A bid has been launched to get the teenager who stabbed loving dad Nathaniel Wardle to death locked up for longer.
Mohammed Rabani, 19, was jailed for 12 years and six months after being convicted of manslaughter and possession of a knife following the dad-of-four's death in Wallsend. He was found not guilty of murder after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Rabani's co-accused Robbie Battista, 18, was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter but admitted being in possession of a knife at the scene and was handed a suspended sentence.
Now the Chronicle can reveal that both sentences, passed at Newcastle Crown Court last month, have been referred to the Attorney General's Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
Law officers have 28 days from the date of sentence to decide whether Rabani and Battista's sentences should be referred to the Court of Appeal to be reviewed.
Nathaniel, who was known as Natty, died after he was knifed in the heart on a summer's afternoon outside his house in Wallsend.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Rabani, Battista, 18, and a 17-year-old, turned up at Nathaniel's street on the afternoon of June 20 looking for someone else for a “straightener”.
But when the single dad returned home from a local shop he was stabbed in the heart by Rabani in his front garden.
Neighbours and medics desperately tried to save his life, but Nathaniel died at the scene in the arms of his mum Catherine who he lived with.
Rabani, of Weldon Crescent, Heaton, was jailed for 11 years for manslaughter and 18 months for possession of the knife.
Battista, of Holystone Crescent, Heaton, was sentenced to two years suspended for two years.
The third suspect also stood trial for murder and possession of an offensive weapon but was cleared of all charges.
Nathaniel's brother Darren, 40, told the Chronicle how the the sentences had devastated his already heartbroken family.
"It's a disgrace. He's killed somebody and he will be out before he's 30," he said. "My family has got to go through this for the rest of our lives. It's disgusting really, it's an absolute joke.
"As a family we don't feel like he's been punished at all. There's no justice at all."
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or a member of the public can ask the Attorney General to refer cases to the Court of Appeal to see if sentences can be increased under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
Anyone can apply for a sentence to be increased, they do not have to be involved in the case.
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