It is an interesting time for Bring Me The Horizon. Just yesterday footage emerged of the band getting attacked on stage by irate fans at their concert, and now today a man who posed as lead singer Oli Sykes in order to kidnap and murder young girls has been sent to jail.

According to The Daily Mail, David Russell, a 20-year-old McDonalds worked, posed online through Facebook as Sykes using his identity to strike up conversations with young girls. His ruse convinced 19 year old Maricar Benedicto from California to travel to the UK where he took her to a forest near Northampton.

Prosecuting, Christopher Donnellan QC said that the day before Benedicto arrived, Russell had searched on the internet for ‘how to kill someone with bare hands’, ‘how to cut skin with a knife’ and ‘the best knife to kill’.

He later told the court of Russell’s actions, saying “He asked her to sit down on a fallen tree trunk and said he was going to blindfold her. He said she would get a surprise or a present. He stood behind her, blindfolded her, asked her to put her head back, and her arms up. She did so with her palms up, entirely trusting him. Although she did not see any implement because of the blindfold, the next thing she felt was her neck being sliced.”

The court heard that as Russell did it, he shouted: “Why won’t you die? You’ve ruined my life. It’s all your fault.”

A terrified Benedicto attempted to run away but was chased by Russell who continued to stab her. He only stopped when she told him that she had given her details to immigration on arrival in the UK. Benedicto found shelter in a nearby house where authorities were called and Russell was arrested at his house after he attempted to kill himself in a suspected overdose.

Judge Charles Wide QC said Russell was ‘exceptionally dangerous’ saying ‘The features of this case are truly horrifying. When she was able to escape, you intended to kill her and must have come very close.’ Russell will spend a minimum of 17-and-a-half years behind bars.

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