Tia Rigg (4 January 1998 – 3 April 2010) was a girl who was killed in

Cheetham Hill Cheetham is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, which in 2011 had a population of 22,562. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north of Manchester city centre, close to the boundary with Salford, bounded by Brou ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England on 3 April 2010. Twelve-year-old Rigg was

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d and murdered by her maternal uncle, John Maden. On 4 October 2010, 38-year-old Maden, who had pleaded guilty to the crime, was

sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and c ...

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

with a recommendation that he should never be released, meaning that he will likely remain in prison until he dies. Sentencing, Mr Justice Keith said: "This is one of those exceptional cases in which the only just punishment requires you to be imprisoned for the rest of your life."

Murder

At 2:17pm on 3 April 2010, Maden, who had an "obsessive interest" in pornography relating to

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

and torture, telephoned his sister Lynne (Rigg's mother) and asked for Tia to go to his home in Dalmain Close, Cheetham Hill, in order to babysit his 10-year-old daughter. When she arrived at 3:00pm, he drugged her with

Olanzapine Olanzapine (sold under the trade name Zyprexa among others) is an atypical antipsychotic primarily used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. For schizophrenia, it can be used for both new-onset disease and long-term maintenance. It is ta ...

, an

antipsychotic Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of Psychiatric medication, psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but ...

tranquilizer A tranquilizer is a drug that is designed for the treatment of anxiety, fear, tension, agitation, and disturbances of the mind, specifically to reduce states of anxiety and tension. Etymology Tranquilizer, as a term, was first used by F.F. Yonk ...

that he had been prescribed. He then inflicted a "horrific catalogue of sexual injuries" on her before stabbing her and strangling her with a

ligature Ligature may refer to: * Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture used to shut off a blood vessel or other anatomical structure ** Ligature (orthodontic), used in dentistry * Ligature (music), an element of musical notation used especially in the me ...

made from a

guitar string A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments such as the guitar, harp, piano (piano wire), and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material that a musical instrument holds under tensi ...

. At 3:45pm, Maden telephoned the

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...

emergency services Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wit ...

number and said: "Hi, I would like to report a murder." He then gave his name and address and when asked by the operator what had happened he replied: "My niece has been murdered by me ... I have just finished killing her now." Asked why he had killed her he answered: "Because I felt like it" and terminated the call. Police officers from

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

arrived at the address two minutes later. Maden opened the door to the officers, who described him as "chillingly calm", and directed them upstairs. They found Rigg's body face-up on the floor of a spare bedroom. A

post-mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...

found that Rigg had suffered severe blood loss from her stab wounds and internal injuries, but the primary cause of death was ligature

strangulation Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...

Aftermath

Maden was tried at

Manchester Crown Court Manchester Crown Court (Crown Square) is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Crown Square in Manchester, England. History Until the 1940s, criminal court cases were heard at the Manchester Assize Courts. However, the assize ...

on 4 October 2010. Prosecutor Gordon Cole QC told the court: "In the year or so prior to April this year, the defendant had developed what can properly be described as an obsessive interest in images and literature relating to paedophilia, rape and torture. He had an extensive library of such materials which included literature dealing with methods of killing." Police had found "hundreds of extreme images of child abuse and violent pornography" on Maden's laptop, plus more material on his mobile phone in folders named "snuff", "snuff stories" and "brutal rape".

Detective Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

David Warren, who led the investigation, revealed that Maden refused to explain his actions and had never shown remorse for the killing. After pleading guilty to rape and murder, Maden was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he should never be released. Passing sentence, Mr Justice Keith told him: "It is inescapable that Tia Rigg died because you decided to realise your fantasies about torturing and killing a young child. It is difficult to know how long Tia's ordeal lasted. The terror, the unimaginable pain you inflicted on her, the indignities you subjected her to while still alive. It was planned, it was premeditated and her agony must have been prolonged. This is one of those exceptional cases in which the only just punishment requires you to be imprisoned for the rest of your life."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigg, Tia 2010 in England 2010 murders in the United Kingdom 2010s crimes in Manchester 2010s trials April 2010 crimes April 2010 events in the United Kingdom Child sexual abuse in England Deaths by person in England Incestual abuse Incidents of violence against girls Murder in Manchester Murder trials in the United Kingdom Rape in England Rape trials Torture in England Trials in England Female murder victims Child abuse resulting in death Child murder in England

Murder

Aftermath

See also

References