A 22-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Sasha Marsden, the teenage girl who was stabbed to death before her body was set on fire in a Blackpool alleyway.
David Minto will appear in court on Monday charged with killing the 16-year-old, whose body was found dumped behind a bed-and-breakfast hotel in the South Shore area of the Lancashire resort on Thursday night.
Passersby reportedly to thought Marsden's body was a shop dummy that was burning in the alleyway. .
"The family have been informed of the latest development and specially trained officers continue to offer them support," a Lancashire police spokesman said.
Minto, of Kirby Road, Blackpool, was arrested shortly after the discovery of the childcare student's body at around 9pm on 31 January, along with a 20-year-old woman who has since been released without charge.
A postmortem found that Marsden had died of "significant stab wounds" to the head and face.
Her family had earlier described how her violent death had left a "huge gap in all our lives".
In the first year of a childcare course at Blackpool and The Fylde College, she lived with her parents Gary and Jayne in Staining, just outside the city.
In a statement they said: "No words can express how we feel. Our beautiful daughter has been taken from us.
"She was a loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, great granddaughter, auntie, niece, cousin and girlfriend. She was very much loved and her loss has left a huge gap in all our lives, a gap that can never be filled.
"Sasha was your typical teenager, a fun-loving girl who enjoyed spending time with her friends and boyfriend, with her parents being last on the list unless she wanted something or needed a lift somewhere."
Her brother Thomas Nicholl, 21, added: "She always knew how to make us smile, especially after winding us up. She gave the most amazing cuddles and we will miss her so much."
