Overview

• Judge Mark Lucraft KC detained the two 16-year-olds at His Majesty’s pleasure with minimum terms of 15 years and 10 months.
• The defendants pleaded guilty on July 25 to the unprovoked murder of 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa aboard a route 472 bus in Woolwich on January 7.
• Prosecutors presented CCTV footage showing the youths smiling as they stabbed Kelyan 27 times during a 14-second ambush.
• Police identified and arrested the attackers swiftly after recovering one of the discarded machetes from the River Thames.
• The sentencing has intensified scrutiny of youth violence and fueled calls for increased social support and tougher measures to curb knife crime.