1 month ago
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Two teenagers who smiled as they fatally stabbed a 14-year-old schoolboy on a bus have been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.
Kelyan Bokassa called “I want my mum” after he was fatally wounded in front of horrified passengers on the route 472 bus in Woolwich, south-east London, on 7 January.
Kelyan’s killers, both aged 16, had pleaded guilty to his murder and to having a knife. In a televised sentencing on Friday, Judge Lucraft KC told them they would be locked up for a least 15 years and 10 months before being eligible for parole.
Lucraft said Kelyan’s death was a “senseless loss” of another young life to the “horrors of knife crime”.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Deanna Heer KC, said Kelyan, an aspiring rapper, had boarded the bus just after 2pm to attend an appointment at a youth justice centre in Woolwich.
CCTV footage showed Kelyan went to sit on the back seat of the top deck, with a knife in the waistband of his trousers. Heer said the teenager looked around and out of the windows before taking his seat “giving every impression that he was concerned for his safety”.
The defendants, who cannot be named, boarded the bus 20 minutes later, each armed with a machete hidden in their clothes. They walked towards Kelyan “with purpose” and took out the weapons before immediately stabbing him without saying a word to him.
Heer said: “Since Kelyan Bokassa was seated on the back seat, he was cornered, unable to escape as the defendants repeatedly thrust their knives towards him, smiling as they did so.”
The attack lasted about 14 seconds, with the teenagers thrusting the machetes towards Kelyan 27 times.
Heer went on: “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. 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.’
“They describe both defendants making quick, forceful movements towards Kelyan Bokassa as he tried to defend himself.”
The bus driver activated his emergency alarm just before 2.27pm and the defendants fled when the vehicle stopped at Woolwich Ferry.
Kelyan stumbled down the aisle to the stairs, where another passenger went to help him. He was heard to say: “Take me to my mum’s. I want my mum,” before he collapsed, bleeding heavily from a wound to the leg.
Members of the public flagged down a passing police car and when officers found Kelyan his body was limp. Despite attempts to save him, he died at the scene at 3.23pm.
One of the machetes was thrown into the River Thames and later recovered by police. The defendants were quickly identified from CCTV on the bus and arrested.
In a victim impact statement, Kelyan’s mother, Marie Bokassa, said: “At least my son is at peace, and those two kids are going to have a really tough time. 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. What they did was horrific and I do not know what has led them to do this, and maybe I will never.”
She told the court her son had loved food, cooking and football, and brought her flowers on her birthday.
During the sentencing hearing, members of the public sobbed loudly and hid their faces as footage of the attack on Kelyan was shown in court. The defendants showed no visible reaction in the dock.
The court heard both defendants had previous convictions for carrying blades in public.
