The mum of a 16-year-old boy murdered in the street hit out at one of his killers after he made a 'cutthroat' gesture to her in court. Rhamero West was chased by a 'pack of wolves' until he was stabbed to death in Old Trafford.
Ryan Cashin, 19, Giovanni Lawrence, 20 were jailed to life to serve a minimum of 24 and 21 years and respectively. Marquis Richards, 17, was sentenced to the youth equivalent of life and locked up for at least 18 years. He can be named for the first time after an application by the Manchester Evening News.
A motive for the brutal killing of Rhamero, a nephew of ex-Man City and England international Shaun Wright-Phillips, was not put forward by prosecutors. "Why did these individuals kill our baby boy, chase him down and take his life?," Rhamero's mum Kelly Brown told Manchester Crown Court.
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"We ask this question all the time." She said that Richards had made a 'cutthroat' gesture at her after he was convicted, and said that her son had been 'smoked'.
"All I can say is thank you for showing me your true colours," Ms Brown told Richards. Rhamero was driving a stolen BMW and was with friends when he was spotted on the Princess Parkway at rush hour at about 6pm on September 9 last year.
Richards got out of one of the two stolen BMWs while Rhamero's car was stationary in traffic, and started attacking the car with a 'large knife'. Rhamero desperately tried to get away, driving too fast and crashing into another car and ploughing into a tree.
Richards chased Rhamero while armed with a knife, and Cashin joined the foot chase. Cashin took the weapon from Richards before stabbing Rhamero to the legs in a front garden on Norton Street.
Lawrence, a driver of one of two stolen BMWs which had pursued Rhamero, was also convicted of murder under the joint enterprise law. Addressing her son's killers, Ms Brown added: "From start to finish during this trial you have shown no remorse.
"You have been giggling and smirking in the dock like this is all a joke, a big game to you. This is real life, you took my son away.
"None of you have any respect for my family or even this court room." She said: "To the court my boy is just a statistic, another case, but to me in real life, my beautiful, fun, loving, caring, responsible boy who loved his family. On September 9 our lives were destroyed."
Cashin, of of Nancy Street, Manchester; Richards, of Anne Nuttall Road, Hulme; and Lawrence, of Colgrove Avenue, Manchester, were all found guilty of murder after a trial.
Following the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Liz Hopkinson, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: "Rhamero was only 16-years-old when he was violently, and needlessly, murdered in broad daylight by a group of teenagers. No parent should ever have to receive the news that their child has been killed and the perpetrators, refusing to admit responsibility, have only added to their suffering by forcing them to endure the pain of a trial.
"These three caused carnage across South Manchester in the lead up to Rhamero's death and it's a miracle that no members of the public were also injured as a result of their reckless driving and acts of violence.
"From the outset, my team have been committed to securing the best possible outcome for Rhamero and his family. Our investigation saw us speak with hundreds of witnesses and trawl through many more hours of CCTV footage as we pieced together the events of that afternoon.
"I'm pleased that we've been able to secure a combined sentence of more than 61 years' imprisonment and although sadly this result won't bring Rhamero back, I hope it provides his family with a sense of justice and closure."
