Watch the latest cases captured by Sky News cameras in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal in full.
Double killer handed whole life order by appeal judges
A double killer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death while on licence for a previous murder conviction was given a whole life order after Court of Appeal judges ruled …his sentence was unduly lenient.
Alana Odysseos, 32, died outside her flat in Walthamstow, east London, after being attacked with a kitchen knife in July 2024.
Shaine March, 47, of Surrey Quays, south-east London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years in October 2025.
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves had referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
In the ruling, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Cavanagh and Judge Alice Robinson, said: “The sentence was unduly lenient.
“We quash it, and we quash the minimum term order that the judge made, and substitute in its place a whole life order, which means that the offender will never be released.”
March had been released from prison on a life licence in 2013 after fatally stabbing Andre Drummond, 17, in January 2000.
He initially admitted Odysseos’s manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and denied murder, but pleaded guilty partway through the trial.
Tom Little KC, for the solicitor general, told the Court of Appeal in written submissions the couple had been in a relationship for about four months, during which time March attacked her and stopped her from talking to family and friends.
They also argued about her pregnancy, including in the hours before the murder, with Odysseos heard to say: “I don’t want to kill my baby.”
She was later seen outside the property, bleeding from multiple stab wounds and March walked away as she died on the ground, despite the efforts of police and paramedics.
Sandip Patel KC, for March, told the Court of Appeal the sentence was reached in a “fair and balanced manner”.
He also said March’s sentence should be reduced on the grounds of his traumatic brain injury, saying the trial judge Mr Justice Murray “did not give it the fullest regard”.
In the Court of Appeal ruling, Lord Justice Edis said the death of the unborn child, and the fact the attack on Odysseos was witnessed by one of her other children, were both a “serious aggravating factor”.
He also said that March’s brain injury was not a “major cause” of his offending, and the lack of premeditation had to be “highly qualified”.
This video has been edited to comply with reporting restrictions.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Double killer handed whole life order by appeal judges
A double killer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death while on …
A double killer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death while on licence for a previous murder conviction was given a whole life order after Court of Appeal judges ruled …his sentence was unduly lenient.
Alana Odysseos, 32, died outside her flat in Walthamstow, east London, after being attacked with a kitchen knife in July 2024.
Shaine March, 47, of Surrey Quays, south-east London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years in October 2025.
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves had referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
In the ruling, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Cavanagh and Judge Alice Robinson, said: “The sentence was unduly lenient.
“We quash it, and we quash the minimum term order that the judge made, and substitute in its place a whole life order, which means that the offender will never be released.”
March had been released from prison on a life licence in 2013 after fatally stabbing Andre Drummond, 17, in January 2000.
He initially admitted Odysseos’s manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and denied murder, but pleaded guilty partway through the trial.
Tom Little KC, for the solicitor general, told the Court of Appeal in written submissions the couple had been in a relationship for about four months, during which time March attacked her and stopped her from talking to family and friends.
They also argued about her pregnancy, including in the hours before the murder, with Odysseos heard to say: “I don’t want to kill my baby.”
She was later seen outside the property, bleeding from multiple stab wounds and March walked away as she died on the ground, despite the efforts of police and paramedics.
Sandip Patel KC, for March, told the Court of Appeal the sentence was reached in a “fair and balanced manner”.
He also said March’s sentence should be reduced on the grounds of his traumatic brain injury, saying the trial judge Mr Justice Murray “did not give it the fullest regard”.
In the Court of Appeal ruling, Lord Justice Edis said the death of the unborn child, and the fact the attack on Odysseos was witnessed by one of her other children, were both a “serious aggravating factor”.
He also said that March’s brain injury was not a “major cause” of his offending, and the lack of premeditation had to be “highly qualified”.
This video has been edited to comply with reporting restrictions.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Jail for rapper whose XL bully killed ex-partner's mum
An aspiring rapper was jailed for 10 years and three months after his …
An aspiring rapper was jailed for 10 years and three months after his XL bully dog mauled his ex-partner’s mother to death.
The pet, named Bear, killed Esther Martin, while she …was at Ashley Warren’s home in Jaywick, Essex, in February 2024.
The 68-year-old was looking after two adult dogs, eight puppies and a child while Warren was filming a music video in London.
Warren, 41, was the first person charged with XL bully offences after new laws came into force.
The court heard Bear had not been walked in the four weeks before the attack.
Warren was found guilty of being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control that caused injury resulting in death following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
He was also sentenced for two offences of possessing a prohibited dog in relation to Bear and another XL bully named Beauty, as well as a separate matter of knife possession.
Describing the fatal attack, the judge, Mr Justice Johnson, said: “I am sure that you could and should have reasonably foreseen the risk.
“As well as knowing it was prohibited, you knew it had been pent up in the house for weeks, you knew it was capable of being aggressive and you knew Esther Martin could not control it.”
Warren was also banned from owning a dog indefinitely.
This video has been edited to remove extreme language.
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-ashley-warren/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Jail for man whose attack on woman was witnessed by Barron Trump
A Russian convicted of assaulting a woman in an attack witnessed by …
A Russian convicted of assaulting a woman in an attack witnessed by Donald Trump’s youngest son has been jailed for four years
Matvei Rumiantsev, who lived in Canary Wharf, east London, …was convicted in January of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.
Rumiantsev, 23, attacked the victim at her flat in London when he became jealous of her blossoming friendship with Barron Trump after she met him through social media.
Mr Trump, 20, was in the US when he was on a video call with the victim, and called City of London Police to report witnessing the attack.
Rumiantsev later wrote to his victim, who cannot be named, from prison, asking her to withdraw her allegations.
He was convicted of the assault and of perverting the course of justice following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, but was found not guilty of intentional strangulation and two counts of rape.
During sentencing, the judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, said Rumiantsev was “totally unrepentant” and still blames the victim for what happened.
He said Rumiantsev “snapped” and hit the victim “multiple times over a prolonged period in the region of an hour” causing multiple injuries.
The judge added that when she managed to escape and reach a neighbour, Rumiantsev dragged her back into the flat by her hair.
He said that, during the assault, Rumiantsev answered a FaceTime call on her phone from Mr Trump.
“He [Mr Trump] saw you beating her up, and you held the phone and filmed her. An angry act to humiliate her,” the judge said.
Mr Trump was praised by Mr Justice Bennathan during sentencing for “properly and responsibly” calling UK police.
He also referred to the victim’s attempt to contact police: “I recall that in her first 999 call [to police] she said, quote, ‘Please help me. I’m going to get killed.’ I’m in no doubt whatsoever that was exactly how she felt.”
The judge said Rumiantsev should be liable to deportation. But if he is not, he would be released on licence after serving 40% of his four-year sentence.
The court also issued a seven-year restraining order, banning him from contacting the victim.
This video has been edited to comply with reporting restrictions.
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-matvei-rumiantsev/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary loses appeal bid over terror conviction
Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary lost bids to challenge his conviction …
Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary lost bids to challenge his conviction and sentence for running a banned terrorist organisation.
Choudary, 59, was convicted of taking a “caretaker role” in directing Al-Muhajiroun while …its founder was in jail, and encouraging support for it through online lectures to the Islamic Thinkers Society, which prosecutors said was another name for ALM.
He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years in July 2024.
At a Court of Appeal hearing, Paul Hynes KC said Choudary should be allowed to challenge his conviction and the length of his sentence.
Hossein Zahir KC, appearing for Choudary’s co-defendant Khaled Hussein, also sought the green light to challenge his sentence of five years in prison with an extra year on licence for being a member of ALM.
In a ruling, Lord Justice Edis, who heard the case alongside Mr Justice Goose and Judge Alan Conrad KC, dismissed the appeal bids.
Lord Justice Edis said there was a “strong case” against Choudary, “abundantly supported” by evidence, and that his bid to challenge his conviction was “unarguable”.
He also said Choudary’s sentence was not “arguably manifestly excessive or wrong in principle”, stating the offending was of “exceptional gravity, persistence and duration”.
Dismissing Hussein’s appeal bid, the judge said the 31-year-old was “not an inert and inactive member” of ALM, and instead was “doing what he could to further its aims”.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Maids Moreton murderer Benjamin Field launches fresh appeal bid
A churchwarden convicted of “gaslighting” then murdering an author in …
A churchwarden convicted of “gaslighting” then murdering an author in a plot to inherit his fortune launched a fresh appeal bid, claiming he “simply didn’t do” the crime.
Benjamin Field, 35, …admitted he was a “snake talker” who had duped 69-year-old Peter Farquhar into a fake relationship to get him to change his will but denied killing him.
Mr Farquhar was found dead in his home in the Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton in October 2015, with a bottle of 60 proof whisky beside him, with a post-mortem later putting his death down to “acute alcohol toxicity.”
Field was accused of giving Mr Farquhar the alcohol and/or sleeping pills called Dalmane so that he suffered what appeared to be an “alcoholic’s death,” leaving Field to inherit his fortune.
He was convicted at Oxford Crown Court in August 2019 and jailed for life, with a minimum of 36 years to serve behind bars before he could apply for parole.
The case later became the subject of the four-part 2023 BBC drama, called ‘The Sixth Commandment,’ which starred actor Timothy Spall as Mr Farquhar.
Following an unsuccessful appeal bid in 2022, Field’s case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) on the basis that his conviction was arguably unsafe.
His lawyers, led by David Jeremy KC, argued that trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney misdirected the jury on how they should consider whether Field was guilty, leading to him being convicted of a murder which he “simply didn’t do.”
He said the cause of Mr Farquhar’s death was the “ingestion of whisky and/or Dalmane” and that the prosecution had no evidence that Field’s providing substances had actually caused the ingestion, rather than it being a “voluntary” act of the deceased.
However, the prosecution, led by David Perry KC, is contesting the appeal, urging three senior judges to rule that the conviction was in fact safe and ensure Field is not released.
After hearing argument from both sides, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Butcher, said judgment would be reserved until a future date.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Whole life term for man who killed ex's family in house fire
A man who murdered his ex-partner’s sister and her children in a house …
A man who murdered his ex-partner’s sister and her children in a house fire in Bradford will spend the rest of his life in jail after being given a whole-life …order.
Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her children Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22 months, died when Sharaz Ali set fire to their home in a revenge attack after Bryonie’s sister, Antonia, ended their relationship.
Calum Sunderland, who went with Ali to the house and kicked the door in for him, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years for manslaughter.
Ali, 40, and Sunderland, 27, who were found guilty following a trial at Doncaster Crown Court.
Antonia had ended an abusive seven-year relationship with Ali and was staying with her sister when her former partner, “motivated by jealousy and fuelled by drink and drugs”, set fire to the home in Bradford.
Antonia managed to escape, but Bryonie and her children were trapped upstairs and died in the blaze.
Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, said Ali intended to “wipe out a family”, and the three children were “acceptable collateral damage” because he was “so full of hatred for Bryonie”.
The judge said that Ali blamed Bryonie for the end of his relationship with Antonia, and determined that if he could not be with her, no one else could.
He added that Bryonie “acted with immense courage” by staying in the house, and that “although she must have known what Mr Ali was going to do, there was no way she was going to run out of the house and desert her children”.
He said: “I hope that will be how her family will remember her last moments. She was determined to protect her children if she possibly could. She begged Mr Ali to stop, but he completely ignored her.”
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-sharaz-ali-and-calum-sunderland/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Van driver jailed over crash that killed London student
A van driver who crashed into gates near a London university campus …
A van driver who crashed into gates near a London university campus and killed a student was jailed for eight years.
Christopher Jackson, 27, from Southampton, admitted causing Aalia Mahomed’s death …by dangerous driving.
The 20-year-old student – who was in her second year of a physics and philosophy degree – had been sitting on a bench close to King’s College London’s campus in the Strand.
Jackson was tasked with picking up a van from Bush House, in Aldwych, but he had never driven an electric vehicle before.
His van collided with gates near the campus in The Strand, mounted a flower bed, becoming briefly airborne, before hitting Ms Mahomed who was sitting on a bench.
It then came to a stop close to the wall of St Mary-Le-Strand church. The Old Bailey heard that the incident lasted about six seconds.
Jackson also pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after two other KCL students, Irem Yoldas and Yamin Belmessous – both in their 20s – suffered life-changing injuries after being hit by the gate.
During sentencing, Judge Philip Katz KC, said Jackson had “no experience of driving vans, let alone electric vans”, adding there was a “significant level of irresponsibility in this case”.
“It is accepted that you were pressing or pumping on the accelerator, thinking it was the brake,” he explained.
Judge Katz KC, comparing a driver who might rent a hire car, said: “In my judgement, any careful and competent driver will satisfy themselves that they can drive the car safely before they set off.”
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-christopher-jackson/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
IN FULL: Rapper Ghetts jailed over fatal hit-and-run
Rapper Ghetts was jailed for 12 years for killing a student in a …
Rapper Ghetts was jailed for 12 years for killing a student in a hit-and-run collision.
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, was sentenced at the Old Bailey after he …previously admitted causing the death of 20-year-old Yubin Tamang by dangerous driving.
Tamang, a university student from Nepal, died in hospital two days after being struck by Clarke-Samuel’s car on Redbridge Lane East, Ilford, in October 2025.
Clarke-Samuel had been driving at more than 60mph in a 30mph zone when his BMW M5 hit Tamang as he crossed the road. He failed to stop at the scene.
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, also disqualified Clarke-Samuel, who also admitted a charge of dangerous driving relating to the hours before the fatal crash, from driving for 17 years.
He said CCTV footage showed a “quite appalling litany of incidents” leading up to the fatal collision which were “simply shocking”.
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-justin-clarke-samuel/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Jail for abuser who left partner paralysed
A man who left his partner paralysed after severing her spinal cord in …
A man who left his partner paralysed after severing her spinal cord in a brutal attack when she told him she was leaving him was jailed for 16 years.
Robert Easom, …56, subjected his partner of eight years Trudi Burgess to a campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour, regularly verbally abusing her and at times physically assaulting her.
His catalogue of abuse included forcing her to clean up spilled food, pushing her against furniture, shouting at her, driving dangerously to frighten her, and headbutting her.
His campaign came to a climax in February 2025 when, after telling Easom she was leaving, Trudi was brutally assaulted, severing her spinal cord and leaving her paralysed and requiring specialist care.
After a trial at Preston Crown Court Easom was found guilty of wounding with intent. He had previously admitted to engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025, as well as two offences of actual bodily harm.
Jailing him for 16 years with an additional four years on licence, Judge Robert Altham said “no sentence I can pass can begin to equal the harm which you have caused”.
He added: “Even with the lengthy sentence I am about to impose you will have the prospect of a future which you have denied your victim.”
This video has been edited to remove extreme language.
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-robert-easom/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Fugitive rapist gets third life sentence for attempted sex attack
A convicted rapist who attacked a student at knife point while on day …
A convicted rapist who attacked a student at knife point while on day release from an open prison was given a third life sentence.
Neil Trennan, 61, forced himself on the …19-year-old student after following her into her home in Sheffield, where he later admitted he had planned to inflict serious bodily harm and commit a violent rape.
She managed to fight him off, knocking a knife out of his hand before locking herself in another room. Trennan then fled and spent three days on the run before he was arrested in York.
He had absconded from HMP North Sea Camp, an open prison in Lincolnshire, on the day of the attack in July 2025.
Trennan had already been serving two life sentences, one for raping a woman in 1991 after breaking into her home and knocking her unconscious and a second imposed in 2002 when he escaped from custody while on day release and attacked a woman with a brick in a public toilet in Norwich.
He pleaded guilty to remaining unlawfully at large after recall to prison, possessing a blade, aggravated burglary and trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Imposing a life sentence with a minimum term of ten years at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC told him: “The facts of this case show a very serious history of sexual offending – an insatiable appetite for violence and sexual violence against women.
“No-one is safe while you are at large in the community.”
The judge expressed concern that Trennan had been transferred to an open prison, describing the decision as “extremely surprising”.
“I have heard no adequate explanation why this decision was made, and this is something the Lord Chancellor will wish to investigate,” he said.
“It is astonishing to me that you were permitted to leave prison on unsupervised day release.”
He added that he “could not envisage” a future situation where it would be safe for Trennan to be released.
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-neil-trennan/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Stranger who stabbed girl, 9, in the heart jailed for life
A knifeman who stabbed a nine-year-old girl outside her mother’s …
A knifeman who stabbed a nine-year-old girl outside her mother’s embroidery shop was jailed for at least 25 years.
Deividas Skebas, 26, stabbed Lilia Valutyte in the heart as she played …with a hula hoop in Boston, Lincolnshire, in July 2022.
An off-duty police officer tried to help save Lilia, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Skebas, a Lithuanian who has schizophrenia and told police he was being controlled by a chip implanted in his brain by the US space agency NASA, denied murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility. He was convicted of the more serious charge by a jury.
Skebas was initially judged mentally unfit to stand trial in 2023, but that assessment changed in spring 2025 and he went on trial at Lincoln Crown Court.
Jurors were told there was no dispute he had killed Lilia but they had to decide what his state of mind was at the time of the attack.
Prosecutors said he had known what he was doing in stabbing Lilia – who would have turned 13 this year – and tried to avoid being caught.
Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Justice Choudhury, described Lilia as a “happy, lively girl as carefree as any nine-year-old should be”, adding that Skebas committed a “shocking and horrific act of violence” on her.
He added: “She should have been safe. She was playing in a pedestrianised area and just yards away from her mum.”
Imposing a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years, the judge noted Skebas had been a user of drugs including cannabis and amphetamines, which would “likely worsen” his schizophrenia.
This video has been edited to comply with reporting restrictions.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
Extremists jailed for plotting 'deadliest' terror attack on UK Jewish community
Two Islamic State inspired extremists found guilty of plotting a …
Two Islamic State inspired extremists found guilty of plotting a deadly gun attack on Manchester’s Jewish community were sentenced to decades in prison.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were …found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court in December and handed life sentences with a minimum term of 37 and 26 years, respectively.
They had bought assault rifles, handguns and ammunition for the suicide attack they planned on Jewish targets. They saw any Christian victims “as a bonus”.
Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saddaoui, 36, of Fairclough Street, Hindley, Wigan, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about the pair’s terror plans and was sentenced to six years in jail with an additional year on licence.
Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Justice Wall, said he was sure Saadaoui and Hussein’s “act of wickedness” would have resulted in the deaths of “very many people” of all ages, including children.
He added: “I am sure that you were both fervent supporters of ISIS. You saw anyone who did not hold similar views to your own as an enemy.”
The judge’s sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-saadaoui-hussein-and-saadaoui/
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3HqeLrCkZgARQfyqj1m-g?view_as=subscriber
Follow Sky News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews and https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GBShow More
