The mother of murdered schoolgirl Lucy McHugh has urged Facebook to provide police with access to the account belonging to the man suspected of killing her daughter. Lucy, 13, from Southampton, was found in woodland at Southampton Sports Centre after being stabbed to death. Stephen Nicholson, a family friend who was staying in Lucy’s home until shortly before her death, was questioned on suspicion of murder and sexual activity with a child but twice refused to give detectives his Facebook password. The care worker, 24, was jailed for 14 months over his refusal to hand over the password to his account. Failing to cooperate with police is an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Stacey White, Lucy’s mother, said detectives could uncover information vital to their investigation if they are allowed to read messages sent and received by Nicholson before the teenager’s death. Investigators now face having to take lengthy legal action in the US in order to obtain access, with the delay branded “deeply disturbing” by the head of the Commons Home Affairs Committee. Ms White has said unlocking the account would “certainly give police an idea of what was being said between Lucy and Stephen”. “In situations like this, Facebook really should just release the information that is needed and I think that is the opinion that everybody has,” she told the Daily Mail. “They should give over the account details. Lucy needs justice. It’s so easy for them to do.” According to prosecutors Nicholson had contact with the teenager as recently as the morning of her disappearance. Nicholson pleaded guilty to a charge under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) before his sentencing at Southampton Crown Court. The court heard his excuse for refusing access was to protect himself and his family as there was information relating to cannabis on the account. Prosecutors said police were facing a “lengthy procedure” in order to obtain access and the investigation into Lucy’s death had been “considerably obstructed” as a result. 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The celebration marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting, called Ramadan.<doc-sep>Facebook is a US company and so has to abide by US laws on data protection and due process - which means they have no duty to hand any information over to a foreign police force - only a request via the US Department of Justice using something called the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty will oblige disclosure. But this is cumbersome, expensive and can take months.<doc-sep>The mother of schoolgirl Lucy McHugh has urged Facebook to give police access to an account belonging to the man suspected of murdering the 13-year-old. Stacey White said detectives could uncover information vital to their investigation if they are allowed to read messages sent and received by Stephen Nicholson before the teenager's death. The care worker, 24, was jailed for 14 months on Friday over his refusal to hand over the password to his account. Investigators face having to take lengthy legal action in the US in order to obtain access, with the delay branded "deeply disturbing" by the head of the Commons Home Affairs Committee. Ms White has said unlocking the account would "certainly give police an idea of what was being said between Lucy and Stephen".<doc-sep>Lucy McHUGH should have been getting ready for the first day of the new school year yesterday. She should have rolled out of bed, excited about seeing friends, teased younger brother Dylan about his first day at senior school and spent just enough time fussing about her appearance to put her in danger of being late. A morning much like that faced by countless other 13-year-old girls returning to school after the summer break. But Lucy wasn’t among the 1,000-odd students pouring into Southampton’s Redbridge Community School in their freshly ironed navy polo shirts and smart black trousers yesterday. Last sighting: CCTV caught Lucy McHugh (above) walking near her Southampton home. It is the last known sighting of the schoolgirl on Wednesday July 25 when she was reported missing Tragically, Lucy enjoyed just four days of her holiday before her life ended in the most dreadful way imaginable — she was stabbed to death and her body dumped in woods near a sports centre, where it was found by a dog walker on the morning of July 26. It was almost 24 hours after she had disappeared. A few simple facts are known about Lucy McHugh’s last morning. She got dressed in typical teenage garb — camouflage leggings, white vest top and black jacket with white sleeves, red lettering on the back and the logo of a favourite band on the front. At about 9am on July 25, she left the family’s redbrick terrace home in Mansel Road East and set off; destination unknown. In the following 30 minutes, she was captured on CCTV three times. Officers are desperate to access accounts belonging to tattoo artist Stephen Nicholson, (left) in the hope of solving the murder of schoolgirl Lucy McHugh (right). Nicholson was jailed for months on Friday for refusing to reveal his password to police First, wearing her jacket, at 9.06am walking past a convenience store in Wimpson Lane, then at 9.22am walking ‘with purpose’ on Coxford Road, by the General Hospital, past, with terrible irony, the cemetery where she is now buried, then finally, at 9.30am, outside a Tesco Express store, half a mile from where her body was found. The alarm was raised that evening. Lucy’s body was not discovered until 7.45am the next day, in woodland overlooking a cricket pitch and athletics track at the 150-acre outdoor centre. More than 200 police officers have been involved in trying to solve Lucy’s murder, one of the largest investigations carried out by Hampshire Police. They have sifted through more than 15,000 hours of CCTV footage from 250 locations, collected more than 900 items and received more than 200 reports from the public. Some 40 public- spirited volunteers grouped together to try to find the murder weapon, while others have contributed to raise funds for Lucy’s funeral. Yet so far no murder weapon has been found and one valuable piece of potential evidence police want to examine has been withheld: the prime suspect’s Facebook password. Detectives are desperate to access Facebook accounts belonging to tattoo artist Stephen Nicholson, who was jailed for 14 months on Friday for refusing to reveal his password to police. At the time he was already on bail, having been arrested on suspicion of murder and sexual activity with a child after Lucy was found dead. But, amid a growing controversy that has piled more agony on Lucy’s grieving family, the internet giant has refused to hand over the password. Facebook claims to be ‘working closely’ with law enforcement and says that there are ‘well- established legal mechanisms the police follow to obtain information in criminal investigations like this’. That such ‘legal mechanisms’ are delaying a murder inquiry drew a stinging response from senior MPs and police. Detectives investigating 13-year-old Lucy's murder have been forced to apply to American judges for a court order demanding that US-based Facebook hands over crucial evidence The 13-year-old's body was discovered by a dog walker in woodland 24 hours after her disappearance. Police are pictured as they cordon off an area of woodland near where Lucy's body was found at Southampton Sports Centre, Hants, on July 26 As for Nicholson, he pleaded guilty to failing to co-operate with police under the Regulation Of Investigatory Powers Act, claiming police would find information relating to cannabis on his Facebook timeline. It is no small irony that much of this tragic tale has been played out on Facebook. Yesterday — six weeks after her daughter’s death — Stacey White, 30, posted this message on the site: ‘There are no words describing the pain I am feeling right now in my heart. ‘Today I’m sat here by your resting place thinking of all of what you would be doing, how eager you would be to get to school with your friends to talk n [sic] laugh the day away, how you would be teasing Dylan about going to school and how he shouldn’t talk to you all day . . . ‘Always running late cause you couldn’t find the colour you wanted or it just wasn’t put on right. Spraying enough perfume to fill the house and doing your hair at least ten times. Yet those things will not happen today.’ So what do we know of Lucy, her death and the man who remains the prime suspect? Lucy and Dylan were raised by Stacey, a care worker, after the breakdown of her relationship with Andy McHugh, 36. Lucy had not had a relationship with her father, it is believed, for at least three years. Lucy’s mother said her daughter wanted to be known by her surname, rather than Mr McHugh’s. Mr McHugh, who married Michele in 2009 and has had two more children, describes himself as a ‘family man and businessman’. The online ‘vape’ store boss was away at a Christian festival when his daughter was killed. Last known sighting of Lucy McHugh, 13 Lucy McHugh Like thousands of teenagers at the start of their school holidays, Lucy McHugh left her house with few cares in the world. CCTV caught her walking in the sunshine near her Southampton home half an hour later.<doc-sep>
The mother of murdered Lucy McHugh has condemned Facebook for refusing to hand over the prime suspect's password. Police have been forced to apply to the US Department of Justice for a court order after the social media site failed to provide information relating to Stephen Nicholson's account. Grieving mum Stacey White accused the tech giant of denying her justice for her 13-year-old daughter. The 30-year-old told the Daily Mail: "In situations like this, Facebook really should just release the information that is needed and I think that is the opinion that everybody has. "They should give over the account details. Lucy needs justice. It’s so easy for them to do." (Image: Hampshire Police) (Image: Solent News & Photo Agency) (Image: Solent News & Photo Agency) Schoolgirl Lucy was found stabbed to death in woodland at Southampton Sports Centre on July 26. Suspect Nicholson denied detectives access to his Facebook account - even though he admitted he had been in contact with Lucy before her death. The 24-year-old tattoo artist was jailed for 14 months on Friday for failing to cooperate with police. Prosecutor Matthew Lawson told the court: "The result of [his refusal] is that police are now having to make enquiries with Facebook themselves. "These enquiries present a difficulty to them. The police have to go through a lengthy procedure. (Image: PA) (Image: PA) (Image: PA) "The police investigation has been considerably obstructed by the defendant's failure to comply." A spokesman for Hampshire Police confirmed they had exhausted all options through the British legal system to get access to Nicholson's account. He said: "There is no further legislation available to assist with this matter. "We are continuing to follow the process of requesting access from Facebook which is lengthy and involves an international application through the US Department of Justice." (Image: PA) (Image: PA) Nicholson admitted to the charge of failing to cooperate with police, which falls under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa), when he appeared at Southampton Crown Court via video link on Friday. The care worker was staying in Lucy's family home in Southampton until "several days" before her death and had contact with her as recently as the morning of her disappearance, the prosecution said. (Image: PA) (Image: PA) Detectives yesterday asked Lucy's friends to recall their final moments with her as they return to school for the new term. Police are hoping these conversations could hold the key in helping them find the teenager's killer. Police have also released a new photograph of the tragic schoolgirl in her uniform in the hope of jogging people's memories of any details that could help the investigation. Police want to know about anyone Lucy may have said she was going to meet or has met before at Southampton Sports Centre, Hampshire, where she was killed.