A teenage boy today admitted stabbing his friend more than 100 times in a gruesome knife attack after a night out.
Marc Williams, 18, had been out with Lewis Ashdown, 20, in Uckfield, East Sussex, in May but neither returned home.
Police later confirmed Ashdown had been found safe as the search for Marc continued.
His body was later found in woodland around three miles away from where he was last seen.
Williams today admitted murdering his friend between May 28 to May 31.
He was told he faces a life sentence when he appears for a hearing at Lewes Crown Court next month.
Marc had phoned his family at 11.30pm on May 29 to say he was on his way home but never returned.
Meanwhile, Ashdown was seen in Crowborough around 11am the following day before being arrested.
He was charged with murder after police discovered Marc’s body in woodland in Heron’s Ghyll on June 2.
Post mortem examinations are still being carried out on his body but he is understood to have been knifed 100 times during the brutal attack.
His heartbroken family paid tribute to the teen, saying: “Marc touched the hearts of so many people, and made their lives brighter with his loving, caring and thoughtful actions.
“We are feeling his loss every second and that will never change.
Our hearts are broken.
“Rest peacefully, our cheeky boy. With so much love from Mum, Dad and your whole family.”
Ashdown, who also admitted having an offensive we
Lewis Power, defending, said there were no issues around his fitness to plead.
“He knows it’s a life sentence,” Mr Power said.
“He will say he did not pre-plan the murder but at the scene he did form the intent and he did carry out that murder.”
Marc’s body was found in woodland three miles from where he was last seen alive.
Post mortem examinations of Marc’s body are still being carried out and final results are thought to still be a month away.
Ashdown appeared in Lewes Crown Court wearing a blue jumper, he played with his beard and folded his arms in the dock as he was told he would be jailed for life at a sentencing hearing next month.
Family members wiped tears from their eyes as the court heard there would be no trial.
Ashdown pleaded guilty to murder between May 28 and May 31 this year, he also pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon.
Go fund me
Marc’s younger brother, Lee Williams, set up a fundraising page on Friday to help assist with funeral costs.
In just three days, it has raised £5,545.
The 17-year-old said: “I’m absolutely astounded at how generous people have been and I’m really grateful. It shows how much people care.”
He added: “Marc was my big brother. I thought, he has done so much for me, I thought I would do something for him.”
Lee described Marc as ‘really cheerful’.
“Marc was just a complete character,” he said. “A lot of people got on with him really, really well.
“He was really close to our family and we did a lot of things together.
“Especially me and Marc, we were very close.”
He said the two of them would enjoy doing parkour. “Me and him did it quite a lot together,” he said. “That was something I loved, and he did too.”
He added: “I miss him. The times we had together were amazing.”
Lee said the family were hoping to get a memorial set up for Marc, near the place where he was found.
He thanked Sussex Police for their thorough work in investigating Marc’s disappearance.
“They worked very, very hard,” he said.
