SLAIN Bobbi-Anne McLeod's depraved killer led a double life as a Ted Bundy-obsessed rocker who prowled the moors for girls who looked like his ex.
Cody Ackland, 24, gave pals the impression he was a fun-loving Indie rocker at his happiest when playing guitar to adoring fans.
But in reality, the monster had a chilling obsession with Bundy, who was responsible for murdering more than 30 young women over a four-year reign of terror in the US in the 1970s.
Ackland was today caged for life with a minimum of 31 years after abducting Bobbi-Anne from a bus stop near her home in Plymouth and bludgeoning her to death.
It comes as…
- Bobbi-Anne's heartbroken family slammed her killer for 'torturing' her in her final moments
- Ackland tucked into pizza and laughed with pals the day after murdering the teen
- Bobbi-Anne told the killer she was 'scared' as he hit her 12 times over the head
Judge Robert Linford said Bobbi-Anne "had the whole of her life in front of her until it was brutally and savagely snuffed out" by Ackland.
As he left the dock, Bobbi-Anne's brother Lee shouted: "You're a dead man."
Harrowing details revealed for the first time today showed how Ackland aspired to be just like Bundy – even "modelling" Bobbi-Anne's brutal murder on the monster's own sickening crimes.
The fiend also kept a macabre stash of more than 3,000 gruesome images of mutilated bodies on his phone that showed a "deep rooted fascination in death".
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Musician, 24, facing life in jail for murdering teen, 18, after bus stop snatch
He painstakingly researched bloody crimes carried out by serial killers including Fred West and swotted up on post-mortems and clothing worn by his twisted idols.
Prosecutor Richard Posner said: "Cody Ackland led a double life. He held such an unhealthy fascination and desire to imitate serial killers.
"His fantasy was about to become a tragic and wicked reality for Bobbi-Anne."
It can now be revealed in the days leading up to Bobbi-Anne's murder, Ackland prowled remote locations on Dartmoor and researched weapons such as helmets, hammers, crowbars and cutting tools.
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After settling on a claw hammer, the monster put his murderous plan in action.
Bobbi-Anne – a complete stranger – left her home on November 20 to see her boyfriend completely unaware of the horror that was to befall her.
She told her dad she loved him before making the short walk to the bus stop.
Ackland meanwhile had left the house in his red Ford Fiesta to go socialising with pals after claiming he felt "low" and "wound up" from a recent break-up.
It was then he spotted the teenager alone in the bus stop and was struck by how much she looked like girls he previously dated.
After hitting her with the claw hammer, he started to walk back to his car – telling police "that was meant to be it".
But Ackland was spooked when he met the stricken teenager's eye and he saw her attempt to get up to scream.
He said he bundled her into the footwell of his car and covered her with a jacket to "get rid of the problem".
'I'M SCARED'
After driving her 19 miles to Bellever Forest, he battered her until she was dead before burning her handbag and disposing of her clothes.
He also chucked the murder weapon into the Tamar river and it has never been recovered.
It emerged in his interview with police, the monster revealed Bobbi-Anne said she was "scared" as he carried her to woodland.
He said he replied: "So am I, I've never done this".
Ackland then explained in grisly detail how the teen desperately fought to survive as he hit her a further 12 times during the "prolonged, frenzied, sadistic attack".
He added: "It's not funny but she started to make a noise and I thought 'f***ing hell, wow, I mean hats off to her'."
Brave Bobbi-Anne actually fought for three hours after suffering an initial brain injury before passing away after Ackland stood on her neck to suffocate her.
Chillingly, Ackland woke the next morning and went to meet a pal for pizza as Bobbi-Anne's family frantically searched for the teen.
One of the monster's friends described him as "chatty and having a laugh" and he even hugged people while appearing "happier than usual".
Ackland’s chilling search history
August – Ted Bundy sketch
August – Ted Bundy dead victim bodies
September – Golden State Killer
October – Ukrainian serial killer bodies
November – Australian serial killer and victims' bodies
November – Fred West.
Week before Bobbi-Anne's death – Fred West, Ted Bundy and others
Days before – US serial killer Richard Chase and his victims' bodies and searches for Dartmoor and Fernworthy forests.
Day Bobbi-Anne went missing – B&Q and book about Ted Bundy
After her murder – Clothing on Urban Outfitters and the detective leading the appeal for information on Bobbi-Anne
The alarm was raised after Bobbi-Anne failed to show up at boyfriend Louie's home.
Her mum messaged to ask if she was OK but received no response and a huge search was mounted.
Chillingly, mobile phone data revealed Ackland returned home at the same time Bobbi-Anne's mum reported her missing.
As family and friends released desperate appeals for information on her whereabouts, Bobbi-Anne's phone and airpod case were found.
At first officers did not reveal whether Bobbi-Anne had been snatched from the bus stop or willingly left with her killer.
But as they searched Ackland's home nearby, they revealed she had been abducted by a stranger.
KILLER'S CONFESSION
Tragically her body was found in woodland by a lane between the Fort Staddon and Fort Bovisand military landmarks.
The grim discovery came after Ackland strolled into the police station and told officers: "I did it. I was responsible for it."
He had earlier text his bandmates saying "love you guys" and also messaged his mum, writing: "Love you and love the children."
Ackland also had a final tin of beer in his car as he knew it would be his last for "some time".
A full statement read during his police interview said: "I took her from the bus stop and left her body at location. I decided to tell police to help them and her family.
"Nobody else was involved. There was nothing sexual about this incident. I did not touch Bobbi-Anne in a sexual way."
His car was searched and officers discovered a hammer and knife and black latex gloves as well as blood splattered inside.
'HATED THE WORLD'
Ackland tried blaming his anger on his parents and the fact he grew up feeling like a "loner" after suffering depression as a youngster.
But psychiatric reports state he wasn't suffering from any mental illnesses at the time of the killing.
His own lawyer said he "hated the world and just wanted to be normal".
Ackland's sinister double life began to unravel as the grisly images were discovered on his phone.
The fiend had never engaged with police before murdering Bobbi-Anne and no mental health issues were found.
Det Supt Mike West, head of major crime for Devon and Cornwall Police, said Ackland appeared to have led a "secret life operated clandestinely".
The officer said "no one could have recognised the level of risk that Ackland presented" and loved ones were left in "significant shock".
He added: "Ackland was leading a double life and had a secret – a morbid interest in a significant number of serial killers from around the world, particularly US killer Ted Bundy whose kidnap and murder of young women bore similarities to Ackland’s crime.
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"Bobbi did not stand a chance on being attacked by a man using a claw hammer, who was intent on delivering a callous and sustained assault in Leigham, and then in a secluded forest on Dartmoor.
"Ackland’s sentencing will deliver a degree of justice to Bobbi-Anne’s family. But we know only too well that their loss will be suffered for a long time."
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