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Teenager jailed for killing of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne Teenager jailed for killing of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne
(35 minutes later)
The 16-year-old boy found guilty of killing Aberdeen schoolboy Bailey Gwynne has been sentenced to nine years in prison. A 16-year-old boy found guilty of killing the Aberdeen schoolboy Bailey Gwynne has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
The killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of murdering Bailey but found guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide after a five-day trial at the high court in Aberdeen last month. The killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of Bailey’s murder but found guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide after a five-day trial at the high court in Aberdeen last month.
The maximum sentence for culpable homicide is life imprisonment.
Bailey, also 16, was attacked at Cults Academy, one of Scotland’s highest performing state schools, on 28 October 2015. He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.Bailey, also 16, was attacked at Cults Academy, one of Scotland’s highest performing state schools, on 28 October 2015. He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Related: Mother of Bailey Gwynne pays loving tribute to her ‘true gent’Related: Mother of Bailey Gwynne pays loving tribute to her ‘true gent’
The killer told police that the knife he used to kill Bailey was purchased on Amazon “because they don’t check your age”. The boy told police that the knife he used to kill Bailey was purchased on Amazon “because they don’t check your age”.
Lady Stacey sentenced the boy to eight years in prison for culpable homicide, with a further custodial term of a year for each conviction of carrying knives and a knuckleduster in school, to run concurrently.Lady Stacey sentenced the boy to eight years in prison for culpable homicide, with a further custodial term of a year for each conviction of carrying knives and a knuckleduster in school, to run concurrently.
The total extended sentence for the killing runs to 10 years, including two years of supervision after the boy leaves custody. He has also been sentenced to two years’ supervision after he leaves custody.
In passing sentence at the high court in Edinburgh, Stacey told the 16-year-old: “Nothing that I can say nor any sentence I can impose will do anything to lessen the grief that Bailey Gwynne’s friends and family feel.
“The shock of his death at such a young age was felt by the wider community and nothing I can do will alleviate that.”
She said she accepted that the boy had no previous convictions, nor was there any record of him having been violent in the past. In his initial statement, Ian Duguid QC, for the defence, said media reports alleging that the killer had been involved in a stone throwing incident with another pupil at primary school were “quite markedly inaccurate”.
Duguid also told the court, which included the parents of the victim and the killer sitting on the public benches, that the boy “genuinely recognised” the gravity of his offence. “He genuinely is affected by these events in quite a profound way,” Duguid said. “He genuinely recognises that he has taken someone’s life and feels very profoundly sorry and of course recognises that it will have profound consequences for his own life.”
The court heard that the boy is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and receiving medical treatment for nightmares and depression.
Referring to a social work report that recommended focused support and intervention for the boy in order to reduce the risk of future violence, Stacey said she felt that an extended sentence was suitable in the expectation that it would lead to the boy being helped as well as punished.
Stacey explained that she was imposing the separate custodial sentence for the carrying of weapons because she wanted to make clear to “anyone else ever tempted to carry a knife” that courts treated this very seriously.
“If you had not carried a knife, that exchange of insults between you and Bailey Gwynne would have led at worst to a fist fight,” she said, “and certainly not loss of life.”
Stacey said she recognised that the boy had always accepted that he had killed Bailey and that he offered a guilty plea at an early stage of proceedings to the charge of culpable homicide. She added that he had shown “significant regret”.
“You have shown an understanding of the loss you have caused and the impact your actions will have and carry on having for ever on other people,” she said.
The high court jury, which took less than two hours to reach a majority verdict, heard testimony from four teenage witnesses who described how a disagreement over a biscuit swiftly escalated into a physical confrontation that resulted in Bailey being fatally stabbed.The high court jury, which took less than two hours to reach a majority verdict, heard testimony from four teenage witnesses who described how a disagreement over a biscuit swiftly escalated into a physical confrontation that resulted in Bailey being fatally stabbed.
Bailey died from a wound that penetrated 3.5-4cm between his ribs and into the left ventricle of his heart, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss. Bailey died from a wound that penetrated 3.5cm-4cm between his ribs and into the left ventricle of his heart, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss.
The killer was also found guilty of two other charges: possession of knives or “bladed instruments”, and possession of two knuckledusters, at a school “without reasonable excuse or lawful authority”. These two offences were alleged to have occurred on various occasions between 1 August 2013 and the day of the killing. The killer was also found guilty of two other charges: possession of knives or “bladed instruments” and possession of two knuckledusters at a school “without reasonable excuse or lawful authority”. These two offences were alleged to have occurred on various occasions between 1 August 2013 and the day of the killing.
He told police officers interviewing him the day after Bailey died that he carried the weapon in order to appear cool. “I’ve never fitted in so I was just trying to look cool, act confident, act tough, but I wasn’t,” he said. The day after Bailey died, the boy told police officers interviewing him that he carried the weapon in order to look cool. “I’ve never fitted in so I was just trying to look cool, act confident, act tough, but I wasn’t,” he said.
Following the verdict, a Guardian investigation found that Amazon was still selling age-restricted folding knives, similar to one used by the 16-year-old killer, without checking they were safely delivered to adults. Following the verdict, a Guardian investigation found that Amazon was still selling age-restricted folding knives, similar to one used by the 16-year-old killer, without checking that they were safely delivered to adults.
It is illegal to sell a folding knife to a buyer aged under 18 if the blade is more than three inches (7.62cm) long. But the 16-year-old had been able to get around Amazon’s age-verification checks by pinning a note to his front door rather than accepting delivery in person. He had paid £40 on Amazon for a folding knife with an 8.5cm blade. It is illegal to sell a folding knife to a buyer aged under 18 if the blade is more than three inches (7.62cm) long. But the 16-year-old had been able to get round Amazon’s age-verification checks by pinning a note to his front door rather than accepting delivery in person. He had paid £40 on the site for a folding knife with an 8.5cm blade.
After the trial, Bailey’s mother, Kate Gwynne, paid tribute to her “sweet boy with a big dream”, speaking for the first time about her relationship with her son “who would come with me on an evening run just to keep me company in the dark even though he could finish it in half the time”. After the trial, Bailey’s mother, Kate Gwynne, paid tribute to her “sweet boy with a big dream”, speaking for the first time about her relationship with her son, “who would come with me on an evening run just to keep me company in the dark even though he could finish it in half the time”.
In court, PC Christopher Masson repeated the killer’s first words on being handcuffed. Reading from his police notebook, Masson described how the boy, who was by now “very distressed”, asked him: “Is he dead? It was just a moment of anger.” In court, PC Christopher Masson repeated the killer’s first words on being handcuffed. Reading from his police notebook, Masson described how the boy, who was by then “very distressed”, asked him: “Is he dead? It was just a moment of anger.”