By Kerry Mcdermott PUBLISHED: 08:57 EST, 29 July 2013 | UPDATED: 13:27 EST, 29 July 2013 '100 per cent sure': Paul Meehan, 40, who is charged with wasting police time, is seen arriving at Croydon Magistrates' Court The neighbour of Tia Sharp's grandmother told police he was '100 per cent' sure he had seen the murdered schoolgirl when she was already dead, a court heard today. Paul Meehan, 40, risked derailing the police hunt for the 12-year-old by lying about seeing her just before she was reported missing, it is said. He claimed to have spotted Tia leaving her grandmother's home in New Addington, Surrey, on August 3, last year.
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Paul Meehan, 40, told police he saw Tia, 12, leaving grandmother's home
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At the time she had already been murdered by Stuart Hazell
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Meehan appeared at court charged with wasting police time
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No suggestion 40-year-old knew anything about the killing
'It was a waste of valuable resources at a critical time that could have delayed finding Tia's body and the detention of @placeholder.'