UK: Two teens sentenced to life imprisonment for slaughtering 14-year-old

Two 16-year-old boys have been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa, who was stabbed 27 times with machetes while riding a bus in south-east London.

The attack happened on 7 January aboard a route 472 bus in Woolwich. Kelyan, an aspiring rapper, was sitting at the back of the top deck when the two teens boarded and launched a 14-second frenzied assault without saying a word.

The defendants, who were 15 at the time, previously pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a knife. They were both ordered to serve a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months.

During sentencing at the Old Bailey, Kelyan’s mother, Marie Bokassa, described her overwhelming grief.

“I stand here not just as a mother but as a broken soul whose life changed forever the day my child’s life was taken from me by another child,” she said.

She recalled spending her son’s 15th birthday at his graveside.

“I ask myself what has happened to those two boys that has resulted in that terrible act of violence, and I cannot imagine how can they be so angry,” she told the court.
“What they did was horrific and I do not know what has led them to do this, and maybe I will never.”

The court heard that during the attack, Kelyan cried, “Take me to my mum’s, I want my mum,” as he tried to walk through the bus. He collapsed after suffering a major leg wound.

Footage shown in court captured members of the public sobbing and shielding their faces. The two teenagers showed no visible emotion in the dock.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said Kelyan had boarded the bus shortly after 14:00 GMT to attend a Youth Justice Centre appointment. CCTV showed him sitting alone with a small kitchen knife tucked into his waistband. He appeared anxious, repeatedly looking around before taking a seat.

Twenty minutes later, the two attackers got on, each hiding a machete. Without speaking, they walked directly to Kelyan and stabbed him 27 times while smiling.

“Kelyan Bokassa had no time to reach for his own knife, which remained in his trousers, and instead tried in vain to protect himself with his school bag,” said Ms Heer.

“There were several other passengers on the top deck who fled in panic when they realised what was happening. They describe hearing intense screaming from the back of the bus and the victim shouting, ‘Help. Help. I’ve been stabbed’.”

The bus driver activated an emergency alarm just before 14:27. As the vehicle stopped near Woolwich Ferry, the attackers fled. CCTV captured them running away still holding their machetes.

One of the blades was later recovered from the River Thames.

Despite immediate help from another passenger and arriving police officers, Kelyan was pronounced dead at the scene at 15:23.

The teenagers were arrested on 15 January after a manhunt and charged the next day. The court was told both had previous convictions for carrying knives.

Kelyan had been in care and spent time at a children’s home in Deal, Kent.

Sentencing the teens, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said:
“For any parent to lose a child is a tragedy. No sentence of a court can truly reflect the loss of a young life.”

Outside the court, a statement read on behalf of Ms Bokassa urged young people to reject violence.

“To the young people who carry knives, I beg you to stop before you raise that blade,” she said.
“Don’t let a moment of anger steal your future. Don’t let the streets raise you in a way your mother never would. There is no power in death, only loss.”

Samantha Yelland of the Crown Prosecution Service said the CCTV left the killers with “little choice” but to plead guilty.

She added, “I hope their sentences provide some degree of comfort to Kelyan’s friends and family.”

(BBC)

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