THE three teenagers convicted of killing 16-year-old Mikey Roynon at a house party in Bath last summer have been jailed.
Mikey, from Kingswood, died after being stabbed in the neck with a knife following an incident in the garden of a house in the Weston area of the city on June 10.
Three 16-year-old boys stood trial earlier this year, with a jury returning a verdict of murder for one of the boys and manslaughter for the other two.
The boys were brought back to Bristol Crown Court on May 3 where they were sentenced for killing Mikey and possessing a bladed weapon.
During the hearing, The Honourable Mr Justice Saini lifted reporting restrictions banning the names of the three boys from being reported.
Shane Cunningham, who was convicted of murder, was jailed for life and told by the judge he must serve a minimum of 16 years in prison.
The two boys convicted of his manslaughter were Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight.
Bushnell was sentenced to nine years in jail and was told he must serve at least two thirds of this before being considered for parole.
Knight, who unlike Cunningham and Bushnell denied having a knife but was found guilty of this offence by the jury, was jailed for nine years and six months. He too will also have to serve at least two thirds of this sentence.
The police investigation into the incident uncovered CCTV showing the boys had travelled to the party from the Wiltshire area armed with knives.
After stabbing Mikey, they fled the house and were captured on CCTV discussing what happened.
They then discarded some of their clothing and disposed of their knives, with the one used to kill Mikey later recovered from a drain.
None of the boys chose to give evidence in their defence during the trial although jurors were told the boy convicted of murdering Mikey admitted stabbing him, claiming it was self-defence.
In a statement read out in court during today’s hearing, Mikey’s mum, Hayley Ryall, described the impact her son’s death had on her.
She said: “Every morning I wake up and it hurts as much as the last morning.
“I keep having awful dreams that Mikey is lost and I’m looking for him, but even the awful dreams are better than waking up to reality.
“At least in my dreams he is somewhere, whereas in reality he is gone.”
She described how difficult she found what would have been Mikey’s 17th birthday in November and Christmas without him and spoke of her sadness at never being called ‘mum’ again.
She also spoke of her fear of the court process and of the future.
“I feel like I’m living in a film or a nightmare and soon I’ll wake up and I’ll be able to hug and kiss him and Mikey will say “it’s OK mum”,” she said.
“Will justice help me? I don’t know and I’m not even sure I want to know because life will never be normal again.”
In his statement, Mikey’s dad, Michael Roynon, said: “There is no punishment for those responsible that will take away the pain that I feel.
“Nothing will bring Mikey back and as a dad losing my only son, I feel like I have a life sentence and will have to live with this forever.
“I can only hope that as time goes on, I feel less wounded and can find a way to rebuild my heart and life which has been shattered by Mikey’s death.”
Sentencing the boys, The Honourable Mr Justice Saini said: “On the day Mikey was killed, he was only 16. He was a child. His family have suffered a loss that’s unimaginable.”
He added: “Bristol and its surrounding areas are in the middle of a plague of knife crime.
“The plague has continued since this trial finished. The lives of young boys who carry knives continue to be taken at the hands of other boys who carry knives.
“Those who carry knives are themselves the most likely to be killed with a knife.”
At the end of the hearing, he awarded Crown Court Commendations to five members of the Major Crime Investigation Team, praising the work they had done.
Detective Inspector Mark Newbury, the senior investigating officer, said: “Mikey’s death sent shockwaves throughout his local community in Kingswood and the community of Bath where he was stabbed.
“The boys responsible for the dreadful attack travelled to the house party it happened at from the Wiltshire area.
“Knife crime is a disease which leaves a horrifying and long-lasting mark on everyone it affects, it’s a national problem which isn’t limited to specific towns or cities and we must come together as a society to tackle it.
“Mikey’s mum has shown tremendous fortitude since losing her only child and I have the utmost respect for the bravery she has shown in talking openly about her grief and how she has highlighted the devastation knife crime causes.”
He added: “Earlier this year, we launched a proactive operation to tackle and disrupt serious violence and knife crime involving young people but police enforcement alone isn’t the answer.
“We’re working closely with our local authority partners, our colleagues in education and health and the Violence Reduction Partnership to identify the root causes and divert young people away from criminality.
“But we also need parents to talk to their children about knife crime – to make sure that they understand the terrible consequences carrying a knife can have and also how to report if they have concerns about someone they know carrying a knife.
“Mikey’s death was utterly senseless and totally avoidable and we owe it our children to make sure we do everything we can to ensure other 16-year-olds never suffer the same fate.”