Doorbell camera footage has captured what is believed to be the last known sighting of murdered schoolgirl Lilly Jones alive, showing the 14-year-old moving quickly along a street.
In the clip, Lilly appears to break into a trot as she heads in the direction of a park, where her body was discovered two days later.
The security footage has been widely circulated in Blaina, South Wales, the town where Lilly was found stabbed to death.
One local mother, whose daughter is around the same age as Lilly, said: “The video has been doing the rounds on social media all week.
“I find it hard to watch — you are seeing the last moments in the life of a lovely young girl.
“You can see she is walking briskly, almost running, and even from a distance it looks like she’s trying to get away from someone.”
Lilly can be seen wearing a long black corset-style dress, matching the description released by police when she was reported missing.
Described as a “lovely and gentle” schoolgirl, Lilly was last seen in Blaina town centre at 6.50pm last Saturday evening.
Lilly Jones was captured running down a Blaina, South Wales, street on security footage
Lilly can be seen breaking into a run on the footage – one parent with a daughter the same age as her said it looked as though she was trying to get away from someone
The video, from around 6.50pm on June 20, is the last known footage of Lilly alive
Her parents reported her missing when she failed to come home and her mobile phone appeared to be switched off, which was unusual.
An appeal went out on social media for local people to start a search for Lilly, a pupil at Brynmawr Comprehensive School.
A police helicopter and drones were seen flying over the town on Monday as the search intensified.
Lilly was found by two members of the public in undergrowth inside the park and just 50 yards from the town’s Bowls club late on Monday evening.
The video shows Lilly walking briskly towards the park which has two entrances on the east side of the town which is divided by a river and busy road.
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Locals believe she crossed the road and walked down towards the Bowls club which was closed on Saturday afternoon.
Lilly’s parents reported her missing when she did not come home. The footage shows her heading in the direction of the park where her body was found
A pupil at Brynmawr Comprehensive School, Lilly’s body was found within the undergrowth at Pilgrims Park in Blaina late on Monday evening
A large operation was put together to search for Lilly, which included a police helicopter and drones
Another parent who has seen the video said: ‘It looks very creepy as if she’s trying to get away from the male person walking behind her.
‘The video was on TikTok, my daughter saw it and showed it to me.’
The boy, who went to a different school, was arrested on Tuesday and was in police custody until his court appearance before Newport Youth Court.
The house in Blaina where he lives with his parents has been searched by forensic officers over the last three days.
Appearing in court on Friday morning the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.
He wore a grey T-shirt and his mother sat near the dock during the short hearing.
The boy, who police previously said was white British, will appear before Cardiff Crown Court on Monday.
Detective Chief Inspector Steven Thomas said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Lilly at this difficult time.
‘Even though we’ve reached this significant development in our investigation, our enquiries continue and you will still see a significant police presence in the area.
‘Examinations of scenes will be continuing over the coming days, including at Duffryn Park, where cordons remain in place.
‘I would like to thank local residents for their continued support and those impacted by the cordons for their patience during this time.’
