Ben Purdy murder: Pair jailed for life over 'dreadful' killing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34877051

Version 0 of 1.

A man and his uncle have received life sentences after being found guilty of shooting dead a teenager in south London to "teach him a lesson".

Ben Purdy, 18, was shot in the head in Bermondsey after confronting his girlfriend's ex, Michael Bagnall, about "threatening" messages.

Bagnall, 22, of Hospital Way, Lewisham, must serve at least 28 years.

His uncle, Andrew Bayne, 37, of Trundleys Terrace, Lewisham was sentenced to at least 30 years.

During the Old Bailey trial, jurors heard Bagnall and Bayne suffered from learning disabilities, but Judge Christopher Moss said they were still "able to organise and carry out this dreadful murder".

As they were led from the dock, Bagnall launched a tirade of abuse at the judge and shouted "I'm glad he's dead" to a courtroom packed with Mr Purdy's family.

In a statement, Mr Purdy mother, Joanne Treston-Smith, said: "The void that Ben's death has left will never be filled. We will always have him missing in our lives."

The court heard Mr Purdy was going out with Bagnall's ex-girlfriend.

Bagnall was said to have resented the relationship and sent the girl "threatening messages" by phone or Facebook.

On the day of his murder, Mr Purdy decided to track down Bagnall, leading to a "skirmish" in Bermondsey, south London.

After that encounter, the jury heard Bagnall and Bayne decided Mr Purdy needed to be "taught a lesson".

The pair armed themselves with a self loading pistol and an array of other weapons and got in a car to scour the streets for Mr Purdy and his friends.

When they caught up with them on 23 November 2014, Bayne shot Mr Purdy in the head. He died in hospital the next day.