The town of Uckfield, East Sussex, two hours removed from the bustling energy of London, maintains a quiet, simple life for its 15,000 residents.

It was in this peaceful environment that Mark Williams grew up, described by his family as inherently shy but possessing a kind he@rt.

Mark’s greatest desire was to connect with others, to find friends who shared his passions and ideas.

His mother noted that due to his shyness, Mark was sometimes too quick to trust, often desperate for acceptance.

Mark found an outlet on the internet, discovering content creators who popularized Parkour and free-running.

With his brother and a simple camera, Mark created a YouTube channel, initially called “2 Legends,” where they often uploaded daring, boundary-pushing videos, sometimes trespassing into restricted areas like Churchill Square rooftops or private stadiums.

When his brother decided to step away in 2019, 20-year-old Mark rebranded the channel as “Displaced” and continued alone.

His uploads eventually slowed down, prompting questions from subscribers, which he addressed in a November 2020 video, explaining he had unsuccessfully applied to be a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

He vowed to return to content creation full-time, determined to grow his channel and buy new equipment.

Mark’s promise led to frequent uploads and a growing local following. As his channel expanded, he faced online criticism, but his loyal supporters and Mark’s own confidence helped him defend his passion.

Crucially, Mark achieved his long-sought dream of finding a friend: he met 19-year-old Lewis Gill.

Gill, who lived locally, also aspired to be a YouTube content creator, sharing Mark’s passion for free-running and Parkour.

Gill quickly inserted himself into Mark’s life and channel, appearing in videos where the pair explored abandoned buildings like the Uckfield College building, scheduled for demolition.

Footage showed the two working closely together, seamlessly collaborating and successfully evading security guards.

Gill became a frequent face on the channel, but their consistent uploads suddenly halted in March 2021.

Mark reappeared on a 40-minute live stream, explaining that his content creation activities—which often involved evading authorities—could jeopardize his future ambition of becoming a security officer.

He acknowledged that making money through YouTube was a dream, but he felt ready for heavier responsibilities, citing persistent back pain as a practical reason to slow down.

During the stream, his close friend, Lewis Gill, using the username “Mortal Unknown,” urged him to reconsider, suggesting they film more videos together.

Buoyed by Gill’s encouragement, Mark relented: “I will give my channel another shot.”

This decision led to their final joint venture: exploring an abandoned hotel in Uckfield, which they successfully infiltrated through an open window, filming their 40-minute exploration without detection.

This was followed by Mark’s last solo video upload on April 21, 2021, showing him climbing a tall building, mirroring the daring content he produced with his brother years earlier.

The Night of Betrayal

Over a month later, Mark and Lewis Gill met up. Their travels that night took them to Maresfield Recreation Ground and other locations, keeping them out until late.

The following morning, neither Mark nor Lewis returned home. Their worried families immediately filed missing persons reports.

Uckfield authorities launched an immediate search. Lewis Gill’s mother posted frantic appeals on local news outlets, mentioning that Gill was last seen near the White Hart Pub.

Three days after being reported missing, Lewis Gill returned home safely in the early hours of June 1, 2021. He showed no visible signs of harm.

Authorities immediately arrived at his parents’ home to interview him, but Gill vanished again, though this time he did not leave the premises without a trace.

Searching Gill’s room, investigators were shocked to find bloodied clothing. They instantly alerted the forensic team.

DNA testing confirmed the blood belonged to Mark Williams. The missing persons report was immediately upgraded to a homicide investigation, and an arrest warrant was issued for Lewis Gill.

While authorities sought his location, Gill—reportedly unconcerned—met up with friends, played soccer, and went to a cinema to watch the horror film The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It.

Later, while drinking alcohol at a friend’s house, police moved in and apprehended Gill, arresting him for Mark’s homicide.

The Hour-and-a-Half of Horror

Gill’s drinking companion was quickly taken into custody for questioning, and his testimony provided the first chilling details of the crime.

Lewis Gill, surprisingly, soon confessed to authorities, detailing the entire sequence of events.

He revealed that late on the night of May 29, as he and Mark walked along Perryman’s Lane, Mark called his aunt to check in and inform her of his location.

Gill claimed that after the call, Mark suddenly felt ill due to the amount of alcohol consumed.

Instead of helping his friend, Gill pulled out a knife he had been concealing, using his other hand to hold his cellphone.

Without warning, Gill viciously attacked Mark. The victim pleaded for his life and begged to be taken to a hospital, but Gill ignored his pleas.

Gill continued the fatal assault, causing over 107 wounds to the victim.

For an hour and a half, Gill documented the entire crime with his phone for his “own amusement.”

After Mark stopped moving, Gill removed the victim’s upper clothing and “kicked and stamped” on his body “like a football.”

Satisfied with the photos and videos he had taken, Gill dragged Mark’s body and dumped it in a nearby stream.

The friend who had been drinking with Gill testified that Gill had laughed while showing the horrifying video of the crime, asserting that Mark deserved his fate and should no longer be alive.

In October 2021, the trial concluded. Gill consistently avoided looking at Mark’s family during the proceedings.

Despite the clear evidence, Gill offered no rational motive beyond stating that Mark “deserved to be gone,” suggesting the act was one of pure, inexplicable malice.

Experts found no evidence that Gill suffered from a mental illness that could diminish his culpability.

The judge called Lewis Gill one of the “most dangerous men” to emerge from Uckfield, sentencing him to a minimum of 30 years imprisonment.

Mark’s mother, heartbroken, stated she was satisfied with the sentence, believing that a person like Gill could never truly be rehabilitated. Her final reflection was a tragic one: her son, who only wanted a friend, had his life en@ded by his misplaced trust.