting more and more emotionally invested in Georgia's story. However, it was easy to forget that it was a true story as I found myself being swept away by the amazing life she led up until that fateful day. The authors do an excellent job of portraying Georgia as a real person with hopes, dreams, and a bright future ahead of her. It is truly heartbreaking to think about what she went through and what her family must have endured.Before I make any comments that might make anyone think I don't feel for this family, let me just say that I can't imagine the grief and anger they have experienced, and, in fact, a couple of the issues I have are ones I am not sure I would have avoided if I had been in her shoes. So my comments aren't about what she experienced but how something that horrific can understandably shade all thought about the subject. And to be clear, I am not victim shaming nor am I judging them on trying to get answers, I just felt that it was so much of the book and it was repetitive.

If the police had done their jobs in the days, weeks, months, and years leading up to the night Georgia was murdered, it is an almost certitude that she would be alive today. Williams was only seventeen years old when she was brutally killed by her friend Jamie Reynolds. The case was so disturbing that it had made headlines during the time and had almost shook the country. During that time, her father, Steve, was a detective in the murder squad of West Mercia Police. The saddest part was, during the process of investigation, it was found out that Georgia's murder could have been prevented. The same force with which Steve worked, had previous knowledge that Jamie was a sexual predator but had allowed him to slip out of their hands few years before Georgia was killed. In this book, Georgia's mother, Lynnette, describes the events before the murder, the investigation, the trial and how with the help of Steve she exposed the shortcomings of West Mercia Police. Lynnette Williams lives in Wilmington, Shropshire, England, is married to a police officer who works for the West Mercia force, and has several children, including a daughter named Georgia. While life wasn't completely idyllic, it certainly was good, up until something horrific happens: Georgia Williams, only 15 years old, goes missing in 2010. When her body is found, things begin to unravel, as it turns out that the police knew quite a bit about her killer, Jamie Reynolds, but did nothing until he committed this horrible, depraved act. Then you watch TV and some child’s been killed because a social worker didn’t do their job, or the Met police don’t deal with one of their own properly and he goes on to kill, and it makes you so angry.”I was never going to be able to help out with a wedding or christening,” says Lynnette. “I just wanted to do the best I possibly could for her.” Our Georgia, by Lynnette Williams with Robin Eveleigh, is a book powerful about a murder and the devastation it caused a family, as well as a call to action for police reform, both at their local department and in general. That said, there are things about the writing and analysis that kept it from being as good as it could have been for me. The way Reynolds killed her was awful enough, but the way he treated her afterwards was utterly callous. To be found naked, with police poring all over you – it was so degrading for her. If it’s possible, I hate Reynolds all the more for that. We want people to know how difficult it has been. Everyone kept saying to us, 'you should write a book, it's unbelievable what's happened to you'. Two years later, following a relentless battle, three police officers and one civilian worker were ­disciplined. All four kept their jobs. Steve adds: “It was like kids having their wrists slapped by their head teacher.